How many calories does a round of golf burn?

[Fish]

Ok here's where the confusion may be. My daily TDEE is 2400 calories, so 100 per hour. This is calculated from a number of standard formulas you can look up on the web, which take into account your weight and typical daily activity (say day at the office).

Watching TV I will burn calories at the same rate, so there is no extra calories burned here. At the end of the day it's another 2400 calories. So watching tv for 4 hours does burn 400 calories.

Playing golf for 4 hours, you have the 400 calories (as above). Then there's the calorie burn from playing which I estimate at 500 - 600. I'm not sure if that means you can add the two figures and say that 900-1000 calories were burned in that 4 hour period or if there's some double accounting here.

It's confusing but I'm still sure it doesn't add up to 1500. Most of us would be a lot slimmer if it did.

Not necessarily if they enjoy a few pints, a curry, eat high fat items and late night snacks during the week and between rounds, you could burn bucket loads of calories a day by playing golf but if your shovelling it in at the other end your not going to lose weight or look slimmer!

 

[shortstuff]

Not necessarily if they enjoy a few pints, a curry, eat high fat items and late night snacks during the week and between rounds, you could burn bucket loads of calories a day by playing golf but if your shovelling it in at the other end your not going to lose weight or look slimmer!

This is true. From Drinkaware: "To burn off the 180 calories you’d find in an average pint of lager (4% ABV) a typical man would have to spend: 13 minutes running on the treadmill or playing football; 15 minutes cycling or 20 minutes swimming or half an hour on the golf course."
So 4 pints and you have blown most of it away. This also suggests that a 4-hour round would expend 1440 calories. I'm staggered.

 

[Ethan]

Were you rowing for 4 hours? I find it strange that you would trust implicitly the concept2 calorie burning output, but not the scientific results showing calories burned playing golf.
View attachment 15010

No I wasn't rowing for 4 hours but was expending much more energy per unit time for about an hour or so. As for the C2's estimates, allowing for an assumption for weight (which makes the actual result an underestimate) then the calorie consumption is otherwise pretty darned accurate. The estimate for golf uses many more variables (length of course, undulating or flat, carrying or pushing, distance between greens and tees etc.) as well as the basal consumption rate.

 

[chillicon]

No I wasn't rowing for 4 hours but was expending much more energy per unit time for about an hour or so. As for the C2's estimates, allowing for an assumption for weight (which makes the actual result an underestimate) then the calorie consumption is otherwise pretty darned accurate. The estimate for golf uses many more variables (length of course, undulating or flat, carrying or pushing, distance between greens and tees etc.) as well as the basal consumption rate.

So based on your post #34, if you did that for 4 hours that would be 3,000 calories and twice the burn of golf and not the other way round? Right?

 

[jpxpro]

ive lost 6lbs this week, eating healthy around 2000 calories a day but playing golf 6 of the last 7 days, not doing much else in terms of exercise. app i used suggests around 800 calories for a 4 hour round which i recon is pretty close to reality.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I'm not bothered and play for fun, not to get fit. How many calories I'm burning is the furthest thing from my mind in the middle of a monthly medal. I do think the figure given by the PP in the OP is wildly inaccurate though

 

[JT77]

I have to agree with homer about my level of care on calorific loss over the course of a round but I find it amusing the way people question things.
For me, I'm more likely to believe a scientific trial than some one on a forum going 'nah that's not right, I think it's more like this '

 

[AmandaJR]

I have to agree with homer about my level of care on calorific loss over the course of a round but I find it amusing the way people question things.
For me, I'm more likely to believe a scientific trial than some one on a forum going 'nah that's not right, I think it's more like this '

Do you have a link to the scientific trial and its protocols?

 

[JT77]

I posted one earlier Amanda, I will look for the reebok one now

http://www.golfdigest.com/blogs/the-loop/2014/04/do-the-walk-of-life.html

That's the golf digest bit on it.

