According to River Edge Golf Bend, the average age of golfers in the United States is 54 years old. With a population of 55 million golfers around the world, it is no doubt that there are health benefits for golfers who play golf on a regular basis. This sport that is known as a gentleman’s game is played on an outdoor course that is covered with different cuts of grass ranging from 30 to 200 acres.
This means you will be spending a lot of time outdoors. In the digital age, having an outdoor activity will definitely benefit your health. Here are the 10 health benefits of golf that we believe you will have by playing the sport.
10 health benefits of golf
Keep reading to find out health benefits of golf.
Live longer
After pointing out all the 9 health benefits above, this will definitely make you live a much healthier life physically and also mentally. Frequently playing golf increases your life expectancy by 7 years! That’s an additional 2,555 rounds of 18 holes golf that you can play!
Good for your heart
Studies have shown that walking an average of 2.5 hours per day can help reduce the risk of heart attacks by 30-40 percent. In an average round of 18-hole golf, players walk a total of over 10000 steps, which equates to roughly 8km and about 2 hours of walking depending on your stride and speed. All the more reasons to quit that gym membership and play golf every day.
Exercise
Walk a full-length 18 holes of golf can help you burn 1,200 calories, which allows you to stay fit and healthy. A golf swing is a full-body workout. Major muscle groups like your arms, legs, back, abdomen, chest, and shoulders are all engaged during a golf swing.
An average golf hole is around 300 to 400 meters. The incline and declining slope terrain of all golf courses will definitely burn that high calories cereal you had this morning after your first hole.
Low Risk Sport
Golf is widely recognized as a low-risk sport compared to many other sports. There’s less stress on the joints as the swings can be adjusted accordingly to each player.
The games can be played at your own pace and for longer periods of time, which is a unique characteristic of golf. The chances of a sports injury are definitely lower in comparisons to other sports like Basketball or Badminton.
Reduces Stress and Anxiety
Golf is an open-air sport that is surrounded by nature. With plenty of access to fresh air and Vitamin D, endorphin and serotonin levels are improved significantly, which helps with reducing stress and anxiety while also improving mood.
The pleasing greenery and fresh air also calm the mind which helps with focus and mental relaxation. As golf is a game where you are usually battling against yourself, it can be therapeutic to train your mind to relax and not to worry about work, only your golf game matters right now.
Stimulates the Brain
The brain is a muscle, and like all the muscles that we have on our belly, needs to exercise as well to have the 6 pax that your wife/ husband would be very happy to see. Playing golf helps you to maintain mental alertness in the form of weighing risk to reward in each shot, tallying your scores, and also not to mention the psychological warfare between you and your golf mates when there are bets being made.
It is also a sport that is difficult to master. Ask any professional and they’ll continuously be looking for ways to improve their game. All this mental exercise increases blood flow to the brain, increasing nerve cell connections, and improving memory as well in the process.
Improves your vision
A golf ball can travel up to 340 kilometers per hour. That’s faster than that Ferrari that you’ve dreamt about driving one day. Not to mention, when you tee off, it is important that you track your ball with your eyes to locate the landing area. It is also to admire your perfect tee shot as you trace it landing on the fairway.
This requires precision eye tracking and focus, which takes time and practice to improve. This can also help you locate the flag position on the green 150 meters away where you will be able to aim and hit a perfect approach shot.
Socializing
Other than the physical benefits of golf, it is a very good place for socializing. Golf is commonly portrayed in the media that if you are a lawyer, banker, or insurance agent, you will need to learn to play golf to find clients or have business meetings on the golf course. It may be very stereotypical, however, the nature of golf takes a long time to complete and this usually gives you a great opportunity to socialize with a potential client or improve your current relationship with your client.
Golf is also a sport that makes it easy to meet new people. As humans are social creatures, we love to mix around and meet new people to create new friendships.
Helps You Sleep Better
Golf can be a healthy remedy for those suffering from insomnia. Playing golf on a regular basis creates a healthy routine. Golf is the only sport that usually takes around 4 hours to complete and you have the option to walk instead of having to drive the buggy.
This will provide your body with a good amount of exercise and your body will be able to better regulate its sleep cycle, giving you better quality sleep, and improving your focus and daily functions. You can say goodbye to all those sleepy meetings and become more focused at work.
Strengthen your bladder
It is hard to believe that playing golf can help strengthen your bladder. However, bare with our unorthodox thinking, when you are out on the course, playing a round of golf usually takes around 4 hours and there aren’t many opportunities for bathroom breaks as there are only several golf huts spread out around any golf course.
This trains your bladder to be stronger and increases the capacity for you to finish your next few holes only to arrive at the next golf hut where you can relieve your bladder. The “crouching maneuver hidden bladder” can definitely improve your bladder capacity and minimize your toilet frequency on the golf course.
Summary of benefits of playing golf
This rounds up our list of the 10 great health benefits of playing golf.
So what are you waiting for! Don’t think too much about starting golf, just do it. If you are passionate about golf then you should give it a try. Starting anything new is always scary but the ending may be worth it.
If you’re keen to take the first step, you can give our article a read- Best Ever Golf Tips for beginners, or if you're looking forward to improving your flexibility while playing golf you can read our article- Golf Stretches and Flexibility Exercises to Improve your Game!!!
If you are in Malaysia you can join the group lessons on Deemples. Come alone, come with friends, it doesn’t matter, Coaches will make sure that you have a good time!
Get Deemples from the App Store, Google Play, or Huawei App Gallery & learn your first swing with the best coaches!!!
Golf more & stay healthy!😀
