Four tips to reduce your risk of picking up an injury playing golf

Golf is a game that demands precision, skill and consistency, yet the risk of injury is often underestimated by many players. The repetitive nature of swings, coupled with sudden shifts in workload, can lead to potential setbacks. But fear not, as there are ways to navigate this risk and protect your game.

Strength and conditioning coach Jamie Greaves provides four crucial tips that will not only reduce the chances of injury, but also enhance your overall performance on the course.

1. Manage swing volume

Sudden spikes in workload are a big cause of injuries - the classic, doing too much too fast. For golfers, this arises in how many swings they are making each day, week and month. You want to keep this fairly stable and avoid big/sudden spikes.

These can occur when making swing changes and repping the move out excessively, a busy event schedule or even playing/practicing a lot after an extended break.

Slow progressive overload is the key, much like when lifting weights.

2. Get stronger

Around 80 per cent of golf injuries are overuse related and strength training has been shown to halve this.

By increasing tissue strength you create more robustness and allow the body to cope with more that you throw at it.

This is really key in season too where training is often one of the first things golfers drop as the season ramps up.

4. Improve swing mechanics

Although injuries are often multifactorial in nature, there is no doubt swing mechanics can play their part too

With countless swings in the same direction and forces of over 8xbodyweight going through the body, how we swing the club can certainly be important.

The team approach where a medical/strength & conditioning coach works in conjunction with the golf coach can be very useful here.

The advancement in golf technology such as 3D motion capture can also be very helpful in ensuring you’re moving in a suitable way in your swing.

Although you can’t prevent injuries, by using these four tips (certainly not an exhaustive list by any means) you can certainly stack the odds a little more in your favour.