To Tee or Not to Tee

Bri Repetto

A sunny day with perfect temperatures, low wind and a bunch of friends calls for time in the outdoors. I’m not talking about hiking or fishing, although both are great activities for staying fit outside of the gym. I’m talking about wide open green fields, a chance to be social while reaping in the benefits of a low impact workout, where you can strengthen both mind and body – this is the sport of golf. 

The Mental Impact of Golf

After a tumultuous few years that included a lock down and isolation, it’s safe to say that the world is looking forward to getting out more and finding fun ways to do so. Golf offers a competitive package of being able to get active while not putting too much strain on your body, plus it has a huge social aspect in its armory. Out of the 24.8 million golfers in the U.S. 98% told Golf Magic.com how golf improved their mental health and reduced their stress levels. This is because golf allowed them the ability to connect with people both new and old. Many sports may offer this capability as well such as basketball, baseball, and swimming, however those sports require more high impact levels of activity and if you are the person who wants or needs something more low impact then this is the sport for you. 

Furthermore, we live in a day in age where technology allows us to communicate with people from all over the world. Although this is important and useful for keeping in touch, it has been shown that interacting with people in person rather than through a screen is more beneficial to your overall health. Medical News Today published a piece on socialization including this quote, “In other words, when we communicate with people face-to-face, it could help to make us more resilient to stress factors in the long run.” If you take into consideration how golf offers an abundance of face-to-face communication, this has a positive impact where you’re able to strengthen your mind and lower stress. With stress levels continuously on the rise, it may be time to think about ways to reduce yours so that you can invest in yourself for a healthier future. 

Golf and Physical Performance

Many people equate retiring with hitting the green and a large number of elderly retirees do in fact play golf with My Life Site recording about 5.3 million people 65 years or older who are active in the sport. A large reason for this could be due to the low impact and social aspect of golf. It allows people of all ages to be a part of it without the threat of physical contact or strenuous activity. Although it is low impact, that does not mean that it doesn’t help you be physically fit. 

Golf still requires a lot of muscle movement, you are working your arms, core, and legs in order to swing your club around with force to drive the ball forward. This movement in turn helps to increase blood circulation throughout your body. In addition, it has also been shown to help stability and heart health. Therefore, do not equate the term low impact as little exercise. You can still help your body while enjoying a few holes on the course. 

To study more of the benefits of golfing, a 2009 study was done in Sweden where they researched 300,818 golfers of both genders, every socioeconomic background, and at every age level. What they were able to conclude was that mortality rates decreased and an average of 5 years was added to people’s life expectancy. They even noticed that the more skilled golfers had the lowest morality of everyone they studied. “To put the observed mortality reduction in context, it may be noted that a 40% reduction of mortality rates corresponds to an increase in life expectancy of about 5 years.” (Golf: a game of life and death–reduced mortality in Swedish golf players, B Farahmand 1, G Broman, U de Faire, D Vågerö, A Ahlbom) This just goes to show how impactful golf is, not just on your body, but your life as well.