Golf Injury Statistics: What You Need to know

The question is no longer, "what if I get injured playing golf?" We know that injuries are a matter of when you get injured and what the next steps will be to keep the injury from overshadowing your game. 

The most common injury in golf is lower back pain. 

The two injuries that will not allow you to play golf are neck and wrist injuries. 

Here are some key statistic from the TPI database of 192 Professional Golfers and 7,000 amateur golfers. 

We see some noticeable differences in between the two. Amateurs have increased chances of lower back and left elbow pain while professionals have increased chances in left wrist/hand/knee. So what exactly does this tell us?

The left side for a right handed golfer, as most know, produces stability in the golf swing and is the essential pivot point throughout the swing. Hitting a great golf shot requires getting to the left side fast and the rotating through while trying to resist falling off balance when finishing the swing over the shoulders. The left side is more likely to injure due to muscular imbalance and impact position of the wrist along with the pivot move required on the lead (left hip) can cause strain around the muscles. Here are the true reasons below...

Six most common Mechanisms of Injury 

1. Poor Body Mechanics
2. Poor Swing biomechanics
3. Excessive practice (Overuse injury)
4. No Regular Customized Exercise Program
5. Poor Nutrition
6. Improper Club Fitting

Professionals are most likely to get overuse injuries while amateurs are more likely to get injured from improper mechanics. 

Some other interesting facts. 

1. Injury incidence increases with age
2. 10-33% of professionals play injured
3. 50% of professionals will have an injury that keeps them off the course for 3-6 weeks

Research has shown that amateurs truly need customized exercise programs to prevent injury and is the best way to keep golfers in shape during the year. Professionals already do extensive training and they push their body to the limits so their injuries are harder to prevent but they also understand what it takes to play top notch all year. 

The reasons stated above are why we do what we do at the Southern golf Institute. We help average golfers become stronger, faster and more mobile so they can play golf pain free and at a higher performance level. 

Schedule a call or TPI assessment so we can get to the source of your body and swing issues. You won't regret it.

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*McCarroll, retting AC, Shelbourne KD. Injuries in amateur golfer. Phys Sports Med. 1990;18:122-26