When I reviewed the previous version of the Oura Ring back in 2021, some of the commenters didn’t think it was a golf product.
Here is one of the comments:
“I guess anything is ‘golf related’ if you try hard enough. Can we review the best felt tip markers to mark your ball with next?” (Pete)
In 2021, the dedicated wearable fitness tracker space (aka non-smart watch) was dominated by simple devices that were little more than fancy pedometers. In that context, I can see how Pete and other readers would be skeptical about fitness trackers being associated with golf.
(By the way, Pete, I am a huge fan of Sharpie Brush Tip permanent markers for marking my ball.)
Fast forward five years and fitness trackers are everywhere including golf. Rory McIlroy’s Augusta-green Whoop strap was on full display when he won the 2026 Masters.
This makes sense because professional and dedicated amateur golfers now train like elite athletes.
The days of golf training through extensive reps of Modelos and Marlboros are long gone.
Curious about the new Oura Ring 4?
There is a wonderful parallel between consumer awareness and advances in technology in the fitness wearable market.
More and more people are using wearable technology to track workouts and their general health. At the same time, the technology itself is advancing, delivering more reliable data and more sophisticated data analysis.
Yes, artificial intelligence is involved.
The Oura Ring 4 is the most advanced Oura wearable to date. The Oura Ceramic Ring is a more recent release but the electronics and sensors are the same as the Oura Ring 4.
Since my old ring was an Oura Ring 2, it seemed like a good time to see what had changed.
Oura Ring 2 versus Oura Ring 4
As it turned out, lots of things have changed since my Oura Ring 2 review. The basic premise of tracking your health data persists but the sensor array and data collected by the Our Ring 4 is well beyond that of the Oura Ring 2.
The expanded sensor array provides 18 different “Smart Sensor” measurement paths. This means there are options for the emitter to sensor pathways. As such, the ring can determine the most effective pathway for data collection at a given moment.
If nothing else, this consumes far less battery than firing all of the sensors at once. It also helps the data to stay consistent should you need to switch the ring to a different finger.
The scope of the sensing has expanded from being primarily a sleep measurement tool to a 24/7 fitness tracker. Heart data is much more sophisticated, now offering information about training zones as well as the typical heart rate and heart rate variability values.
The Oura Ring 4 is no longer something that just records data while you sleep.
The Oura Ring 4 Sleep/Readiness/Activity plan
The general data analysis plan for the Oura Ring 4 is not too different from the Oura Ring 2. The ring tracks your vitals while you sleep, makes an analysis of your current health situation and makes a suggestion about your activity level for the following day.
Most days, your standard sleep and recovery data will result in standard activity goals. However, if you had a great sleep with exceptional recovery values, then the ring will push you beyond your standard activity level.
If your data indicates a potential recovery issue, it will dial back the activity goal or even suggest a rest day when you turn off the activity tracking and just rest.
Over the past couple of months, the Oura Ring 4 was pretty spot on. Under times of high stress, which it also measures, the suggested rest days coincided with days when I knew I needed to take it easy.
There were some occasions when I felt the ring was being too protective and I had big activity days when it suggested rest. Mostly that was associated with spring allergies. Allergies were hammering my sinuses and the ring read my vitals as stressed.
The ring didn’t know that I could just hammer an antihistamine or three and still go play golf.
One final observation about the data. The longer you wear the ring, the more complex the profile it creates. After wearing an Oura Ring for a few weeks or months, the data becomes more meaningful. Outlier days become less significant and you start to see the reality of where you are now and where you can go.
(Also, how in the hell did I become a morning person?)
Daily Oura Ring 4 comfort at home and on the course
The Oura Ring 4 design is very comfortable. Although it is still bulkier than my wedding ring, the aerospace-titanium construction keeps the Oura Ring 4 feather-light. The interior of the ring is smooth. The sensor bumps of the Oura Ring 2 are gone. Instead, the sensors are integrated into the ring and flush with the inner surface.
For daily use, I wear the ring on my left index finger. I tried my right index finger but I kept hitting it on door handles.
By the way, wear the Oura fitting ring for a while before you order your permanent ring. Do all of the things that you would do with the ring on before making your final size decisions. You may not realize it but your fingers also swell and shrink during your day.