As an aside I assume u have scientific proof it is 500/600 calories

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903EFDC153EF931A3575BC0A9669D8B63

http://www.landrumgolf.com/fw/main/health-benefits-of-golf-1603.html

 

[Val]

Do calories burned change if you carry a provisional all the time in your pocket and does it make provisions for carrying more than 2 ball marker?

 

[North Mimms]

I have to agree with homer about my level of care on calorific loss over the course of a round but I find it amusing the way people question things.
For me, I'm more likely to believe a scientific trial than some one on a forum going 'nah that's not right, I think it's more like this '

But it's not surprising that people question it, considering various fitness apps and calculators come up with wildly different figures.

 

[JT77]

I don't disagree. I just find it amusing that people are more inclined to guess than believe studies. I get it though as I myself do to. I also question my range finder distances too. It's just human traits I guess.

 

[AmandaJR]

Only study I have access to is on my own body and if those numbers were accurate I'd have wasted away by now...I'm on the lean side but playing golf 6 times a week isn't the major factor in that. A careful diet plus cardio and weights regimes (plus golf) all add to the mix.

I think the calories that would have been burned anyhow are included and shouldn't be if people are using the data regarding calories burned to build a deficit into their lives and lose weight.

For me golf really isn't very much more physical an endeavour than walking the same distance without hitting balls - extra time on my feet for sure but that's about it.

 

[shortstuff]

ive lost 6lbs this week, eating healthy around 2000 calories a day but playing golf 6 of the last 7 days, not doing much else in terms of exercise. app i used suggests around 800 calories for a 4 hour round which i recon is pretty close to reality.

I think this figure is about right. Jogging I burn 600 cals in an hour. Walking is 300. So 4 hours of walking would be 1200 cals but on a typical round you are only walking for about 50% of the time. That brings it back to 600. Add another 200 for the heavy bag and shuffling about on the greens and that brings you up to 800. I don't care how these scientists think they have measured it, it's never going to be as high as 1200 - 1500 calories because of the standing around / waiting that's involved in every round.

 

[Val]

I think this figure is about right. Jogging I burn 600 cals in an hour. Walking is 300. So 4 hours of walking would be 1200 cals but on a typical round you are only walking for about 50% of the time. That brings it back to 600. Add another 200 for the heavy bag and shuffling about on the greens and that brings you up to 800. I don't care how these scientists think they have measured it, it's never going to be as high as 1200 - 1500 calories because of the standing around / waiting that's involved in every round.

:rofl:

Thats almost as bad as saying I don't care what the doctor says is wrong with me, he's wrong.

 

[Slab]

I've seen many different guesstimates and some 'scientific stuff' from a few hundred calories to a few thou (I'd suggest towards the lower end of the range but that's just my guess) but I think I'd take it all with a pinch of salt. As an activity its clearly not going to lose you weight and if you're lucky will negate the calories in the pint or two you down afterwards

As was pointed out to me last week, the easiest calorie to get rid of is the one you don't eat



(I'm on day 6 of my 40 days of hell)

 

[Driverkilledabirdie]

Don't be forgetting those golfers who spend bit of time in the rough floating about the rough looking for that ball that got away. (Extra distance walked so to speak?)

 

[delc]

Don't be forgetting those golfers who spend bit of time in the rough floating about the rough looking for that ball that got away. (Extra distance walked so to speak?)

Our course is 6350 yards long off the white tees, which is about 3.6 miles. I have an odometer function in my GPS watch which shows that I actually walk about 5.5 miles during a round, and I am a reasonably straight hitter. We do have a few long walks between holes though.

 

[freddielong]

I am guessing the main confusion seems to be due the amount of calories you would use anyway just being alive your basel metabolic rate and whether the calories are extra to that or inclusive.

 

[North Mimms]

I am guessing the main confusion seems to be due the amount of calories you would use anyway just being alive your basel metabolic rate and whether the calories are extra to that or inclusive.

It all comes down to me taking in more calories than I expend!