Golf, does playing golf really burn that many calories?

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samdempsey38
samdempsey38 Posts: 33
in Fitness and Exercise
I have just played my first round of golf, it took 4 hours to do 18 holes and i walked a little over 6 miles accourding to the step counter, I pulled a full set of clubs on a manual trolley. MFP exercise calculator has worked out that this is 1677 calories, this seem rather a lot, anyone have any ideas on how accurate this is?

Replies

  • bikeflea
    bikeflea Posts: 2 Member
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    Sam,
    I am no expert.... however when you think about 4 hours divided by 1600 that is only roughly 400 calories in an hour. I started golf this year and walk as well.... I completely believe we burn 400 an hour! Being a man, it doesn't seem out of line to me. Of course this is only my humble opinion. :)
  • ropsnik
    ropsnik Posts: 68 Member
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    I recently played a round of golf pulling my cart on a short course. I walked over 3 miles, in 2 hrs + 30 minutes and wore my Heart Rate Monitor because I was curious on the calories. I did burn 980 calories but my heart rate never got over 80 bpm.

    Yes, you do burn calories but it is not an aerobic workout. Hit em straight and keep walking.
  • SaraTN
    SaraTN Posts: 536 Member
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    On average you can calculate 100 calories per mile. You were pulling a trolley and engaged in the activity of golf (swinging, bending to line up shots etc.) so that does count for something. I would say 1200 is more accurate. As a general rule I would rather err on the side of being conservative so I always take off 30% of what the generic calculators estimate.
  • JUSTFORME2010
    JUSTFORME2010 Posts: 125 Member
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    Not only is the walking great but the swinging of the club is twisting and turning and then bending for the ball. It is a fun way to burn calories. Go for it
  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
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    If I have a reasonably open course, I can easily play (walking) 18 holes in 2.5 hours. There have been times when I have played 3 times in one week.

    I have never lost one ounce from playing golf, nor improved my fitness level one iota. There is a difference between "ambulation" and "exercise".

    It is conceivable that an unfit person who played fast on a hilly course and walked vigorously from shot to shot MIGHT achieve some mild conditioning effect, but I would not consider golf to be significant "exercise" . I either golf on my rest days, or else I work out before heading to the course.

    And the most cursory observation of the average golfer would definitely prove that golf is not a very effective weight loss tool.
  • samdempsey38
    samdempsey38 Posts: 33
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    Thanks everyone, thought it was too good to be true and as with most things it seems to be. But it was a rather good afternoon and I did enjoy the walk
  • Mindful_Trent
    Mindful_Trent Posts: 3,954 Member
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    I just walked a round of golf pulling the manual club trolley (I was accompanying someone - i didn't play) - and I have no doubt that I burned a significant amount of calories. There was a lot of climbing of hills (off the cart path) and there were a few times where I was breathing heavily after climbing a particularly steep hill. While it isn't constant exercise like cardio at the gym, and I would probably only consider about half of the time actual exercise, I do consider it exercise, just like I count a walk in my neighborhood as exercise. Not going to go crazy on the calories today, but I'm sure I burned more than normal since I normally have a sedentary lifestyle.
  • donaldginn
    donaldginn Posts: 1 Member
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    Having relied on golf for my exercise for quite a while, I can attest to its caloric benefits. Firstly, warming up on a range, with a small bucket of balls for twenty minutes, increasing your heart rate, must burn at least 80 calories. Next, having scores in the 90s ensures working much harder than any good golfer--those bunkers can be quite a workout, especially raking. Also, even with a cart, it takes about 4 hours to finish a round on a Sunday afternoon and includes much searching, walking, swinging, and bending. Taking everything into consideration, I conservatively give myself 100 calories/hour for a grand total of about 500 calories for a round, minus the indulgence of the 19th hole, of course.
  • allyedge
    allyedge Posts: 1 Member
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    False. You lose weight from your diet and exercise.

    My dad golfs 18 holes every single day and has changed his diet. Result? He has lost over 65 pounds.

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