Calories burned golfing but riding in cart?

I do wear my HRM when I play and depending on weather (if it's a cool day or 95 degree weather day) my calories change. I average anywhere between 800 to 900 riding in a cart and around 1100 to 1200 when I am pulling a cart or carrying the bag! I just like to see what calorie burn I have...so hence the HRM...mainly for curiosity. I don't really eat any of that back! haha (now I may drink some of it back after the round or during the round...all depending on how I am playing..lol) :drinker:

Golfing usually ends up as a wash for me.

The drinking offsets it.

Hrm does not work for golf and will give a heavily inflated number because of this.. Heat will also give an inflated number. There is zero chance you are burning that much. Or even half that much

I do wear my HRM when I play and depending on weather (if it's a cool day or 95 degree weather day) my calories change. I average anywhere between 800 to 900 riding in a cart and around 1100 to 1200 when I am pulling a cart or carrying the bag! I just like to see what calorie burn I have...so hence the HRM...mainly for curiosity. I don't really eat any of that back! haha (now I may drink some of it back after the round or during the round...all depending on how I am playing..lol) :drinker:

I have been trying to get a definitive answer on this front. Web searches show varying figures.

I walk the course (buggies are not allowed in qualifying competitions anyway), but I do have an electronic trolley at the recommendation of my physio (lower back problems). GPS has it as a six mile walk for the 18 holes, and I cover them in about 3.5 to 4.5 hours depending on how busy the course is at the time and how many others are playing with me.

MFP has me at 1,193 kcals for 240mins of "Golf, using power cart". I'm not sure if this means riding a buggy or not, but I'm not carrying nor am I pulling/pushing a trolley. Using an electric trolley like mine is not the same as having a caddy take of your clubs; far from it, it still takes some manual effort.

It's certainly not exercise in the same way as gym sessions, but to say it's 'little to no' calorie burn doesn't seem right to me. I mean if you went walking for four hours that would count, right? The course is a little hilly, plus you have the swinging of a club 50 times to hit the ball (not counting putting) and it is a dynamic movement not devoid of effort.

I keep the MFP calculation as is, but tend not to eat back all the cals... probably about 60-70% of them.

Because the weather is nice, I play about four 18 hole rounds per week at the moment and I do count it as part of my exercise plan.

So - now "a good walk spoiled", isn't even a bad walk? :-)

Just try walking!

Golf is definitely a way to pick up some beneficial exercise. Whether walking the course, hitting the range or taking a cart, playing golf is a leisurely way to burn some extra calories. This is true even in the case of a nine-hole outing, depending in part on a player's weight, walking vs. taking a cart and metabolism. Here are some stats for a calories burned playing 9-holes:

Taking a Cart
According to Shapefit, a 130-pound golfer will burn approximately 207 calories per hour while taking a cart, compared to 246 for a 155-pound golfer and 302 calories per hour for a 190-pound golfer. That means that over a nine-hole round, which is likely to take around two hours with a cart, golfers burn between 400 and 700 calories per outing.

Walking vs. Cart
According to Shapefit, an online health and nutrition advice site, a 190-pound golfer will burn approximately 130 more calories per hour (431 to 302) pulling his clubs on a wheeling device than by taking a cart. Should a player elect to carry his clubs, that jumps to 474 calories per hour. Considering an average nine-hole outing takes between two and three hours, golfers may burn upwards of 300 more calories total by carrying or pulling their clubs.

Pulling Clubs
According to Shapefit, a 130-pound golfer will burn approximately 295 calories per hour while pulling her clubs on a wheel-accessible device, compared to 352 for a 155-pound golfer and 431 calories per hour for a 190-pound golfer. That means that over a nine-hole round, which while pulling clubs is likely to take around 2 1/2 hours, golfers burn between 700 and 1,100 calories per outing.

To JoRocka, who is annoyed that "you don't just get out and walk" - some courses require use of power cart to keep the game moving. And some people are physically unable to walk the whole four hours.

I see most of the focus of this debate is the walking around portion and how many calories it actually burns. What about the swinging motion and all the reps performed? I know not every swing is full and to the max but the twisting and turning of your core and upper body should count towards the calorie count. While i do not agree with 1200 calories being burned playing 18 holes in roughly 4 hours but it is a strenuous activity that works the body. I know i often am sore the next day after hacking away at the ball and shooting in my usual high 80s. Especially in the middle of a Phoenix, AZ summer.

I think I might burn around 800 or so calories over 18 holes.......this is why...
I jog to and from cart about 1/4 of the time......
I take at least 4-5 "practice" swings EVRY time Im gonna hit the ball
I suck...............so I never par ......thus taking way too many swings.
I try to crush the ball which results in horrible reslts every now and then. :drinker:

Ahhh, so YOU'RE the guy who backs up the course and makes a 3.5 hour round into an interminable 5! Don't be that guy

Please subtract out your BMR from these higher numbers. If my BMR is 2000 per day, I could lay in bed 6 hours and burn 500 calories dreaming about golf. I would not log that though. So, if your HRM or any other calculation yields 800, I would only log 300 net calories burned. MFP is already calculating the 500 in your daily goal.

Bingo... you probably do burn roughly 700 calories per 9 holes, but your BMR in that timeframe for an average person is probably around 400. It's not unreasonable to claim an extra 300 calories per 9 holes golfing with a cart compared to your average day.