Calories Burned Golfing Calculator

From a bird’s eye view, you wouldn’t think golf would be a high calorie-burning activity, however, you’d be surprised. After all, there’s quite a bit of walking in golf, not to mention the inclines and declines. 

Everybody burns calories differently and it’s dependent upon a host of variables. For the most part, though, it’s centered around weight. The average amount of calories you can expect to burn while working your way through 18 holes is 66 calories for every ten minutes.

Of course, if you choose to ride around in a golf cart throughout an entire 18-hole course, your calorie loss is going to be exponentially less than someone who walks the course. Walking is a major part of the sport and there’s no way around that, even with a golf cart.

There are a lot of positive side-effects when it comes to walking. Even if you aren’t doing anything else, like using your trusty 3-wood to drive a ball into the pond. According to Harvard Health Publishing, you’d be pretty surprised about the positive side effects. 

How Many Calories Do You Burn Golfing?

The average person can burn up to 450 calories per hour golfing. At the driving range, the number drops off a bit because you’re subtracting all of the walking, so it ends up at around 300 calories per hour. 

There’s a distinct difference between the driving range and an hour on the golf course, so much of it depends on what kind of golf you are playing and how your score weighs out on the MET calculator.

The MET calculator stands for “Metabolic Equivalents” and there is a set activity rating for just about every activity you can engage in, from standing up to playing tackle football, pretty much everything has a score. 

Miniature Golf	3 MET	215 Calories Per Hour
Playing Golf and Using A Cart	3.5 MET	251 Calories Per Hour
Playing Golf Without A Cart	4.3 MET	308 Calories Per Hour
Golfing in General	4.8 MET	344 Calories Per Hour
Golfing and Walking With No Caddy	5.4 MET	387 Calories Per Hour

The slightest differences in your game can equal a higher or lower calorie burn. It all just depends on what you do and, of course, how much you weigh. You can determine the number of calories you burn when you golf by using the above MET scores and inserting them into the following formula: (MET# x 3.5 x Your Weight in Kilograms) ÷ 200.

It’s easy to convert your body weight from pounds to kilograms when you know that one pound is equal to 0.454kgs.

Is Golf Good Exercise?

Since the vast majority of golfing involves walking, it’s an excellent way to exercise. The more science advances and studies the nature of exercise, the more discoveries are being made about the benefits of walking. 

Walking helps you increase your cardiovascular health by lowering blood pressure and increasing your lung capacity. You also improve muscle strength, balance, endurance, skeletal structure, and reduce body fat. 

Why Does Golf Burn So Many Calories?

There are two factors that burn so many calories by golfing: walking and the longevity of the sport. Walking has been discussed above as an outstanding health benefit and it also burns calories. 

Golf can be an incredibly long game, taking hours to play a full, 18-hole course. That’s more time walking, more time standing, more time pulling clubs, and more time swinging a golf club. 

All of that equates to losing up to 1,500 calories throughout the course of a five-hour game. Ask any golfer and they’ll be happy to tell you that it is very easy to have a five-hour game at a minimum.

How Many Calories Are Burned Playing 18-Holes Of Golf With A Cart?

The average weight of an adult male is 198lbs. The average weight of an adult female is 171lbs. Forgive us for rounding up both numbers to the nearest one. 

Using those numbers, we can calculate the total calories for 18-holes, at an average of five hours, while using the MET calculator for golfing with a cart. 

At 4.3 MET, a 198lb man would burn approximately 2,040 calories throughout a five-hour, 18-hole course. A 171lb woman would burn approximately 1,752 calories with everything the same.

Can I Lose Weight By Golfing Every Day?

Calorie loss and weight loss are two, very different things. Despite all of the outstanding benefits to your health that you derive from getting out, walking, and golfing, it’s very difficult to lose weight with any kind of exercise alone. 

There are 182 calories in two scrambled eggs. That’s if you had absolutely nothing else for breakfast, nothing to drink, and no snacks before hitting up the golf course. It would take over half an hour of playing golf without a cart to burn off those two scrambled eggs.

The absolute best way to lose weight is to do the things that you love, such as golf, that are healthy, get you out and about, and keep you on your feet, combined with a solid, healthy diet. Diet makes up 80% of weight loss. If golfing is your game, it will take care of the rest.