Golf – It’s Good For You!

January 2, 2013

Yes, golfers are athletes. So, consider yourself one if you routinely hit the links.

And here’s another little tidbit for you if you are looking for an excuse to tee it up … contrary to popular belief, the game is good for you.

I mean, what’s not to like here. It’s a game that is challenging both physically and mentally, plus also requires fashionably-cool clothes and high tech gadgets and gear! I know, I know, count me in, too.

Golfing really is exercise. To this, there is no doubt, and the very nature of exercise is that it is good for you. Playing golf requires you to use just about every muscle in your body. Plus, no matter how you are playing, walking the course and carrying or pushing your bag will help you reap even more benefits from a round.

According to research conducted by Dr. Neil Wolkodoff of the Denver Center for Health and Sports Sciences…

– Golfers who walk and carry their own bag burn 721 calories in nine holes

– Golfers using a push cart burn 718 calories

– Golfers walking with a caddie burn 613 calories

– Even golfers riding in a golf cart get some benefit, burning an average of 411 calories

– Golf is also good for the mind

Golf is also a social game, and those connections to friends, playing partners, people at the course, they are all good for you. According to braintraining101.com, a study conducted in 2008 showed cognitive function was increased through simple socializing.

Golf is also a thinking game and you’ll use your brain in a round of golf even more than you will that new fairway metal. Reading putts, lining up and playing shots, navigating the course, managing your way out of trouble. All these integral parts of the game require thinking and using your brain continuously in such a way that helps keep it sharp. Visualizing shots, putts or your swing naturally exercises the right part of your brain, the part that controls creativity.

Golf also gives you a workout in coordination. You repeatedly use hand-eye coordination for shots and putts, not to mention the balance it takes to successfully complete the golf swing. This all gives the cerebellum a workout – one of the main brain areas responsible for coordination.

And if nothing else, a round of golf is time outside in nature and there is nothing wrong with that. Many courses around the country are in beautiful, picturesque areas and a good long walk through them does the mind, as well as the body, good.