On a golf warm up in cold weather, the evidence is split in two. For performance, a 2019 systematic review in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found dynamic warm-ups tended to help, while static stretching "was inferior to other methods and potentially detrimental." For injury, the same review found the evidence mixed. On cold specifically, a 2021 sports review says athletes in the cold need warm-ups that raise muscle temperature and clothing that holds it. We found no study testing golf warm-ups in cold weather.
So the "stretching thing" is partly real and partly folklore, and the honest version needs both halves. This page separates them, notes where cold becomes a health issue rather than a performance one, and does not prescribe a routine.
When Cold Is a Health Question, Not a Golf One
Before any warm-up discussion, the escalation, because cold weather golf carries a real, if uncommon, medical risk.
The CDC's winter weather prevention page (dated August 25, 2026, read September 28, 2026) lists warning signs of hypothermia in adults as "shivering, exhaustion or feeling very tired, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech, drowsiness." It lists redness or pain in any skin area as a possible first sign of frostbite, followed by white or grayish-yellow skin, skin that feels unusually firm or waxy, and numbness. The CDC says that if a person's temperature is below 95 degrees, they need medical attention immediately.
Some of those signs, fumbling hands and shivering among them, are easy to dismiss on a cold course as just "being cold." The CDC's list is the reason not to. The same page advises layers of loose-fitting clothing, a hat, gloves and a water-resistant coat for winter outdoor time.
If you have a heart or circulation condition, or any condition that cold affects, whether cold-weather golf suits you is a question for your own doctor, not for a golf article.
Golf Warm Up in Cold Weather: The Performance Evidence
The strongest golf-specific evidence is a systematic review by Ehlert and Wilson, "A Systematic Review of Golf Warm-ups: Behaviors, Injury, and Performance," published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research in 2019 (volume 33, issue 12). It pulled together 23 studies on warming up before golf.
Its key finding on performance: "Dynamic warm-ups and those with resistance exercise tended to enhance measures of performance, whereas static stretching was inferior to other methods and potentially detrimental to performance."
What the terms mean:
- Static stretching is holding a stretched position for a period, such as holding a hamstring stretch.
- Dynamic warm-ups are movement-based: swinging, rotating, stepping and lunging through a range of motion rather than holding it.
- Resistance exercise in this context means light loading, for example with bands.
The review also found that many golfers either do not warm up regularly or warm up only briefly. That matters for interpreting the question. For many golfers, the realistic choice is not dynamic vs static, it is some warm-up vs none.
What "performance" means here
The outcomes studied were things like clubhead speed, ball speed, distance, accuracy and handicap. These are not injury outcomes. A finding that static stretching may reduce immediate clubhead speed is a performance finding, and it says nothing on its own about whether static stretching is harmful to a body.
The Injury Evidence: Weaker Than the Advice Suggests
This is the part most warm-up articles skip. The Ehlert and Wilson review found the evidence connecting golfers' warm-up behaviors to golf injury was mixed. Some observational studies pointed one way, some another, and the review did not find the kind of consistent result that would support a firm claim that a particular golf warm-up prevents injury.
That is not the same as saying warm-ups do nothing. It means the golf-specific studies have not settled the question. The widespread advice to warm up before golf rests partly on reasonable inference from other sports, and partly on the performance evidence above, more than on golf injury trials.
What Cold Adds: The Muscle Temperature Argument
Cold is where general sports science has more to say than golf science does.
A 2021 review by Gatterer and colleagues, "Practicing Sport in Cold Environments: Practical Recommendations to Improve Sport Performance and Reduce Negative Health Outcomes," published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health and available as full text on PubMed Central (read September 28, 2026), makes three points relevant to golfers:
- Cold can impair function, even when it is only mild. The authors report that "performance decrement already appeared at relatively mild cooling" in the studies they reviewed.
- Balance and coordination are affected. They note that "exposure to cold environments may negatively affect postural control and dynamic balance," with coordination especially vulnerable in more complex movements.
- Warm-up and clothing work together. The review states that "cold weather athletes must employ warm-up strategies which not only maintain initial muscle temperature but also increase muscle temperature, if the full benefit of the warm-up is to be realized," and that athletes "should consider adequate clothing during the entire time of exposure (i.e., during exercise as well as during breaks)."
On injury, the review is cautious. It says "cold-related decrements in function might influence risk of injury," and points to research in recreational alpine skiers. "Might" is the operative word. It is a plausible link, not a golf finding.
Why the breaks matter in golf
The clothing-during-breaks point fits golf unusually well. A round is mostly standing and walking, with brief bursts of maximal effort. The review's logic is that muscle temperature raised by a warm-up is only useful if it is kept, and a long wait on a cold tee box, or a cart ride between shots, is exactly the kind of break it is describing.
Evidence vs Folklore: A Summary
| Claim you will hear | What the sources we read support |
|---|---|
| Dynamic warm-ups help golf performance | Supported: Ehlert and Wilson, 2019 |
| Static stretching before golf can reduce performance | Supported as "potentially detrimental": Ehlert and Wilson, 2019 |
| A golf warm-up prevents injury | Not established: the review found the injury evidence mixed |
| Cold impairs muscle function | Supported in general sport: Gatterer and colleagues, 2021 |
| Warm-ups matter more in the cold | Supported in general sport, not tested in golf |
| Staying dressed warmly between efforts matters | Supported in general sport: Gatterer and colleagues, 2021 |
| A specific cold-weather golf routine is proven | We found no study testing one |
What This Page Will Not Do
It will not give you a routine, a list of stretches, a number of minutes or a set of reps. The sources above describe categories of warm-up, not a prescription for your body, and no study we found tested a cold-weather golf routine. If you have back, shoulder, knee or other pain, or a condition that limits movement, a physical therapist or physician who knows your history is the right person to advise on how you warm up.
It also will not present a warm-up as treatment for existing pain. Pain that comes on during or after cold rounds is a reason to be assessed, not a reason to stretch harder.
Cold Weather and Your Equipment
Cold affects gear too, though that is a separate question from your body. Our guide to storing golf clubs in a cold garage covers what low temperatures do and do not do to clubs, and our checklist for putting golf away for winter covers grips, bags and other gear through the off-season.
FAQ
Is stretching before golf in cold weather a good idea?
The research distinguishes types. A 2019 systematic review found dynamic warm-ups tended to help golf performance, while static stretching was inferior and potentially detrimental to performance. A 2021 review on cold environments says warm-ups in the cold should raise muscle temperature, not just maintain it.
Does warming up prevent golf injuries?
It has not been established for golf. The 2019 systematic review by Ehlert and Wilson found the evidence linking golfers' warm-up habits to injury was mixed.
Is there a proven cold-weather golf warm-up routine?
We found no study that tested a golf warm-up routine in cold weather. The cold-weather evidence comes from general sports research.
What are the signs of hypothermia on the course?
The CDC lists shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech and drowsiness as warning signs in adults, and says a temperature below 95 degrees needs immediate medical attention.
Why does clothing matter between shots?
A 2021 review on sport in cold environments recommends adequate clothing during the entire exposure, including breaks, so that the muscle temperature gained from warming up is not lost.