The number of female golfers is surging, and it’s great to see.
According to NGF, the number of women who golf has surpassed 6 million as of 2021. We are also seeing more young female golfers in the sport than ever before. 36% of junior golfers today are female. This is a huge jump from 15% back in 2000.
But let’s not stop there!
We want even more women to get into golf. Perhaps by discussing some of the health benefits, we can help do our bit to achieve this!
Story Stages
1) Keep fit
Many people think golf doesn’t really get you into shape because it’s low intensity, but they’re wrong.
Golf is a serious calorie burner because you cover a lot of distance to play all 18 holes. Most courses are at least 4 miles, so that’s 400 calories in walking alone.
You may even burn a ton more calories if you play at a larger course. So stay off the golf cart and walk to each hole!
2) Improves Heart Health
Leading on from keeping you fit, think of the wonders golf does for your heart. While low-intensity, all the swinging, walking, and golf bag carrying gets your blood pumping. This minimizes your risk of developing heart conditions, increasing your life expectancy.
3) Get Your Fill of Vitamin D
Getting your required amount of vitamin D can be tough for all house-dwellers. You can always supplement, but nothing beats raw sunshine!
Golf ensures you get plenty of vitamin D. An average 18-hole course takes around 4 hours — that exceeds your recommended minimum weekly sun intake. So no need to force yourself to go outside again unless you want to.
4) Brain Workout
An overlooked element of golf is brain stimulation. While at face value, you are just striking a ball. But you are also thinking about which club to use, the intricacies of your shot, how many holes under par you are, and a whole host of other things.
5) Low Impact
The rough nature of contact sports often puts women off. This is why golf has a more natural appeal. As there is no contact involved, the risk of injury is minimal.
The main injury to worry about is tennis elbow, but players only tend to develop this through playing excessively or using poor form.
6) Strengthens Your Bladder
Although it sounds a bit ridiculous, an argument can certainly be made that golf promotes bladder health. There aren’t many opportunities to pop into the little girl’s room while playing, so you’re forced to hold it for several hours at a time.
This strengthens your bladder and enlarges its capacity.
7) Improves Hand-Eye Coordination
As with all sports, golf puts your hand-eye coordination to the test. At first, you’ll likely be woeful, but through repeated practice, you’ll get the swing motion down.
8) Better Quality Sleep
Golf puts your body under a decent amount of stress (although you might not notice it!). This means that when you hit the hay after a golfing session, your sleep quality experiences improvement. Not only are you likely to fall asleep faster, but you will have a higher-quality sleep cycle.
9) Relieves stress
Playing golf helps you center yourself and forget the stresses and difficulties of everyday life. Being outside in the fresh hour evokes feelings of contentedness, and the act of playing golf itself releases feel-good endorphins, which help to improve your mood.
10) Develop Social Relationships
Golf is inherently a social sport. There’s lots of downtime between shots, so it’s only natural to talk with other players. It’s the perfect way to build new relationships and develop existing ones.
11) Improves Vision
Golf balls travel blisteringly fast. Around 211 miles/hour (340 km/hour) or so. This requires serious tracking to monitor where your ball lands — talk about an eye workout!
Over time your eyes begin to become familiar with these crazy speeds, and keeping tabs on your ball becomes far easier.
12) Upgrade Balance and Flexibility
The average person can’t swing a club properly while remaining well-balanced. And some people aren’t even flexible enough to use a full range of motion. By playing regularly, you’ll notice both balance and flexibility improvements.
Final Thoughts
So there you have it! Those are 12 ways in which golf improves the health of female players. Hopefully, we’ve helped convince you to at least give the sport a try.
A great place to start is by visiting golfing sites. They have all the info you need, from equipment to golfing tips. That way, you won’t feel so helpless the first time you hit the course!
