Golfing with Tennis Elbow

Several years ago I was told by an orthopedic surgeon who happens to play a lot of golf (I know - they all do) that it results from trying to "muscle the ball". He suggested to focus on more relaxed muscles during a swing and more stretching for warm up. I now spend a lot of time at the gym working on "father time" and do a bunch of stretching and rotational exercises related to golf twice a week. It works.
Now, if I could just find an exercise that can help me hit the sweet spot more consistently!

I had the same problem. My pro told me that I was making contact with the ground with my trail arm bent. I started extended my right arm at contact and the pain went away after a few weeks.

I also have had pain in my trail elbow for the last couple years, 40 years old so getting there in terms of age but not there yet. Swing mechanics can certainly play a role, and since I have a steep angle of attack anyway this can work against me for ground first impact. One change I did make is switching to graphite shafts in my irons. I was fitted for the 2025 T150/250 combo and I will say it made an almost instant impact for the better. Graphite shafts in irons these days are much farther along than a decade ago and I would argue are not only for senior golfers. For instance I am gaming the MMT TX 105 and I love them and the weight, while lighter, is still close to the AMT Black S300 I moved out of. Graphite absorbs vibration much better than steel, and you may pick up some club head speed along the way as well. Also, I make it a point to stretch before rounds and range sessions, that helps. My elbow discomfort has reduced substantially.

***Note - I am not a medical professional, but rather a fitness enthusiast. Discuss these items with a medical professional before adopting them, or do so at your own risk***

This episode discusses lateral/medial epicondylitis (tennis/golf elbow). I have had pretty bad epicondylitis from beating balls off a poorly padded mat or firm turf and used this protocol to rehab myself back to health. It took about 4-6 weeks of doing this every other day, but I did see significant reduction in pain and improvement in the range of motion within two weeks after putting the theory into practice.

open.spotify.com/.../6q4npQVx4DGIR5Ag2IxOHi

I had the same issue.I continued to play with it and it eventually went away. I did a couple things during that time that helped; I iced the elbow before and after every round,I also used a velcro pad/brace that I secured on the forearm, just below the elbow and I focused on lightening the grip with my right hand.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Going through this myself - tennis elbow one side, golfer's elbow the other. Probably came up from hitting a lit of balls on mats. That being said it is getting better.
Every morning I use a scraping blade on both elbows with some anti inflammatory cream. At first the pain is excruciating however it's been two weeks now and it is uncomfortable but tolerable and is working. I also do a lot of rehab working on my entire body (broken faaaaaaar too many things) and have started with some forearm/hand work in the gym. I'm coming up on my mid 50's with high clubhead speed so that doesn't help. While sitting and working at my desk I try to massage it periodically as well.

Been dealing with the same issue in my right, trail arm, all summer long. Had to take about 5 weeks off just to let it ease up. Two cortisone shots within a 5 month period. Good luck!

I don’t suffer myself but a couple guys I play with do and both swear by a compression strap from Amazon that is fairly cheap

I have this issue with my left elbow. maybe i should get a compression strap or something to help.

Dealt with this for the first time this summer after hitting 1400 range balls with my son and his friend.... forearm strap helped. biggest thing was alternating heat and ice back and forth 3+ times a day. It was a pain but a week later it was 95% gone.

Theraband flexbar! Order one on amazon and look it up on YouTube. I do it before every round and if I can, every day. It’s simple and amazing. Only takes a few minutes.

I am dealing with this now. But my TE is on my left arm. I can actually play and it’s not at all painful during my round or even during practice. It’s after the round or practice is done. I get pain in my elbow and my arm experiences a dull ache down my forearm with a bit of numbness into my fingers. I bought a Theraice sleeve and taken Alieve with either Lidocaine patches or balm. Anytime I bend my elbow to touch my face, I get a sharp pain and it feels like my medial tendon is coming apart. I haven’t played or practiced in about 3 weeks. If it doesn’t get better in 3 more I’m going to visit an orthopedic doctor.

It's always on the trailing arm for whatever reason. I had a bout of it once, bought one of those compression straps and that helped. No clue what caused it and why I've only had it once (albeit it lasted for a week, this was a couple/few years back). I know I'm not getting any younger and wholly unsure what caused it. Been golfing for almost 50 years and my swing hasn't changed...

I had this problem many years ago in both arms (what caused it is another longer story). It actually was bad enough that I had to take a month off of golf, couldn't hold a club or swing. Once I was able to start swinging again, still with some pain, I had to play with the standard tennis elbow brace you can pick up at most drug stores or Amazon.
Listen to your body and don't push it. Good luck

Have you been hitting balls on a mat at home?
Some have caused this problem

Don't let it go too far, if the pain persists, get it fixed ASAP. The longer you prolong it, the more expensive it gets. If the first cortisone shot doesn't get it, get the MRI done. I had the UCL done a few years ago, it was rough, no problems since.

Having the same problem, hitting the ball in the sweetspot definitely helps, if only I could…
Other than medical treatment, slightly thicker grips and gripping lighten helps a little.

I have had both Tennis elbow and Golfers Elbow on both arms from playing both sports. The severity can vary a lot and just resting doesn't usually help. Tennis elbow is worse in my opinion as it doesn't just affect playing golf but everyday life from lifting things to even how you sleep. Several responses have addressed Cortisone shots but that doesn't solve or heal the issue and the pain will still be there once the shot wears off. Any type of surgery would be a last resort for a chronic condition only. Hitting off mats is definitely a potential cause because of the shock that goes up the arm and it's not something you "feel" happen like pulling a muscle or other type of injury. You wake up one day and it's just "there". It's also difficult to know how long it will take to heal as you don't typically notice a lot of improvement. I also find that it disappears just as it showed up, one day you just don't have the pain anymore. I have listed below the specific steps I have taken as I find that what works will vary by individual so throwing the kitchen sink at it is the best approach.

1. ICE, ICE, ICE!!! I was icing it 3x/day and as it is a difficult area to really get covered, I found that getting a small plastic basin that you can fill up with water, sit on the ground and lower the entire elbow into works best. Here is the key, using ice from your refrigerator melts too quickly and it will get quite painful after a few minutes. Take a couple of small tupperware containers and fill them up and freeze them. Put those into the water and sit on the ground with your elbow entirely immersed for 20 minutes per session. The larger chunks of ice melt slower so it will never get too cold and painful where you will want to stop.

2. Heat and Massage - One of the reasons it takes a long time to heal is because of how little blood flow gets to that area. Using heat (tiger balm, heating pads, light massage, etc) stimulates blood flow and assists with healing.

3. Exercising the area - Lifting even light weights or objects (coffee cup) can be excruciating. To get the area to be stimulated and heal faster, get a Hand Grip Strengthener that is not too stiff (you can also get a squeeze ball or something similar) and do 3 sets of 50 several times per day. Squeezing shouldn't hurt and this does exercise the area and assist with healing.

4. Acupuncture - This also helps stimulate blood flow and healing.

5. Sleeping position - This cannot be overstated, sleeping with the arm that has tennis elbow will be less painful when it is either bent or straight (at least for side sleepers). Whichever way is less painful when you wake up is the way you should sleep until it goes away.

As frustrating as this injury can be, I cannot stress enough how important it is to actually allow it to heal and not just mask the pain. Braces and shots can allow you to play golf with less pain in the short term but you risk the injury becoming chronic and dealing with it for potentially the rest of your life. Best of luck and I hope these tips help you recover as quickly as possible.