Golf is such a timeless, ageless game that anyone who’s encountered it even casually gets attracted to it. As Arnold Palmer puts it, “ Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated.” It’s both the simplicity and the complexity that make is so interesting and so much fun.
What Attracts Seniors to This Sport?
- Gets You Out: Golf is a game that requires you to stay outdoors for long periods. This means you get fresh air, lots of Vitamin D and exercise. Staying cooped up indoors leads to depression and lack of confidence.
- Fitness: Being a more gentle form of exercise, golf is ideally suited for seniors. An average game may require you to walk at least five miles and it may take at least four hours. Walking is not a high impact exercise, yet it provides sufficient cardio and lung work-out, improves muscle tone and stamina and helps you lose weight and body fat.
- Live Longer: Scientists have found that the death rate for golfers is amazingly 40% lower than that of others in the same age group, sex and socio-economic status. The powerful blend of physical exercise, mental stimulation and emotional bonding provided by golf helps to extend the nature and quality of life.
- Social Benefits: “To find a man’s character, play golf with him,” said PG Wodehouse. Golf helps you make new friends, cement old friendships, renew contacts, combine business interests and social interaction and helps you develop a sense of community and connectedness. Meeting the same group regularly also helps you make strong emotional bonds that help ward off loneliness. Often, these social contacts tend to spill over into other areas of life besides golf. You discover other shared interests and hobbies which you can enjoy together. It provides a recurring event to look forward to on a regular basis.
- Learn New Skills: If you haven’t played a sport before, your body is probably not attuned to the requirements. Taking up a gentler sport like golf helps your body to become more flexible, improves circulation and it works muscles that have probably not been used for a long time. Mentally, learning a new skills stimulates different areas of the brain so that you feel much more alert and confident.
- Wards off Alzheimer’s: The biggest fear that most seniors have is of dementia and Alzheimer’s. As pros know, golf is mainly played in a five-and-a-half inch space between your ears! It’s a mental game, involving strategy, assessment, spatial intelligence, etc. Apart from this, golf also provides the right kind of physical exercise that keeps the brain supplied with fresh blood regularly and this is one of the most important features of Alzheimer’s prevention. Exercise can also slow the progress of dementia or Alzheimer’s in case someone has already developed symptoms of these.
- Lower Injury Risk: Golf is more leisurely and the overall risk of injury is much lower. However, seniors do need to warm up and stretch before they start. When the weather is colder, they should ensure that they’re well wrapped-up and in summers, they should use adequate sun-protection. Avoid the hottest and coldest parts of the year and day. Drinking enough water keeps you hydrated, and take help in lifting and carrying the equipment.
- No Age Limits: This is a game that anyone from nine to ninety can safely play. A great benefit is that you can play at your own pace, according to your health and age status and still enjoy the best game in the world.
- Travel and Play: Golf is one of the most popular games world-wide. If you’re traveling, there’s no need to miss your regular game. Most clubs have international affiliations and you can certainly find the right time and place to plan a few sessions while on holiday.
- In The Lap of Nature: Best of all, golf allows you to appreciate nature and enjoy the outdoors like no other sport. The sport involves walking, which is gentle and calm exercise, and helps you relax. There’s very little stress in the game as most of it is self-driven and in your own control.
Above are some of the reasons why older people enjoy it so much. In summary, the unique blend of exercise and social interaction is what attracts seniors to this sport.
Conclusion
Played by millions, golf has enormous physical, emotional, mental and social benefits. It’s something that can be played at all ages, with differing goals and at a different pace at every stage of life.
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