Exercise intensity and activity energy expenditure of professional golfers in an official competition setting.
Professional golf is physically demanding, but few studies have defined exercise intensity (EI) and energy expenditure (EE) during a tournament.
Context
Golf is a popular sport around the world.
As an athlete, a golfer experiences varying levels of physical exertion during a round, influenced by factors such as course terrain, weather conditions, skill level and individual physiological factors.
Advances in wearable technology have made it easier to analyse physiological responses such as heart rate (HR) to determine energy expenditure.
Aim of the study
The aim of the study was to evaluate exercise intensity (EI) and energy expenditure (EE) during four consecutive rounds of golf in a tournament using wrist-based heart rate monitoring.
A total of 20 male professional golfers who competed in the Alps Tour (2021) and European Challenge Tour (2021) participated in the study. Each player was monitored during an official tournament consisting of 4 rounds of 18 holes from Thursday to Sunday on 4 consecutive days. All participants walked the entire distance of the course carrying their golf bags. Based on the heart rate (HR) monitoring, the researchers calculated the percentage of maximum heart rate (%HR max) and the percentage of heart rate reserve (%HR res), and thus the AEE in kcal/min, using the Keytel formula.
The calculated average %HR max and %HR res for the study population were 56.4% ± 1.8% and 40.5% ± 2.6%, respectively.
According to the guidelines of the American College of Sports Medicine, these average percentages correspond to moderate physical activity.
The average caloric expenditure was 5.4 ± 0.4 kcal/min and 1555.8 ± 157.8 kcal per lap, considering an average lap duration of 288.3 ± 19.5 minutes.
Clinical significance
The main finding of this study was that the average EI of a single professional golf round evaluated by the %HRmax and %HRres can be considered as a moderate activity according to ACSM guidelines. The AEE of this activity was equal to 5.4 cal/min, which is moderate energy consumption.
Golf includes long periods of walking, and the effort of the game depends on the walking speed, the distance traveled, the design of the golf course, whether golfers carry their equipment or use a cart, and whether the cart is a push or electric cart.
These data could help golf coaches and conditioning coaches to have a better understanding of the load placed on golfers, especially during tournaments. Coaches can therefore better assist players with building their conditioning programs, practice regimens, and nutrition while playing golf.
Bibliography and Sources
- Filippo Scalise, Ferruccio Cavanna, Chiara Godio, Egidio P Beretta
Sports Health. - La nutrizione
