Opening Golf to the World
Golf and
Health
The R&A advocates health benefits of golf to a global audience and the role the sport plays in health and social wellbeing.
We have sought to: raise awareness of the health benefits of golf to encourage interest in participation by people of all ages and abilities; improve the sport’s image; and increase advocacy for golf by government agencies and public health bodies.
Working with the likes of the World Health Organization (WHO), the DP World Tour, other golf organisations and respected sports medics like Dr Andrew Murray, we have been involved in new scientific research in the following areas:- sponsoring the First International Congress on Golf and Health in London in 2018 and delivering an International Consensus Statement on Golf and Health, followed by support for the second and third Congress in 2022 and 2025
- the sole funder of a Strength and Balance Study
- supporting a Spectator Study
- supporting activity to highlight golf’s benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic
- launching ‘Golf is Good’, a new global participation project piloted in Wales in 2022 featuring R&A global ambassador Gareth Bale using cutting-edge animation (73% of current on-course golfers were likely to play more golf because of the campaign)
Golf and Health - Case study
Jonathan Edwards, a Global Development Ambassador for The R&A, enjoyed a glittering career as an athlete.
Post athletics, golf has put a new spring in his step, to the extent he openly states, “I’d be lost without golf”.
Read Jonathan's story as he shares why he believes the sport is so beneficial for your mental and physical health.
Post athletics, golf has put a new spring in his step, to the extent he openly states, “I’d be lost without golf”.
Read Jonathan's story as he shares why he believes the sport is so beneficial for your mental and physical health.
What are the Health Benefits from the Research?
- On average, golfers live five years longer than non-golfers
- Golf can help prevent and treat 40 major chronic diseases
- Golf can help strength and balance, improve quality of life and provide aerobic exercise
- On a regular 18-hole course, most players will walk between four and five miles, burning up to 2,000 calories
- If you play golf for at least 150 minutes per week you are meeting WHO global exercise guidelines
- Spectators walk between 5-6 miles on average and burn more than 1,000 calories per day
Golf on Prescription
The Golf on Prescription pilot in Fife has the potential to grow further, according to leading medics involved in the programme.
The message that golf is open to all has to go out loud and clear.
Iona Investigates
Golf’s widespread physical, mental and social health benefits have been brought to life in a new video series from The R&A in which broadcaster and presenter Iona Stephen uncovers how playing the sport can help you become fitter, healthier and happier. At a time when record numbers are now playing golf worldwide, ‘Iona Investigates’ is a three-part series where Stephen learns how people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds are reaping the rewards of playing the sport.
