Until recently, medical doctors, exercise physiologists, and gym instructors
helped perpetuate both myths. They thought golf was a waste of time, a physical
activity with no fitness value. As Mark Twain said, “golf is a good walk
spoiled.”
But current research shows that golf is good for your health. And injuries
are common, but you can prevent them if you learn how to prepare your body
before playing a round.
It is medically proven that any form of exercise helps your heart if it
raises your heart rate to 120-130 beats per minute for at least 20 minutes.
Scientists also discovered that moderate exercise is beneficial even if
interrupted by periods of inactivity. Brisk walking or climbing stairs for at
least half an hour more than once a week is good for your health. So are
gardening, washing the car, dancing, and many other daily activities.
Aerobic exercises meet these criteria, but for many people whose bodies
cannot withstand the strain of vigorous activity, playing golf is a good
alternative to engage in physical exercise while immersed in a tranquil and
idyllic setting.
Golf is a good walk. Period.
Golf’s benefits are not so much in the action part – teeing the ball,
swinging the club, lining up a putt; all these take less than a quarter of the
normal 4-hour round – but in the walking and the thinking.
With courses averaging 6,400 yards of hilly terrain, walking an 18-hole
round of golf becomes a four-mile walk. This includes negotiating the distance
from green to tee at every hole and searching in the rough for wayward shots.
Carrying or pulling your bag increases golf’s fitness value and burns more
calories.
Ask any serious golfer about mental pressure on the course and you’ll hear
stories of energy-draining two-foot putts and heart-thumping, blood-curdling
shots over a water hazard on the last hole of a friendly match. The effort to
stay mentally focused for four hours leaves even the best golfers squeezed and
emotionally drained.
You don’t need to play golf three to four times a week to reap benefits.
Although playing only once a week is not enough to make you physically fit, you
can make your game an important part of a full exercise and fitness routine.
By including exercises for flexibility and strength before a round of golf,
you can attain balanced fitness, optimal health, injury protection, and – as a
bonus – better scores.