Pay attention to this and you should end up with the right size ring.
Seriously, if you are interested in becoming an Oura Ring user, wear the fitting ring for a few days. You may find that your finger and thus ring size fluctuates quite a bit.
Do all of your usual activities with the fitting ring. That way you can figure out if wearing the ring meshes with your activities or hinders them.
Oura Ring swings
Although I usually wear the Oura Ring 4 on my left index finger, I shift it to my right middle finger for golf. On the left hand, the ring interferes with my grip. On the right hand, I don’t even notice it.
I’ve played a dozen rounds with the ring on and my scores have improved. Maybe the ring forces me to have a softer grip with my right hand or maybe I just play better when the weather is warm.
Regardless, playing with the Oura Ring on does not negatively affect my scores.
Additionally, playing golf has not damaged the ring. Not yet, anyway. The titanium ring holds up well against the rubber grip. I have scratched the finish a bit here and there doing other things (shoveling four yards of gravel) but no golf related damage so far.
Oura Ring 4 versus Whoop
“Oura Ring 4 vs. Whoop” is a pretty frequent Google search string. Since I have both, I figured I should chime in on the comparison. I’m not sure I can definitively select the “better” unit but there are usages where one is better than the other.
For example, I think the Whoop strap is better at tracking real-time fitness data. The Whoop strap can pair directly to fitness equipment (like the Peloton bike) and act as a real-time heart rate monitor. The Oura Ring can measure heart rate as well but the ring does not have the hardware capability to pair with other devices. Basically, it’s too small to house the necessary electronics.
The Whoop strap also frees up your hands for whatever you want to do. Naturally, this will be the deciding factor for many. If you can’t get comfortable working out or playing golf with the Oura Ring on, you go with the strap.
Going the other direction, the size and weight of the Oura Ring makes it more comfortable to wear than the Whoop. You’ll forget you are wearing it.
At night, this was especially true for me. I don’t notice the Oura Ring when going to sleep. More than once, the Whoop strap made me think that I forgot to take off my watch.
I also prefer the way the Oura Ring app presents the data. Every recorded aspect is scored out of 100. For your activity goal, you are given a calorie target for the day. This is so much easier to understand than Whoop’s “Strain” activity target.
Walking three miles to burn about 300 calories makes more sense than achieving a 2.7 Strain score.
The Oura Ring also comes across as more concerned for my wellbeing than the Whoop. It suggests rest days, tells me my sleep and heart health are improving and, in general, focuses more on the overall health picture.
The Whoop is a little more like your gym buddy yelling at you to finish that last rep.
This is not a judgement, just an observation. Both fitness perspectives are helpful but probably match different types of users.
In my experience, the Oura Ring has a more chill vibe.
As for the price difference between the two, it is a bit of a wash. The Oura Ring is more expensive up front but the monthly subscription price is well below that of the Whoop. After a few years of use, it all ends up about the same.
Why have you made it this far?
If you are still reading this, I would ask you to reflect upon why. What are you searching for in a fitness tracker? Do you want to get fitter? Are you worried about a current or future health condition?
Something has motivated you to reach the end of the article.
I’m not sure any fitness tracker can cure anything but they can motivate you to take the necessary actions to improve.
Do you want to lose weight? Then hit your activity target and stop eating garbage. The second part of that statement is on you. The Oura Ring can’t make a donut healthy.
Are you concerned about your heart? The Oura Ring will monitor your heart, tracking trends in heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV). It won’t fix anything, though. If the Oura Ring reports that your heart age is above your actual age, you need to take the steps (literally) to correct that.
Good or bad, it is all about measuring and reporting data. What you do with that data is up to you.
If you don’t want to know that alcohol lowers your HRV by 10 percent, then maybe a fitness tracker is not for you.
However, if you want data you can then use to make a better, healthier version of yourself through diet and lifestyle changes, the Oura Ring will make an excellent coach.
Coach Oura will give it to you straight, identifying your areas needing improvement and then offering you suggestions on how to improve.
If following the data-driven advice improves your overall health and wellness, your golf game will improve as well. (Hear that, Pete?)
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Article Link: https://mygolfspy.com/we-tried-it/is-the-oura-ring-4-a-fit-for-golfers/