Background: Golf is one of the most popular sports in the United States (US) and is played by participants of all ages and skill level. Given the popularity and sport-specific demands on the upper torso, golf poses a considerable risk for upper extremity (UE) injuries. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to (1) determine the incidence rate of UE golf injuries presenting to emergency departments (EDs) in the US, (2) determine the most commonly injured body parts and mechanisms of injury, and (3) compare current injury epidemiology with previous trends in the literature.

Hypothesis: Male sex, bimodal age extremes (young and elderly), and utilization of golf carts (vs walking) are associated with a higher incidence of golf-related UE injuries.

Study design: Descriptive epidemiology study.

Level of evidence: Level 3.

Methods: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) is a statistically validated injury surveillance system that collects data from ED visits as a representative probability sample of hospitals in the US. We queried the NEISS for the years 2011 to 2020 to examine the following variables for golf-related UE injuries: sociodemographic, diagnosis, body part, and mechanism of injury.

Results: From 2011 to 2020, there were a total of 1862 golf-related UE injuries presenting to participating EDs, which correlates to an estimated 70,868 total injuries. Overall, male golf players were disproportionately affected (69.2%) versus female golf players (30.8%) and the most commonly injured age groups were those aged >60 and 10 to 19 years. The most common injuries included fractures (26.8%), strains/sprains (23.4%), and soft tissue injuries (15.9%). The joints injured most frequently were the shoulder (24.8%), wrist (15.6%), and joints in the hand (12.0%). The most common mechanisms of injury were cart accidents (44.63%), falling/tripping (29.22%), and golf club swinging/mechanics (10.37%).

Conclusion: Golf-related UE injuries can be acute or due to chronic overuse. Male athletes >60 years of age were the population most commonly presenting to the ED with a golf-related injury. Further, the shoulder, forearm, and wrist were most commonly injured. These findings are consistent with previous epidemiological trends in the literature. Interventions to reduce the incidence of injury should be sport-specific and focus primarily on equipment and golf cart safety and swing modification to optimize the biomechanical function of the UEs.

Clinical relevance: Our findings indicate that golf-related injury prevention programs should target UE injuries, particularly among young (<19) and older (>60 years) golfers with poor swing mechanics.