Energy Expenditure of Collegiate Golfers in a Competitive Setting

Abstract

Collegiate golf is physically demanding; however, little research has been done to establish the energy expenditure (EE) and metabolic demand on a golfer during competition. With advances in wearable technology, it has become easier to gain knowledge on physical activities outside the lab. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the amount of EE a collegiate golfer expends during a competitive golf tournament. METHODS: Eight NCAA-caliber golfers (4 males; 4 females) participated (Age: 19.3 ± 2.0 years; WT: 149.5 ± 13.4 pounds; Bag WT: 22.3 ± 2.0 pounds; Bag Wt./Body Wt.: 15.0 ± 1.8%; HT: 67.7 ± 3.6 inches;% Body Fat: 20.0 ± 7.3%). One VO2max and two randomly ordered 6-minute steady-state walk (6MW) tests were performed. One 6MW was completed with a weight vest simulating each golfer’s bag weight, and the other was completed without the vest. RESULTS: Phase 1, males had a lower% BF (p=0.03), higher FFW (p=0.03), VO2max (p=0.02), max heart rate (p=0.04), max RER (p=0.03), and max VE (p=0.02) compared to females. Looking at caloric expenditure during all 6MW tests, the Garmin VivoactiveHR™ overestimated calories expended compared to the metabolic cart kcals (+22.4%; p=0.01). For the 6MW without the bag, stepwise regression showed in order of importance heart rate, distance covered, and step count entered the equation (r-squared = 0.966, p=0.0021). Phase 2, females had higher scores (females: 87.5 ± 6.43 strokes; males: 76.75 ± 4.65 strokes), walked a greater distance (females: 7.43 ± 0.23 miles; males: 7.37 ± 0.18 miles), took longer to complete the golf rounds (females: 282:42 ± 37:16 minutes; males: 266:05 ± 11:10 minutes), and had a greater average HR (females: 121.99 ± 15.26 bpm; males: 111.00 ± 4.31 bpm). The Garmin VivoactiveHR™ underestimated the female golfers’ kcal expenditure by 6.22% compared to the metabolic predicted kcals; however, the males experienced an overestimation of 5.3% by the Garmin VivoactiveHR™. The stepwise regression conducted on the golf tournament data indicated that calories/hour (p=0.00) and time (p=0.00) affected Garmin VivoactiveHR™ kcal expenditure the most. CONCLUSION: The Garmin VivoactiveHR™ was unable to accurately estimate caloric expenditure during the in-lab and golf tournament testing.