According to a study published in Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports the death rate for golfers is 40 per cent lower than for other people of the same sex, age and socioeconomic status.
This corresponds to 5 year increase in life expectancy.
The specific health benefits achieved from different forms and patterns of leisure-time physical activity are not established. So Swedish medical university Karolinska Institutet analyzed the mortality in a cohort of Swedish golf players by using Swedish Golf Federation’s membership registry and the nationwide Mortality Registry.
The cohort included 300 818 golfers, and the total number of deaths was 1053. The overall SMR was 0.60.
They study showed that golfers with a low handicap (i.e. the best golfers) are the safest. The death rate amongst golfers is 40 per cent lower than the rest of the population, which equates to an increased life expectancy of five years.
According to Professor Anders Ahlbom, who let the study:
A round of golf means being outside for four or five hours, walking at a fast pace for six to seven kilometres, something which is known to be good for the health. People play golf into old age, and there are also positive social and psychological aspects to the game that can be of help.
Although other factors like healthy lifestyle can also play a vital role in lowering death rate researchers are of the view that playing of the game in itself has a significant impact on health.
Golf players have a lower death rate regardless of sex, age and social group. The effect is greater for golfers from blue-collar professions than for those from white-collar professions.
Professor Ahlbom said:
Maintaining a low handicap involves playing a lot, so this supports the idea that it is largely the game itself that is good for the health.
Other members who conducted this study are B. Farahmand, G. Broman, U de Faire and D. Vågerö.
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