Injury incidence in golf: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective: There is a lack of comprehensive analysis of injuries in golf per exposure time. Thus, the aim was to report the pooled incidence of injuries in golf. Methods: We searched PubMed, Scopus, SPORTDiscus, and Web of Science databases in March 2024 for this systematic review and meta-analysis. We included observational studies reporting the number of injuries per exposure time. A random-effects model was used to calculate the pooled injury incidence per 1000 athlete exposures (18 holes of golf) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Incidences were separately analyzed for men, women, amateurs, professionals, and special athletes. Results: A total of 999 studies were screened, 29 full texts were assessed, and 7 studies with 269,754 athlete exposures were included. Seven studies assessed the overall incidence of injury, and the pooled estimate was 2.5 per 1000 athlete exposures (CI 0.9–7.5). The incidence was higher in special athletes (21.0, CI 7.7–45.1; one study) than among professionals (8.5, CI 7.6–9.4; one study), or in amateurs (1.3, CI 0.5–4.0; five studies). The injury incidence was 2.6 per 1000 athlete exposures (CI 0.7–9.6; four studies) in women and 1.4 per 1000 athlete exposures (CI 0.4–5.2; three studies) in men. A sensitivity analysis without special athletes had an incidence of 1.9 (CI 0.7–4.9; six studies). Conclusion: The injury incidence in golf is 2.5 injuries per 1000 athlete exposures (18 holes of golf). Reporting was limited as only one study reported injuries per exposure time in professionals, and in total, only seven studies were found. More research is needed in all levels and age groups to better estimate the injury incidence and associated risk factors in golf.