What Are the Great Health Benefits of Playing Golf?

Did you know golf originated in Scotland? Yes, Scots have been playing golf since the 15th century.

This time-tested sport is tons of fun and also rigorous exercise.

When you’re playing golf, you’re not just honing skills related to the sport: you’re doing amazing things for your body.

Keep reading to learn about the health benefits that come from playing golf.

1. Great Calorie Burner

Learning golf is addictive. It has an almost infinite skill ceiling, so you can keep training your chops with golf training aids while socializing on the turf. On top of that, you burn tons of calories.

Here’s how many calories you can expect to burn depending on what sort of golf session you’re going for:

• 1300 calories (playing 18 holes while riding around in a golf cart)
• 1500 calories (playing 18 holes, walking around, using a pull cart)
• 2000 calories (playing 18 holes walking around, carrying clubs)

As you can see, you can adjust the number of calories you burn depending on your session’s level of physical exertion.

The great news is you can expect to burn at least 1300 calories if you stick around! Add that to the list of benefits of golf.

2. It Gets You Moving

Here’s the common-sense lowdown. Some exercise is better than none at all.

Golf, however, is not just some exercise.

It engages crucial muscles in your body. Your core, your arms, and your leg muscles.

It teaches hand-eye coordination and balance.

Our golfing tips? The process of honing a great swing is meditative. Think about how in tune you must be with your muscles to calibrate the golf ball’s trajectory optimally.

Golf teaches focus.

If you go golfing on a weekly basis, expect to tone all your muscles and increase your aerobic capacity in no time. As a plus, you’re honing your mind.

Golf Benefits for Balance

Golfing is just wonderful for balance. Repeat swinging enhances balance amongst all age groups, and increases player confidence out on the turf.

Seniors who golf tend to have greater flexibility, balance, and stability than their same-age counterparts.

3. Mental Benefits

The mental benefits are numerous.

Many people golf socially. This means they are networking, conversing, celebrating, and befriending other people. This has numerous benefits for your mental well-being.

Golf can alleviate anxiety and depression, and the sense of accomplishment you get from improving at the sport shouldn’t be underestimated for your mental health.

Golf has been shown to boost brain power by increasing blood circulation. It is also alternately mentally stimulating and rewarding; this helps the brain build neural pathways into old age. It’s a great counter to Alzheimer’s and other degenerative brain diseases.

4. Can Play At Advanced Ages

Even if you’re getting old, you should be able to keep golfing.

We consider golfing to be a low-impact sport, meaning it is unlikely to lead to serious injury or cause serious wear and tear to your joints.

You can choose to take it easy (riding around in that golf cart) and exert yourself only on your terms.

Golf Offers a Wealth of Benefits

Ready to have a blast while torching some calories? Keep playing golf!

Feel free to keep up with the latest golf news in our sports section.