Speaking of ... Health ...

I can't hear it anymore: "Golf isn't a sport, it's an activity for old people" - how many times have I heard that smugly retorted to. And how often have the speakers had to revise their opinion after trying it out for themselves, spending some time on the range and playing a round. "Quite exhausting", they often say and I just think: "See..."

All you have to do is look at a few bare figures on the subject and then you'll be smarter and quickly move away from cliché thinking: a normal 18-hole round of golf covers an average of around 8.5 kilometers and takes 4.5 to 5 hours. Even people who are much fitter than me, have more ideal measurements and don't have most of their mass in the middle of their body will notice this.

Positive effect

As is well known, the golf swing also has a positive effect on around 140 muscles, including arm, shoulder, back and leg muscles, the movement of which burns calories, in the best case up to 1200 per round. Incidentally, the finish at the popular "19th hole" should not be included here, as calories are usually added there, i.e. in the clubhouse, rather than broken down.

A Swedish study has allegedly found that people who play golf regularly (especially in old age) live up to five years longer. And this is certainly not just due to the physical challenge, because otherwise I should be a bit fitter than I am.

There's a lot to be said for that

I think the great thing about golf - apart from the physical activity, which is certainly good for the heart - is of course the exercise in the fresh air in (relatively) open countryside, on grass and between trees and bushes. What more could you want? Oh, I can actually think of something else: if everything goes well, you're usually not alone on the course, but in the company of nice people.

Now the feel-good option is really fulfilled. And so a possible longer life is not a miracle that you have to study for. It becomes clear relatively quickly. So if you still think that golf is not a sport, you can be content with the fact that this "game" nevertheless has many positive aspects - and simply give it a try.

Not deserved otherwise

And now back to the beginning. Anyone who has already heard the sentence quoted above now has enough arguments at hand to entice the person they are talking to onto the course and give them the opportunity to tell them about the fun of golf. And anyone who doesn't respond, well, they don't deserve any better and will never know what they are missing out on.