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. 2025 Nov;55(11):2789-2807.
doi: 10.1007/s40279-025-02297-0. Epub 2025 Aug 21.

Recovery for Professional and Elite Amateur Golfers: A Scoping Review of Evidence-Based Methods

Chris Bishop  1   2   3   4 , Jiaqing Xu  5 , Laura Wilson  5 , Graeme Close  6   7   8   9 , Margo Mountjoy  10   11 , David Dunne  7   12 , Daniel Coughlan  6   7   8   9   13 , Anthony Turner  5 , Andrew Murray  6   7   8   9
Affiliations

Recovery for Professional and Elite Amateur Golfers: A Scoping Review of Evidence-Based Methods

Chris Bishop et al. Sports Med. 2025 Nov.

Abstract

The lifestyle and athletic demands of a professional or elite amateur golfer are both physically and mentally challenging. Players need to withstand large forces during the swing, frequently travel between time zones, and often cycle through a variety of training and competition environments for large portions of the competitive season. Thus, with numerous factors contributing to physical and cognitive stress, optimising recovery for golfers is paramount. The primary objective of this scoping review was to evaluate different evidence-based recovery methods for professional and elite amateur golfers and assess where the current research gaps lie. A three-step search strategy identified relevant primary and secondary articles, in addition to the grey literature, using a total of five online databases (SPORTDiscus, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest Central and PubMed), which retrieved articles from January 2000 to May 2024. Data were extracted using a standardised tool to create a descriptive analysis and a thematic summary. Studies were included if they focused on nutritional and hydration methods, laboratory and controlled environment methods, sleep and jet leg management, independent methods or adjunct recovery methods, in relation to golf or other sporting populations. The initial search found 4862 relevant articles from the selected databases, with 39 studies meeting our criteria for the scoping review. Limited investigations have been conducted examining effective recovery methods for golfers. However, some preliminary evidence supports the use of targeted nutrition and hydration strategies, massage, and regular mobility and flexibility exercise. In addition, though, a more fundamental focus on sleep and jet lag management strategies is required, given the lifestyle challenges often faced by professional and elite amateur players. If golfers want to improve their chances of consistently competing at the highest level, strategies that focus on optimising recovery for superior health and well-being are essential for helping to sustain performance over time.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Funding: No funding was received for the preparation of this article. Conflicts of interest/competing interests: Four members of the author team (Andrew Murray, Daniel Coughlan, David Dunne and Graeme Close) undertake work (not employment), with a range of professional golf tours, players and tournaments. There is no financially related information to declare; however, these members of the team are in direct contact with organisations and players who may read this work. Chris Bishop, Jiaqing Xu, Laura Wilson and Anthony Turner have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this article. Ethics approval: Not applicable. Consent to participate: Not applicable. Consent for publication: Not applicable. Availability of data and material: Not applicable. Code availability: Not applicable. Authors’ contributions: CB and AM conceived the idea for this scoping review. CB and JX conducted the literature search. CB, JX, LW, AT and AM selected the articles for inclusion. CB wrote the original draft of this manuscript. All authors revised the original manuscript and actively contributed to writing particular sections within their area of expertise. All authors read and approved the final version.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Scoping review flow chart
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Taxonomy of research designs in the included literature
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Main themes emerging from this scoping review relating to recovery strategies for golfers
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Timeline of different performance recovery options for golfers on a given competition day. Note: Recovery strategies may be specific to each player's preferences and competition environment.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
A proposed recovery pyramid for golfers. The most important factors are at the bottom, with the size of the text in the pyramid signifying importance. IV intravenous
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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