News Flash: Golf is GOOD for You (IF You Walk)

Every golfer knows that deep down, at its very essence, golf was designed to drive you crazy.  Golf is the antidote to contentment.  The best players in the world will tear their swings apart in hope of improvement, even at the risk of losing the proficiency that allowed them to achieve preeminence in the first place.  Remember David Duval?  Padraig Harrington, after his three majors?  Tiger Woods, now heading into his third or fourth swing resuscitation?

Justin Timberlake Preparing for Retirement

But now there’s evidence that playing even mediocre golf can protect you from dementia if you walk the course while you’re playing.  This is a pretty attractive and not insignificant benefit.  In an article in the Portland Oregonian, reporter Julie Sullivan described the results of an investigation by “Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh who studied people in their mid-60s over 13 years found that those who walked six to nine miles a week — about a mile a day — had more gray matter and less memory loss than their peers. Gray matter is the part of the brain involved in muscle control, seeing, speaking, hearing and memory.”

The Road to Senility

These were not golfers’ brains, so perhaps there is some selection bias at work, but it’s likely that all the walking we golfers do could, beyond the irritations accompanying missed putts and the occasional shank, help keep us mentally fit.  So get out of those buggies and step into a wise old age.

TOPICS: Golf, Lifestyle

ABOUT: John Strawn

John Strawn is a co-founder, along with best-selling author Curt Sampson, of Strawn & Sampson, the creator and publisher of matchless golf club course histories. As the former CEO of Robert Trent Jones II and a past president of Hills & Forrest, John has been involved in golf course design world-wide for more than three decades. He is a Tartan member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects. Later this year, Strawn & Sampson will publish a 35th anniversary edition of John's pioneering book Driving the Green, the first account ever written about the design and creation of a golf course. Originally published by HarperCollins, Driving the Green has had an enduring influence on numerous golf course designers. John has continued to write about golf course design and development, as well as providing commentary on the golf industry dramatic evolution in recent years. www.strawnsampson.com

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