Within this article, we will delve into some basic preventative steps that you can take which will help reduce the chance of you suffering from an injury and the devastating effect it will have on your consistency, accuracy and distance.

What are the most common golf injuries?

• Back pain
• rotator cuff injury
• golfers elbow
• knee pain
• foot injuries
• heel pain

Back pain

Back pain is one of the most common injuries in golf. It’s important to have the right stance and swing when playing golfer, playing incorrectly can make it more likely to cause serious injuries.

While it may only just be golf, you need to have a strong core to be able to handle swinging golf clubs up to 100 times or maybe more in one round.

One of the best ways to avoid injuries is by having lessons but by also using golf carts instead of carrying a bag around the course.

The average golf bag is likely to weigh anywhere from 8kg to 15kg for people who like to fill their bags.

Think about it too, if you’ve got a litre of water in your bag, that’ll add 1kg of weight too, plus if you’ve got 20 golf balls in there, that’s another KG.

Even though they are expensive, electric golf carts are the best way to get your clubs around the course, avoiding back strain and potential injuries.

Knee injuries

Knee injuries are the second most common in golf.

Did you know when you’re swinging a golf club, puts your knees under a lot of strain due to the amount of torque which the knee must support?

Also really interesting, is that we know jogging is great but can be bad for the knees, when playing golf, it’s actually worse for you than say if you were to jog around the course.

Knee injuries can be avoided by being more flexible, perhaps something like Yoga would be great to help reduce the likely hood of developing knee injuries

Golfers elbow

Golfers’ elbow isn’t just limited to the elbow, the pain can also spread into the wrist and the forearm.

This happens on the inside of the elbow. If you’re experiencing any pain and tenderness, stiffness, numbing on tingling in the elbow, you could be suffering from it.

There are many ways you can prevent golfers’ elbows, including:

• Build up the muscle in your forearms
• Swinging correctly
• Stretching before playing
• Proper rest and recuperation

5 ways to prevent injuries in general when playing golf

Adopt the correct posture

When we refer to posture, one needs to remember that posture comes in two forms – static and dynamic.

The way you hold yourself and the way your body moves. Both have an impact on the whole golfing game with muscular synergy and the balance in strength between muscle groups playing an important role.

If either of these aspects is imbalanced, then an injury may become highly likely.

Live a healthy life

It goes without saying that the healthier you are the less prone to injury you will be, but what does that really mean? Firstly, I will check your blood pressure, I always check any new golfer I see and regularly review my existing golfers.

Then ensure that you are getting enough cardiovascular exercise each week, at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week.

Good CV health is one of the best tools you will have in injury prevention and injury recovery.

Just as important is to ensure you’re getting the correct nutrition and that you have a healthy body composition, as a bad one will not only put stress on your body but also have a massive effect on your entire golfing game.

Use the correct equipment

Your clubs are an extension of your body, so make sure that they are the correct length with a grip that is the best fit for you.

Modern clubs are now designed to absorb the vibrations of the impact lessening the effect on your body, so ditch those old steel shafted clubs.

Finally, ensure that your clothing will keep you comfortable while allowing a full range of motion.

Get the right coaching

Having a good golf swing is important for winning competitions, but what is more important is ensuring that your swing is not aggravating an underlying issue because if that issue becomes an injury, then you won’t even make it to the first tee.

So, a good coach like the ones I work with at The Golf School will be able to implement adaptations to your swing to lessen the strain on your body.

For example, a coach will alter the feet placement of a golfer so that the force across the knees and lower back is dissipated more efficiently lowing the risk of injury.

Practice correctly

I have had several golfers come to me with issues relating to overuse. It can be very ironic that golf is based on your ability to make it around the course using as fewer shots as possible, yet when practising, golfers take enough shots to make it ten times around a golf course.

Every one of those shots will have an impact on your body and as you get tired the impact it has on you will only increase.

So, to prevent injuries, slow down, take your time with every shot and focus on one skill at a time.

You can improve your game and your health by working on all the above points.

You can do this by visiting your local golf pro and fitness performance coach.