Golf is a nice and relaxing activity, compared to other sports, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t help with your overall fitness. Playing golf has many key health benefits, including physical and mental health benefits.
Let’s go through the top five benefits of playing golf which you can think about whilst you are practising your long and short game.
It’s a great exercise
There are plenty of physical benefits to playing golf. It involves a lot of walking around – in fact, playing your average course will mean you walk around five miles – which is a great way to get the heart pumping and the blood flowing. But not only that, swinging a golf club is a great full-body workout as it uses your arms, legs, back and abdomen.
Playing golf regularly can help to build muscles and can help to keep you trim and toned too. Who knew such a slow sport could be so good for you!
If you do need to hire a golf cart though, don’t feel bad as you’ll still be getting some exercise from your golf swing.
Gets you outdoors
One of the main, and most obvious, benefits of playing golf, is that you get to spend some time outdoors. Spending time in nature and getting some fresh air has many benefits including helping to reduce stress, and anxiety and helping to improve your mood.
Not only that, if you are playing golf on a lovely sunny day, it’s a great way to help boost your vitamin D levels – which helps to keep your bones strong and healthy. Just make sure you are wearing a hat and have plenty of sun cream on!
A fantastic way to socialise
Another fantastic benefit of playing golf is that it gives you the chance to socialise. It’s really important to take care of your mental well-being, and socialising is a great way to do this as it can help to boost your self-esteem and social skills.
So, playing a few holes with fellow players, or being part of a golf club, is a fantastic way to ensure you are socialising and helps you connect with others. You can also pop to the clubhouse after your game to keep the social going!
Helps with concentration and focus
As golf is a physical activity, it helps pump blood to the brain which can help boost concentration and focus. But even without the physical exercise of playing golf, planning your shot, thinking ahead and developing your hand-eye coordination can all help to improve your concentration and focus.
Helps with sleep
Golf is a great way to aid with sleep. If you’ve spent the day walking around in the fresh air, swinging clubs and socialising, you’ll probably feel tired by the end of the day.
Getting a good night’s sleep and playing golf complement each other as you can improve your handicap by being well-rested and relaxed. So, playing more will help you sleep which in turn will help your game. Win-win!
Bicester Hotel Golf and Spa
Bicester Hotel Golf and Spa has a wonderful 18-hole golf course for both members and pay and play. If you don’t have any equipment, you can hire all you need here, including golf clubs and electric trollies.
If you want to play golf for fitness or are looking to start playing golf for fun, get in touch today to arrange a free tour with our friendly team.
