Patients who suffer from golfer's elbow are often involved with racquet sports or golf. As with tennis elbow it may be as a result of overuse of the medial forearm muscles (common flexors of the wrist and fingers) and/or traumatizing the elbow by hitting several golf shots using a "poor" swing technique or repeatedly hitting the turf (especially hard ones).

Patients usually complain of pain at the inner aspect of the elbow and the inability to use the arm and hand. Symptoms can be usually reproduced with resisted finger and wrist flexion.

The condition is called Golfer's Elbow because in making a golf swing this tendon is stressed, especially if a non-overlapping (baseball style) grip is used; many people, however, who develop the condition have never handled a golf club. It is also sometimes called Pitcher's Elbow due to the same tendon being stressed by the throwing of objects such as a baseball, but this usage is much less frequent.