**2. Golf injury incidence**

Increased participation, just short of a million people play golf twice a month in England for the past 5 years [6] has resulted in increased injury rates more

#### *Leading Wrist Injuries in a Golfing Population. Golf Swing Biomechanics a Significant Cause… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.96979*

frequently in elite golfers. [7] Annual Injury incidences of between 2 and 4% are reported among golfers. Put more simply a golfer can expect to sustain an injury for every 100 hours of golf participation with an overall incidence rate of injury of 15.8 injuries per 100 golfers and with a range of 0.36 to 0.60 injuries per 1,000 hours per person. 46.2% of injuries are reportedly sustained during the golf swing, and injury is most likely to occur at the point of ball impact (23.7%) [8]. Golf carries a significant injury rate with levels exceeding other non- contact sports. Perhaps golf is in fact a contact sport, with contact being made with turf and ball through a metal implement, frequently in a ferocious and repetitive manner.

There is a significant variation in the incidence and type of injury suffered by amateur or recreational golfers in comparison to their professional counterparts. In a review of over a thousand amateur golfers, the survey confirmed that more than 60% of amateur golfers sustained one or more golf related injuries over the course of their playing career. The injury rate was higher in the over 50 year old amateur with a 65% injury rate in comparison to the under 50 group, which had an injury incidence of 58% [9]. There was a slightly higher incidence of injury at 67.5% among single figure handicappers rather than their double-digit colleagues. A typical injury resulted in the amateur golfer missing five weeks of playing time [5–7].

More than 80% of professional golfers report a golf-related injury at some point in their career. It is estimated that between 10% and 33% of professional golfers are actually playing while they are carrying an injury during their professional career. Most professional golfers will experience 2 significant golf-related injuries during their career. Over a career, 9 weeks for professional men and 3 weeks for professional women are lost due to injury. On returning from injury more than 50% of professional golfers are compromised by their injury and often play through pain [10–12].

Recent research has indicated that general exercise has an injury rate of 5.3 per 1,000 persons, golf having a similar injury rate to rugby at 1.5 per 1000 persons [13]. The injury rate is significant but the over-arching benefits of playing golf outweigh the risks, particularly to physical and mental well-being [2, 3].
