Golf as exercise?
That elitist sport for retiring and aging baby boomers? Where's the exercise? With caddies toting their bags of irons and putters or golf-carting manicured rolling hills from hole to tee, in between the swings and the strainful squats to read to green. Do they really have to squat?

Well, let's be fair. Some of them do walk, all the 18 holes!

But how much walking is that? Does it total the 10,000 steps a day that was recommended as part of a general physical activity program?

The good news. . . for the walkers. A study of 42 healthy volunteers, 12 men and 30 women, aged 30 to 80, showed that most subjects exceeded the 10,000 steps during a typical 18-hole round of golf. Despite the suggestion from previous research that questioned the intensity of golf in the context of exercise, the study indicated that golf contributes considerably to a daily program of physical activity.



Source
Samantha Kobriger, PT, Jay Smith MD
Mayo Clin Proc. Aug 2006;81 (8):1041-1043