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2 October 2026 · 9 min read

Is golf healthy? What studies show on exercise, steps and life expectancy

Played on foot, golf is moderate exercise: 17,007 steps in one study, 40% lower mortality in Sweden, but no proven cause. The numbers and their limits.

Is golf healthy? What studies show on exercise, steps and life expectancy — post image

Golf can be healthy if you walk: the reviews rate it mostly as moderate-intensity exercise (Luscombe et al.), and in a large Swedish register study the death rate of golfers was 40% below the expected value (Farahmand et al.). By their own account, the authors cannot say with certainty that the exercise from golfing explains everything. This post sets steps, intensity, studies and the Swiss exercise recommendations side by side. It is not medical advice.

How much exercise does Switzerland recommend?

The national exercise recommendations for adults are on the federal portal hepa.admin.ch. These amounts apply per week:

Type of exerciseAmount per weekExamples per the source
Moderate intensityat least 150 to 300 minuteswalking, cycling, garden and housework
High intensityat least 75 to 150 minutesjogging, swimming, cross-country skiing, Zumba
Muscle strengtheningat least twice a weekexercises at moderate or high intensity

Moderate and high intensity can be combined. The page also states that every bit of movement is good for your health, even if the recommendations are not met. That is the yardstick against which you can measure golf.

How intense is golf, and how many steps is it?

In 2017 Luscombe and colleagues evaluated 19 articles in a rapid review. Their result: golf is mostly moderate-intensity exercise, but depending on the players and other influences it can also be low intensity. Anyone who rides a cart accrues less exercise than anyone who walks the course. The numbers come from a 2025 study (O'Donnell et al.) of 16 men who played two rounds of 18 holes, once on foot and once in a cart:

Measurement over 18 holesOn foot, caddie carries the bagIn a cart
Steps17,0076,274
Mean heart rate, share of estimated maximumabout 55%about 47%
Rating by ACSM guidelinesmoderate activitylow intensity

The measurements were taken on young, skilled players, 21 years old on average, with a handicap of 2.3, on a course of 6,587 metres. The authors point to earlier studies with about 6,000 steps in a cart and 11,000 to 17,000 on foot. These values do not automatically apply to beginners and seniors. What the steps mean in calories is in How many calories does golf burn?.

What do the reviews say about health?

Three reviews side by side:

ReviewEvaluatedResult in briefLimit
Murray et al. 2017, scoping review301 studies from 4,944 hitsGolf can be moderate exercise and is linked to better cardiovascular, respiratory and metabolic profilesLimited evidence on mental health
Luscombe et al. 2017, rapid review19 articlesmostly moderate intensity, less in a cartStrength and flexibility not settled
Sorbie et al. 2022, systematic review23 articles from 572 hitsmixed; improvements in balance, blood pressure and HDL cholesterol, BMI mostly unchangedinconsistent study designs

Murray and colleagues want further systematic reviews to clarify what is cause and what is effect. Until then the findings are associations. Sorbie and colleagues themselves write that the effect on physical health was mixed.

Do golfers live longer?

The best-known number comes from Sweden. Farahmand and colleagues compared 300,818 members of the Swedish Golf Federation with the expected mortality. They used the federation's membership register and the national mortality register. The measure is called SMR: 1.00 would be the expected value, lower means fewer deaths than expected.

GroupSMR95% confidence interval
All golfers0.600.57 to 0.64
Lowest handicap, the best players0.530.41 to 0.67
Highest handicap0.680.61 to 0.75

The difference appeared in men and women, in all age groups and in all socioeconomic groups. The authors convert 40% lower mortality into about 5 years more life expectancy. They also write that they cannot say with certainty that the exercise from golfing explains everything. It is probably part of the explanation.

Read the table with that caveat. The intervals of the two handicap groups overlap, so the gap between them is less certain than the gap between all golfers and the expected value. And a register shows that a difference exists, not what causes it.

What does golf do for the mind, balance and muscles?

