6 Benefits and Reasons Why Golf is Good for You

Golf is one of the oldest sports that is still played, originating in Europe towards the end of the middle ages.

Yet, golf is just as beneficial as ever, both for spectators and players.

Considered purely in abstraction, golf seems like the most difficult, undesirable sport possible. Players are tasked with using a metal club to hit a tiny ball into a tiny hole hundreds of yards away. In fact, it almost seems like a joke.

However, both players and fans can’t get enough of it. It’s perennially considered one of the most popular sports in the world, and even the associated golf courses are more than just mere golf courses. Often, the natural beauty emanating from these golf courses attract travelers from all corners of the earth. In fact, some golf courses are so glorified that they are considered protected reserves worthy of international distinction.

In this article, we discuss 6 reasons why golf is a beneficial sport, emphasizing its health-promoting qualities as well as its mentally-stimulating properties.

Playing Golf is Great Exercise

In our modern society, exercise is more important than ever. As our technology advances, we are more likely to stare at our phones or laptops than go for a walk. We’d rather watch professional athletes sweat on television than sweat by going for a run.

Yet, our bodies have not adapted to such sedentary lifestyles. We evolved to our place at the top of the food chain precisely because we were active and in-shape. This is how we outlasted other species, created large civilizations, and increased the population of the planet to well over 7 billion.

While not all of these changes have been positive, most of us can agree that a longer-life span is desired. Part of achieving this is moving our bodies. Golf is a great way to initiate this, as it entails significant walking, bending, and stretching.

Additionally, because it’s often played on sunny days in warmer weather, players usually sweat just by being in the sun. This sweat helps rid our body of toxins and cleanses our system, which reduces the likeliness that we’ll get sick.

Playing Golf Is an Enlightening Experience

It’s just you and the ball out there. Sure, you can enter competitions and develop rivalries. But, ultimately, the main battle is the one within.

Golf is a microcosm of our lives. With each swing, we are forced to be patient, to slowly ease our way towards victory. Yet, no matter how far your tee-shot goes, you could still earn a double-bogey if you prematurely celebrate and miss several puts. No matter how flawless you were on the first 17 holes, you might experience a breakdown on #18.

The closer you get to the hole, the harder the shots become and the more care that must be placed into each swing and put.

Furthermore, if you get distracted or allow your emotions to get the best of you, your ball might end up at the bottom of a pond, enveloped by liquid darkness.

Life in the 21st century is also sensitive. Automobile accidents are one of the leading causes of death. Out of nowhere, we can be suddenly diagnosed with a malignant tumor. We can spend our lives reveling in the deliciousness of bacon only to find that we need coronary artery bypass surgery at the tragic age of 42.

Golf is an enlightening experience because it teaches us that life is transient, yet beautiful. If it were easy, it wouldn’t be rewarding. Life, just like golf, is a balancing act that requires patience and meticulous strategy. Yet, at the end of the day, success entails just taking a swing and trusting that your instincts will guide you.

Playing Golf is a Form of Therapy

There is no better way to release your repressed anger than hitting the living crap out of a golf ball. It’s perhaps one of the most satisfying experiences available to us. It’s way better than getting in an actual fight, which is bound to happen if you keep ignoring your feelings.

Golf is such a solitary sport. Besides yelling “Fore!” or consulting with your caddie, golf doesn’t even require talking. You can use each shot as an opportunity to meditate. You can channel unexpressed feelings into each swing. You can imagine that your ex-boyfriend is the ball. The possibilities are endless.

The point is that we are rarely able to escape the social confines of our society. On a daily basis, many of us deal with multiple children, various ex-spouses, a racist great-grandfather, and the obnoxious neighbor from across the street who revs his motorcycle every morning at 5am.

Gaining some distance from these frustrations is crucial for a healthy, stress-free life. Golf can provide a form of therapy, but only if we are willing to meet it halfway. That means turning off your cellphone, leaving the cigarettes in the car, and grounding yourself in each moment. Pretend that each ball you hit is something holding you back and send that baby into the horizon.

Yet, just like talk therapy, the relationship between you and the golf ball is a reflection of your relationship with yourself. If you don’t surrender to the experience, if you don’t fully love the experience, then you won’t get much out of it. Having trouble connecting with your anger? Try purposely missing the ball a couple of times. That should do the trick.

Golf Spawned the Movie Happy Gilmore

And Caddyshack. Admit it – there’s nothing funnier than watching someone struggle on the golf course. Golf is strangely comedic, and there’s nothing more satisfying and rejuvenating then a good, deep laugh.

Yet, all comedy has a tragic underside. Our mirthful laughter is simultaneously a nervous laughter concerning loss and death. Once again, it’s obvious that reflecting on golf is a mind-expanding experience.

The more superficial point that we are trying to get across is that golf is cinematic. It’s the epitome of exposition slowly building to explosive climax. No sport, not even baseball, can be as boring as golf to watch on television. Yet, when a player hits an incredible shot, no sport can be as electrifying to watch.

If you need further convincing, just watch this clip of Tiger Woods sinking an amazing chip shot. If that doesn’t stimulate you, then you might need to hit the driving range and iron some issues out.

Golf Is Good for Business

There’s a reason why the current president of the United States, who is also a billionaire businessman, is also considered one the best golfers to ever assume the presidency.

Golf facilitates negotiation. Businesses are fed by negotiation. The economy is a mutualistic ecosystem of buyers and sellers that is based on compromise. Money doesn’t work unless both sides meet each other halfway. If an imbalance occurs, both sides experience loss.

The beautiful scenery of the golf course and the meditative, therapeutic act of hitting a golf ball can provide the environmental balance needed for compromise. Multiple world wars have probably been prevented over a game of golf.

The only traditional business activity that doesn’t dovetail perfectly with golf is drinking alcohol. Don’t believe us? Try sinking a put after killing a 6-pack. Or, try driving a golf cart after downing 3 martinis.

But, it’s not just financial matters that can be resolved. Personal business can also be addressed. There is no better activity for bonding with your stubborn father-in-law than a round of 18 at the local country club.

Or, if you have slightly more ambitious goals, try proposing to your partner on a golf course in Hawaii. Marriage is a kind of negotiation that promotes love and union. Surrounded by the backdrop of pristine beaches and palm trees, we can’t imagine your significant other will say no.

Golf Allows you to Drive a Golf Cart

Think you’re too old for an amusement park? Missing those addicting bumper cars? Golf provides an outlet for this nostalgia. We secretly think that most people sign up for a game of golf just so they can drive the golf cart.

Golf carts present a change in pace to our chaotic modern lifestyles. They force us to slow down, take in the views, and be appreciative of life before it zooms past our eyes.

In another sense, driving a golf cart can be good training for driving on the roads. Playing a game of golf might be the best way to teach your daughter how to drive before your trust her with your Porsche.

The open fairway is certainly forgiving. The low speeds of the golf cart make it relatively safe. The lack of people on the golf course minimizes accidents. Clearly, the golf course is the perfect environment for automobile education.

Our Final Thoughts on Why Golf is Good for You

We think golf is beneficial because it promotes movement, which is in stark contrast to our sedentary lifestyles.

This movement can take many forms, allowing for a kind of therapy that can be enlightening.

Additionally, we think golf is simply an entertaining sport and has resulted a number of comedic films that we would be much worse off without.

Lastly, golf facilitates negotiation, and can provide the perfect environment for indulging our wild, childlike desires.

Ultimately, without the game, we think life would be much more boring and unhealthy than it currently is.

 

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