Golf is a popular sport worldwide, however, the tendency of players to be older and
in poor physical condition contributes to its injury risk. Although golf has a moderate
injury incidence, few studies have illustrated the extent of golfing injuries, and only
one study has focused on female golf injuries. PURPOSE: To examine the injury
profile of female golfers and investigate differences in injury epidemiology by age,
handicap, experience, and participation. METHODS: Female golfers over 18 years
with a registered handicap documented their 12-month injury status and associated
golfing demographics. RESULTS: 1803 female golfers (median age: 51.3 years;
handicap: 12.4; experience: 13.7 years) reported 671 injuries (37.2%) over a 12-month
period, with the majority of injuries sustained during play (72.9%). The most common
injury sites were the shoulder (23.2%), lower back (22.9%), and elbow (18.1%).
Strains were the most frequent type of injury (43.0%), with overuse injuries most
prevalent (32.2%), followed by a technical error (24.8%). Over half of all injuries
required treatment from a healthcare professional (57.8%), and 1358 (75.3%) of the
injured golfers reported an impact on their performance or participation. Over twothirds
of the injured golfers missed participation time due to their injury, and 187
of the injured golfers (10.4%) needed time off school or work. Chi-square analysis
showed golfers’ handicap (χ2
4 = 23.747, p ≤ 0.001), hours of play (χ2
8 = 35.735, p
≤ 0.001), hours of practice (χ2
8 = 30.137, p ≤ 0.001), and experience (χ2
9 = 28.003,
p ≤ 0.001) were significantly associated with their injury status. Handicap, hours
of play, and experience level were also significant independent predictors of injury.
The Hosmer and Lemeshow test indicated acceptable goodness of fit (p = 0.905).
CONCLUSION: This study confirms the common occurrence of, and impact injuries
have on golfers. Lower handicap golfers were more likely sustain an injury than higher
handicap golfers, potentially due to increased exposure time required to obtain lower
handicaps. This is further supported as exposure time and experience level were found
to be significant predictors of injury. Before suggesting limits to golf participation,
other prevention avenues focusing on specific female golfer characteristics must be
investigated.
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