Breast and/or bra implications for women golfers: A systematic scoping review

Background: Golf is played recreationally and professionally by over 66 million people globally, with women reportedly constituting 23% of registered players. Despite growing interest in breast health research, the implications of breasts and bras for women golfers remain underexplored.

Objective: To map the current evidence on the implications associated with breasts and/or bras for women athletes and which of these issues may have application to women golfers.

Design: Scoping review.

Data Sources: Published and unpublished studies were identified through searches of electronic databases, grey literature and reference lists.

Review Methods: The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analysis extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. A comprehensive five-stage framework, including identification of research questions, study selection, and data charting, was employed. Data were extracted to create a descriptive analysis and a thematic summary.

Results and Discussion: The review identified 1624 studies, with 35 meeting the inclusion criteria. Thematic areas include breast movement and support, sports bra comfort and satisfaction, breast pain, bra fitting and education, and their influence on participation. Breast-related issues, such as movement, pain, and poorly fitting bras, were highlighted as potential barriers to performance and participation. With no evidence specific to golf, there is a clear need for further investigation of breast and bra implications for golfers.

Conclusions: This review highlights critical gaps in knowledge regarding breast and bra considerations for women golfers. Future research should address these gaps to inform sports bra design, optimise golfer performance, and support increased participation.