Fitness Friday: Does compression clothing make sense for golfers? | Golf News and Tour Information [Video]

Compression clothing is among the fastest-growing athletic-gear genre. Whether it’s shirts, shorts, leggings or sleeves for elbows or calves, there is a huge demand in skin-tight products that claims to improve performance, prevent injuries and aid in the recovery of soft-tissue damage. Persistence Market Research estimates that the compression-therapy industry will be valued at $3.2 billion by the end of the decade, growing at annual rate of 5 percent.

While many golfers have taken to wearing it, such as Hunter Mahan (left in the photo above) at the 2014 Ryder Cup, several studies examining the beneficial claims made of compression wear by manufacturers over the past 15 years have been inconclusive. If you’re a golfer, here’s what you need to know:

There is only anecdotal evidence that golfers will play better if they wear compression clothing. It could provide a psychological boost to golfers, but every independent study done that looked at benefits …