I was playing golf with a friend recently who had been for a ‘boob lesson’ (I kid you not)! She’s got a lovely pair of double-D cup breasts, and quite frankly, they get in the way. So, she’s been having a series of golf swing lessons with a coach who has been trying to address her rather large problem.
Factors such as how to grip the club, where to position her boobs, whether her arms should hang underneath, above, to the side, or just squeeze them in…you name it, she’s tried it. They also affect her balance and ability to make a full backswing turn. Put simply, those big breasts of hers just get in the way!
One of my mum’s best golfing friends always used to make me laugh with her jokes about her “assets”, saying things like “it’s going to be a boobs up day today,” or that her coach told her to “turn her boobs to the target.”
Whatever way we look at it, women have a huge genetic hurdle to overcome, compared to our male counterparts, when it comes to the golf swing. Can you imagine Rory McIlroy being able to swing the golf club at 130mph with his big torso twist, along with a big pair of breasts whipping around in front of him?!
I fall into the flat-chested camp. I suppose I could be classified as one of the lucky female golfers who don’t really have to deal with this issue, as I’ve got small breasts that don’t get in the way. But, I can honestly say, regardless of their size, I’ve never had a golf lesson where boobs have ever been addressed. I genuinely feel sorry for the women starting out in golf with large breasts and a coach that is either too embarrassed to talk about the issue or just doesn’t even take them into account.
I blame the media and society for sensationalising the female chest and making breasts an object of sexual desire, rather than looking at them from the purely functionality standpoint of why women actually have them, to breastfeed our children. I recall the days of breastfeeding and having to deal with swollen, leaking boobs and breast pads inside my bra on the golf course when my son was a baby, but that’s a whole other subject that’s often ignored!
The fascinating thing about breasts in golf is how little they are mentioned. It is a subject that Lewis Clarke, Professional Golfers Association sports science lecturer, has been heavily involved in. As the biomechanical expert for the PGA, and also a student at the University of Portsmouth, Clarke was shocked to discover how little literature there was on the subject of female breast health and their support in golf, so he embarked on a doctorate research study alongside his Professor, Joanna Wakefield-Scurr at Portsmouth University, whose department has done extensive research into breast support in other sports.
“I was introduced to the research group in breast health at the University of Portsmouth by professor Joanna Wakefield-Scurr,” explains Clarke. “She and I spent hours combining our expertise, mine in golf biomechanics, hers in breast health, and saw an opportunity to do further research, so I started a professional doctorate to explore female golf biomechanics in further detail.”
Clarke started by exploring the current evidence and research on bras and breasts for golfers but he quickly discovered that literature on the subject was shamefully limited.
“We know a lot about breasts and bras for other sports, but no research had been conducted with female golfers before,” explains Professor University Joanna Wakefield-Scurr. “By not wearing a correctly fitted bra women are at risk of breast tissue damage, stretch marks and worse.”
With a clear gap in the knowledge bank of female breasts and their effect on golf performance identified, Clarke has been surveying tour professionals on bra usage and their sentiments towards breasts in the golf swing.
At the start of this year he was excited to welcome aboard both the Ladies European Tour and The R&A as official collaborators to his project. As a collective, they worked together throughout the 2024 tour season, to help him conduct a scoping review of the area of breast health in golf. This involved conducting a survey to assess the players perception and responses to bra issues in golf. The next stage of the project was to provide education to players and staff at events across the LET, the LPGA and Access series. Over 170 players were surveyed.
“We have been at multiple tour events this year conducting educational workshops for players and practitioners such as tour physios, S&C coaches, masseuses and so on,” explains Clarke. Partnering with adidas, the research team also provided bra fittings and a free sports bra to every player fitted, with 85 players fitted and prescribed the correct sports bra.
I will be the first to admit that I really don’t put any thought into what bra I wear for golf. I simply choose one that is comfortable, but having my eyes opened by Clarke’s research study I am now questioning why I don’t wear a sports bra? I would never dream of going to the gym to work out wearing a traditional underwired bra, or to play a high impact game like tennis. Why do I wear a normal high street bra to play golf? I guess because I don’t treat it like an athletic sport. But unknowingly, I am probably doing my body and my breasts harm by not supporting them appropriately.
The golf swing is an athletic move and I’m ashamed to say I have neglected to consider this, up until now, when I go to the wardrobe and select my underwear for a game. I’m not alone. Although still only midway through his study, there have already been some key trends identified by Clarke’s research. The most startling, perhaps, is in the high number of female professionals who, like me, do not wear a sports bra to play golf.
“One of the key findings is that golfers' awareness and knowledge of breasts and bras is very limited,” Lewis admits. “Extremely poor, compared to other sports in fact. Also, golfers uptake in sports bra usage is significantly lower than other sporting activities.”
Yet the tour players who were screened by the breast health team did perceive that the breast and bra have an influence on their technique and performance, particularly in terms of their set-up fundamentals and the backswing move.
“Getting fitted for a suitable sports bra was unanimously well-received,” Clarke added.
The next stage of his research is to examine in much greater detail the effects on technique and performance that wearing varying sporting bras might have.
“We hope to use the information gained over the course of my professional doctorate to help not only female golfers, but also provide resources for PGA professionals to help them understand the unique challenges female golfers face with breasts and bras,” Clarke concludes.
I will certainly be taking breast health more seriously by choosing a sports bra for my games of golf moving forward.
