This sport cause injury!

There are lots of statistics on the web if you are one of those who must be convinced by the numbers gathered from other sources. I will not post all or any of them.
All of the public sources showed injured professional golfers to be sidelines with the respective ages of the athlete. We’re not talking about aches and pain.
Of course, all competitive sports will incur related injury. Golf being the one with the longevity for competitive years definitely adds to the possibility of sustaining injury.

I was told by several local sports injury specialist and chiropractors that they have seen increased client base from golf related injury.
There is an actual certificate for treating golf related injury. Several of them showed me their credentials identifying as specialist to treat golf related injury. These are the weekend golfers, not the professionals. Strangely the senior who supposed to be “unfit” and aged is the minority on the injury list.
I had known this sport cause injury if we have a full swing like the professionals. From my father’s generation of him and his golfing friends getting injured and needing therapy (massage and acupuncture).
Football player won’t receive hits more than a few dozen times per game, the baseball players won’t swing the bat more than a few dozen times per game; certainly not like the practice and the tournament schedule a professional golfer has to keep.
Golf is a debilitating sport. If one plays it with modern day full swing. hitting mat or turf.

Knock on wood, but the only time I recall getting hurt on the golf course was from hitting a tree root hidden in the rough (which hurt my already bad wrist) and stepping into a hole (wrenched my knee). With a family and job, I don’t spend enough time on a course to get hurt.

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Hope you’ll never got hurt on the golf course.
But if you stay with the game long enough and swing the golf club often enough, you will be looking at injury in the eyes.

Even with a well struck golf shot, which often described smooth as butter and felt nothing will send the vibration from the impact , up the shaft, to your spine. this is besides the muscular injury which will come with exercise fatigue.

It is the price to pay for staying with this game. A small price to pay if you ask my opinion.

Are you trying to talk us out of golf? :smile:

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Why? I’m still in it thick and deep.

Just beware of trying to copy the “perfect” golf swing.

Get your body fit for such motion first before attempting to mirror the golf swing you see on the media. It is proven to cause injury so, yes, it is a “sport” in all account, including the injury that could come with it.

It’s more like a built up kind of injury instead of caused by a violent collision. In that sense, the injury sustained from golf will be long lasting and more difficult for recovery, if successful. Most the injury will be a life long type, the only way to ease the suffering is to stay away from the motion involved in the golf swing.

Thank you very much! I appreciate it! :pray:

Yes, injuries are part of the game, but in all my visits to Physical Therapists (I’ve had years) , 2 common recommendations were shared by all: Daily active motion stretching (not static stretches), and developing a strong core, which is the support for all back related motion.
I’m almost 70 and stretch daily and core work has really helped. Lessons have as well, b/c the instructor shows how to minimize applying brute “force” and maximize use of momentum & the weight of the clubhead.

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Learn to use the momentum and the weight of your body ( proper weight shaft).
Your body weight is much more than the club head.

Of course, the daily exercise and stretching will help you get stronger and to assist healing.

The exercise and daily activity are two different things. As all sports injury specialist will tell you.

If you want to minimize the injury by strengthening your back and shoulders and hands; you’ll need to target those area. Stretching is good but not strengthening those area.
If you want more distance, think of strengthening your hands/wrists and fingers; not to ignore the root of your physical structure, the legs.
Ben Hogan always had a rubber ball close by to exercise his hands and fingers. Gary Player met Hogan the first time and shake his hands with the comment later, saying, " I’ve shaken hands with 5 bands of steel".

Cam Smith, the latest golfer who recruited a few others to LIV, stated that he made the move because of his injury ( hip) which he could no longer play golf at the level he wants, hence the move to the LIV.
It’s a shame that injury comes so quickly for the younger golfers now.

BTW, kid, The LIV contract has a performance clause involved; you’d better get a very large initial payment from LIV or you won’t get anywhere close to what they promised you.

I tried to walk down a bank I shouldn’t have and slipped. I put my hand down and something (probably a rock) tore a gash in my palm. Also pulled a muscle in my ribs just under my left armpit. 2 weeks off for my hand and 3 for the muscle. I play 300+ rounds a year.

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Sorry to hear about your accident on the golf course. Hope you’ll get well soon to be on the golf course.

@Dewsweeper The muscle strain was last year and hand was 3 years ago. Thank you for your concern. All is good now.

Even for a retired guy, you had been putting in a lot of rounds of golf. Most the retiree would put in about 100-120 rounds a year.
Basically, you lived on the golf course.

I’m only 48. My weekday morning rounds take 3.5 to 4hrs. My afternoon rounds playing 2 balls take 3- 3hr 20 and Sundays take 4-4.5hrs. Usually 4hrs. The course is only a 12min drive. I used finish my round and leave straight away. Or sometimes go out for a second round. Tee off at 0800 Mon, Thur and Fri so home by 1230. Tue and Wed arvo I tee off 3hrs before sunset and Sundays at 1000. So even though I play a lot of golf I still have plenty of time away the course as well. I only 'play, I don’t practice and so far this year so far I have hit 23,860 shots, 8819 being putts. My normal round is to run from my car to the first tee. Don’t take a practice swing and hopefully nail my driver. Hit a good drive more often than not.

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LOL, with the time you spent on the golf course, who’ll need to practice on the driving range?
I’m not sure I wish to golf that often in my age group. 2-3 times a week will be plenty for me at this stage.
There were times when 36 holes a day seemed not satisfying.
Working class is also at a disadvantage for one , the working schedule, on top of that, a family man with children was also tough. I had to sacrifice my sleeping time to squeeze in a round during early morning hours to spare time later with family.
On top, I’m mostly a daily fee public golf course golfer; so financially not feasible to golf a lot after I have a family. Single guy could do whatever he wants with his time and resources.

Single with no kids so no opposing pressures. 6 day membership at my private club cost Aud $2535 this year. That makes it around $8.50 a round I don’t feel like I am living the dream but others who have full time jobs tell me so. I am grateful I have been able to put myself in this position where I don’t need a job, have the spare time and am fit enough to play. And grateful to the group of people who had the foresight to buy the land and build the course back in the 1920’s. They stumped up their own money until the club was incorporated in 1957 and they bought out the investors.

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Today I had hand surgery to correct trigger fingers. Years of arthritic inflammation finally caught up w/me but surgery was only an hour and I’ll be back playin’ in 3 weeks :). Growing old ain’t for wimps. Damn I love this game!

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Speedy recovery !

My old neighbors ( both of them passed in their 90s), used to have this motto hanging on their kitchen wall; "growing old is not for sissies ". I’m gradually starting to pay for the deeds I had done in my youth. Every ache and pain in my body could be traced back to the cause of it.
Billy Casper used to say, never give up until you are ready to. Pain and suffering are part of living, same as birth and growing old and the death.

Today on the 8th hole my playing partner was in the trees on the left side trying to hit out. I was standing further left and on the other side of the trees. It is a dogleg hole and he was hitting out way away from me. His shot hit a branch and rocketed left into my gut. Stung for a few minutes and now I have a red circle on the side of my stomach. That makes 3 people this guy has hit and he only plays once a week.

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