Recovery for professional and elite amateur golfers: a scoping review of evidence-based methods

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, optimizing recovery for golfers is paramount. The primary objective of this scoping review was to evaluate different evidenced-based recovery methods for professional and elite amateur golfers and assess where the current research gaps lie. A 3-step search strategy identified relevant primary and secondary articles, in addition to 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 are 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 wellbeing are essential for helping to sustain performance over time.

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