For memory there is one controlled study. Shimada and colleagues randomly split 106 adults aged 65 and older in Japan into a golf training group and a health education group (Shimada et al., 2018). The training took place on a golf course and lasted 24 weeks at 90 to 120 minutes a week. The golf group improved more in logical memory. In the other memory and thinking tests, in grip strength, walking speed and the depression scale, no significant change was found.

On mental health, Murray and colleagues call the evidence limited. On balance, the review by Sorbie found improvements in individual studies. Whether golf covers the muscle strengthening of the Swiss recommendation is, according to Luscombe, not settled. How to train strength deliberately is in Golf fitness, and what counts for players aged 60 and over is in Golf at 60 plus.

What are the risks?

Murray and colleagues call the incidence of golf injuries moderate, with back injuries the most frequent. Accidents with head injuries are rare but can have serious consequences. What the most common injuries are and what helps against them is in Avoiding golf injuries, and how to warm up your back is in Golf and back pain. With existing conditions or complaints, talk to your doctor before you start.

Is golf enough for the Swiss recommendation?

A worked example using the R&A's statement that nine holes take around 90 minutes (R&A, Play Golf). It counts the whole time as moderate exercise, the way the study rates walking on the course:

Week on footTimeRelation to 150 minutes
One nine-hole round90 minutes60%
Two nine-hole rounds180 minutesabove the minimum
Three nine-hole rounds270 minuteswithin the range of 150 to 300 minutes

That is the favourable calculation. Waiting at the tee, breaks and the cart lower the intensity, and the study measured young, skilled players with a caddie. On its beginner page the R&A writes that anyone who plays golf for at least 150 minutes a week meets the global WHO guidelines. The recommendation counts minutes of moderate intensity. According to the reviews, golf is that mostly but not always, less so in a cart. How long a round takes is in How long does a round of golf take?.

What this means for you, in the simulator too

The simulator does not appear in the abstracts of the reviews I read. You can see, though, how much depends on walking: 17,007 steps on foot against 6,274 in a cart. In the bay you stand in one place, the steps of a round are missing. The bay trains the swing, walking trains the movement. What works in winter from November to March is in Golf in winter in Switzerland. That gives you:

  • If you want the movement, walk: 17,007 steps against 6,274 in a cart.
  • If you cannot walk that far, the sentence of the Swiss recommendation applies: every bit of movement is good.
  • Golf does not replace strength work. Switzerland names muscle strengthening on two days a week, and whether golf covers it is open.
  • Take the Swedish number as an association, not as a promise.

Where you can start

The directory lists 126 venues in 21 cantons (as of 2 October 2026). On the map you see what is near you. If you are new, Golf simulator for beginners helps. Starting late is no obstacle, as Starting golf late shows.

Frequently asked questions

Is golf healthy?

Played on foot, golf is according to several reviews mostly moderate-intensity exercise and is linked to better cardiovascular and metabolic values. The studies show associations, not causes, and the findings are partly mixed. In a cart the intensity is lower.

How many steps do you walk over 18 holes?

In a study of 16 young, skilled men it was 17,007 steps on foot with a caddie and 6,274 in a cart. Earlier studies name about 6,000 steps in a cart and 11,000 to 17,000 on foot. On your course and at your pace it can differ.

Do golfers live longer?

In a Swedish register study of 300,818 golfers, mortality was 60% of the expected value, which is 40% lower. The authors convert that into about 5 years of life expectancy. They consider the exercise part of the explanation, not the whole of it.

Is golf enough exercise by the Swiss recommendations?

Switzerland recommends 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. Golf on foot counts as moderate in the cited study, in a cart as low. Muscle strengthening on two days a week is not shown by golf, and a review calls for further research on that.

Is golf good for memory in old age?

In a study of 106 people aged 65 and older, 24 weeks of golf training improved logical memory, while the other memory and thinking tests stayed unchanged. A review calls the evidence on mental health limited. It is a single study.

Sources