Return-to-Golf Following Spine Surgery

Introduction: Little information exists in the literature on when and how to safely return golfers to play following a spinal operation. The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of when players are able to return to golf across various levels following spine surgery. Secondarily, the data obtained in this study can help establish benchmarks related to ability to return to golf after these procedures.

Methods: All patients between 18-89 years old that played at least one 18-hole round of golf per year and underwent a cervical or lumbar laminectomy or microdiscectomy, 1-level lumbar fusion, cervical disc replacement, or anterior cervical discectomy and fusion between January 2019 and July 2023 were eligible for this study. They completed a questionnaire, distributed via email, that retrospectively assessed varying aspects of the patient’s golf game before and after their operation.

Results: To date, 8 patients have completed the study. The average age of the enrollees was 64.25 years (range, 51-78). 7 were males and 1 was a female. All respondents completed the survey 12 or more months post-operation. 75% (n=6) of golfers returned to golfing 9 holes on average between 5-7 months post-operation and 62.5% (n=5) of golfers returned to golfing 18 holes on average 5.8-7.8 months post-operation. 25% (n=2) of participants who were greater than 12 months post-operation had not returned to golfing on a course at all. Table 1 illustrates the average changes in club distances over time. General trends indicate a near complete recovery of ability to hit the golf ball by 12+ months post-operation, however, there is no statistically significant difference between any of the average distances when comparing pre-injury to both post-operation time points.

Conclusion : Early results show that the majority of golfers who undergo a spinal operation return to playing 18 holes between 5.8-7.8 months and return to near pre-injury levels of club distance performance at 12+ months post-operation. More time and data collection within this investigation will help better discern whether the timing of this return to play is safe and how these golf-game metrics differ based on type of spinal operation the golfer had.