Golf calories: Fact or fiction?

Trevor O

Hey guys, I took up golf recently and am really enjoying it. I came across a few articles which talked about the calories burned golfing. Some said they can be as high as 1200-1600 calories for an 18-hole round of golf. This seemed very high to me but I've seen the same figures on a number of sites.

However this morning I came across a page (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/111435-golf-does-playing-golf-really-burn-that-many-calories) where someone made the comment that "Yes, you do burn calories but it is not an aerobic workout."

I don't really get this. I thought calories burned are calories burned irrelevent of how it's done?

Bloody Nipples

It means that you'll burn calories, because you will have been walking around for a few hours but it's not going to improve your cardiovascular fitness because you won't have been putting your CV system under stress. So you're not going to strengthen your heart and thereby improve your body's ability to supply oxygen to your muscles during sustained physical activity, to any great extent, by playing golf.

This articles is a good summary http://www.pgatour.com/2008/r/12/22/golf.ap/index.html

Trevor O

Ok. But in terms of a pure numbers game for weight loss, these burned calories would count towards your calorie deficit? Say you're going to the gym 3 times a week and play golf on a Sunday. You're getting your cardio workout at the gym but the golf calories will still help with the weight loss?

Bloody Nipples

Oh yeah, going for a 3-4 hour walk plus swinging a club multiple times would have you burning about 1400 calories going by the article. It puts emphasis on the actual swing as the source of most calories burned. You'd be burning more calories than you would sitting at home anyway so in that sense it'd definitely help towards weight loss.

Like it wouldn't be as efficient as runnning say for burning calories, but it definitely wouldn't hurt.

Trevor O

Cool. Thanks for the info!

rubadub

You could work out the distance walked and just enter it into calculators. It depends on your size etc.

I cycle at a handy pace and reckon I might burn up to 500kcal per hour going all out, so those golf estimates seem very high, unless it is a massive course and you are sprinting all over the place!

It is in businesses interests to overestimate calories burned. They guys calculator might also include calories you would burn either way. So a fat bloke going around in a buggy for 12 hours might burn 2000kcal, he would in front of the TV too.

Thud

makes you wonder how much those chunkier pro's are eating.....

boomtown84

I doubt you'd burn 1400 kcals during a round of golf. it's a leisurely walk at best and, unless you really kill the ball, 50 odd full swings of a club won't do much either.
I play a good bit but would never count it as a workout.

Barry.Oglesby

How many piano teachers are there in New York I wonder?

Given an average daily calorie intake of 2500 for a man, and considering you'd need 1500 of those just to live, I would imagine the estimate is quite high. That's not to say it's not possible to burn 1500 per game, just that it would want to be fairly vigorous. Like say a links course, on a windy day, with 30 clubs in your bag, and you're ****e, and your wife is in labour so you need to get around quickly.

I would guess anywhere between 500 and 1000 for the average male depending on any number of factors.

Mellor

The vast majority of cals burned from golf are going to be just your BMR ticking away. Swings would add to a little bit, as would the walking about, and obviously carry>pull>electric bags in terms of calorie burn.
But the reason they look good is just that its generally a long activity take takes up your day. Look at activity in terms of net calorie burned
It's like me saying me saying an office job is a good calorie burner as I burn 1000 a day at work.


Edit: I just had a look at the calculator mention in your link and for a 70kg guy, 1 hour of golf burns between 245 and 315 calories per hour depending on a carrying clubs, pulling a bag, or electric bag. That looks reasonable.

The reason some guy got 1600 or so is most likely because he has a very high BMR as he is overweight, and he took 4 hours to get around the course. and I would imagine that the longer you take the less you burn per hour, the calculator is only an average.

nice_guy80

surely if you carry your bag around it will burn more calories?

and I'd say most golfers take as much calories in the clubhouse afterwards as they used on the course

The Guvnor

rubadub wrote: »

I cycle at a handy pace and reckon I might burn up to 500kcal per hour going all out,

Is that on an indoor bike?

Golf courses can be what 3-5 miles long. I don't see 1200 calories.

Mellor

nice_guy80 wrote: »

surely if you carry your bag around it will burn more calories?

Where did I say anything remotely different?

Mellor wrote: »

obviously carry>pull>electric bags in terms of calorie burn.
...

...
1 hour of golf burns between 245 and 315 calories per hour depending on carrying clubs, pulling a bag, or electric bag. .

SanoVitae

I think this applies if you are a crap golfer who takes ages to finish 18 rounds.

During all this time, I'd imagine you wouldn't eat the 1200-1600 calories you would if you otherwise spent the same amount of time watching golf on TV at home whilst eating nachos and guzzling a six-pack of beers.

Essentially, the worse you are at golf, the less time you have at home to snack and the more weight you're likely to lose.

Play golf like this a couple of times a week and the weight will just fall off with little to no effort at all.

Very little to do with calories burned though.....

rubadub

The Guvnor wrote: »

Is that on an indoor bike?

Outdoors, I think I could manage 500kcal per hour around the coast as you never have to stop. I get off and walk at parts which is even more tiring.

If commuting you can pick a route with minimal traffic lights. I couldn't stick an indoor bike, too boring.

The guy in the link in the OP should put his calorie counter on for 4 hours while going about his usual business, then see the difference between the 2 readings, even then it is just an estimate of course.