Some of the health benefits of golf can be obvious to many players. Physical exercise is not the only benefit of playing and practicing golf. This review takes you through the ways that golf can help improve your physical well-being, your metabolic, and your mental health. Passive benefits all while you have fun playing a game you love. Finding ways to engage yourself in activities that help promote a happy and healthy lifestyle can bring everyone less stress, more enjoyment, and a better life. Illustrated below are some of the ways that simply playing the game of golf can help improve the function of some of your major organs and organ systems. Your musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, neurological, psychological, and your general metabolic systems are all the beneficiaries of regularly seeking outdoor physical activities, especially when you are wanting to live better.Musculoskeletal System: The musculoskeletal system involves parts of your body that include your bones and muscular organs. These two systems work in tandem to help you move your body. Maintaining musculoskeletal health is important for remaining happy and comfortable while completing many of your daily activities. Your musculoskeletal system is vital in ensuring you can move freely and live a pain-free lifestyle.Golf can help you lose weight and improve your musculoskeletal health by getting you more active and reducing your risk of osteoporosis or other bone-related diseases. Hitting on the range and chipping or putting on the practice green can help you burn calories and build muscle tone. Walking the course or pushing your clubs around in a pushcart can be great ways that you can increase your physical load without significantly increasing your risk of injury.Cardiovascular System: The body’s cardiovascular system involves the heart and its associated blood vessels. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women. Taking small steps to remain active can improve your heart’s function and help you live a longer, happier life. The combination of high-intensity exercise that is typical of swinging a golf club around your body on the range may help improve the health of your heart. Increasing the load of your physical activity during your practice and play can help to increase the circulation of your blood through your extremities including your arms and legs. While golf may not provide people as many cardiovascular benefits as swimming or jogging may, but it can be a great addition to creating a consistent exercise regimen for adults and children of all ages.Neurological and Psychological Systems: The neurological and psychological systems of your body involve your brain, hormonal, and associated nervous system. Important functions like memory, problem-solving skills, and emotions are all closely related to the activities that you engage in on a daily basis. It is important to keep your brain sharp and maintain a feeling of direction for your community and other people in your environment.The social and cognitive benefits of golf can be felt immediately. The interactive nature of golf courses leads to social involvement for many individuals particularly for children and elderly groups. Routinely partaking in community activities such as competitive golf, league nights, or tournaments can help players thrive in social settings and support more connection to people that share similar concerns. Senior golfers especially can improve their social connectivity by meeting friends or community members for recreational games around their local courses. This can be very important once they have left the traditional workforce.

Gray steel golf clubs on selective focus photo; image by Sydney Rae, via Unsplash.com.

One of the largest beneficiaries of golf can be your mental health. The ability of your brain to function has been closely correlated to proactive contests where your brain must remain engaged in problem-solving responsibilities. Strategically mapping your way around the golf course and having to deal with unpredicted results may help keep your brain capacity unwavering a build a healthy state of cognition.Metabolic System: Your body’s metabolic system is important for your digestive health. Maintaining great balance within your diet may not be enough. Vitamin D derived from the sun are important for your metabolic and digestive systems. These molecules that can be encountered during golf outings are essential for proper bone and metabolic health. Golf can an excellent outlet for people to get outdoors and obtain more Vitamin D without the need or added expense of artificial supplements or other dangerous sun exposure activities. Vitamin D works to protect against osteoporosis and other bone-related diseases. Vitamin D is especially important for female populations due to its bone health consequences.Golfers of all ages can benefit from the physical, mental, and psycho-social influences of playing golf. While it may seem difficult to spend long hours at the gym or to replace your lunch meal with a bland salad, choosing to play golf as a hobby has tangible health benefits that can help you lead a happy and productive lifestyle. Competitive golfers looking to play golf at the highest level, casual amateur golfers that love to play local courses with friends, or beginners just taking up the sport can all enjoy knowing that their hobby is doing great things for your mind and body.