The purpose of this multi-study was to assess what impact the closure and reopening of golf courses had on: personal competence; sense of belonging; enjoyment; self-esteem; self-confidence; resilience; social connections; wellbeing and life satisfaction (hereafter referred to collectively as “key variables of interest”) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Golfers (Study 1: n = 298, Study 2: n = 124) ≥16 years old residing in the UK participated in this study which collected data using online surveys. Study 1 was conducted during a period of quarantine restrictions (4–12th May 2020), whilst study 2 took place following the easing of the COVID-19 quarantine restrictions (6–14th July 2020). Within study 1 and study 2, key variables of interest levels were also collected to investigate the association with golf related activities. The findings of study 1 highlighted that negligible and non-significant correlations were observed between golf physical and sedentary activities and key variables of interest (r < 0.3, p > 0.05) except sense of belonging and sedentary golf activities (r = 0.178, p = 0.003). Study 2 highlighted that sense of belonging, enjoyment and wellbeing were significantly associated with outdoor golf course activity (r = 0.186–0.252, p ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, when comparing study 1 and study 2, sense of belonging and life satisfaction significantly improved (p < 0.05, d = 0.2). Based on these findings, playing golf on outdoor golf courses appears to be positively related to sense of belonging, enjoyment and wellbeing. Also, with the reopening of golf courses life satisfaction improved which, together, highlights the beneficial impact that outdoor golf can impart.
Background No previous systematic review has examined the physical health benefits of playing golf or caddying. Objective To establish the influence of golf participation and physical health in golfers and caddies. More specifically, the review intended to explore the domains of cardiovascular, metabolic and musculoskeletal health, in addition to body composition. Design Systematic review. Data Sources Electronic literature searches were conducted using PubMed, SPORTDiscus and CINAHL databases in July 2021. Eligibility Criteria Experimental (randomised controlled trials, quasi-experiment, pre-post) and non-experimental (case–control, cross-sectional, cohort) articles relating to health and golf, written in English and published in peer-reviewed journals. Results Of the 572 articles initially identified, 109 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility with 23 meeting the inclusion criteria. Sixteen articles were rated ‘good 'and seven ‘fair’. The influence of golf on physical health was mixed, although various articles displayed improvements in balance, systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and the ratio of HDL to total cholesterol within golfers. Caddies observed improvements in bone mineral density (BMD), stiffness index and strength. Most of the findings indicate that playing golf or caddying does not influence body mass index (BMI); however, playing golf can positively change other body composition markers such as lean and fat mass. Conclusion This review demonstrated that golf participation may be an effective method for improving musculoskeletal and cardiovascular health, although mixed findings were observed. Moreover, limited longitudinal evidence suggests that playing golf can positively impact metabolic health and the influence on body composition may be parameter dependent. Additionally, the initial evidence suggests that caddying may improve musculoskeletal health. However, the studies included were limited by their methodological inconsistencies such as: study design, participant demographics and intervention prescription. PROSPERO Registration CRD42021267664.
BACKGROUND: Improving golf fitness is one way to improve club head velocity and subsequently golf performance. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of a three-week upper-body sprint training (SIT) program on power output and golf performance. METHOD: Eleven golfers (handicap: 5.5 ± 2.8) completed the SIT intervention. This was a self-controlled experiment with three testing points (pre-control, post-control and postintervention) where subjects completed a ballistic bench press, upper-body Wingate and golf testing session. RESULTS: Significant improvements were observed (13.3-15.5%) in peak and mean power production during the Wingate post-intervention in comparison to pre and post-control time points (p < 0.05). This was replicated in peak power for the ballistic bench press for both peak power (p < 0.05), but significance for mean power was only observed between post-control and post-intervention (p < 0.05) (improvements of 6.1-8.5%). These improvements were not seen consistently in golf performance variables measured, with no significance identified for the 7-iron and significant improvements (p < 0.05) observed in Carry Distance (2.2%) and Ball Velocity (1.4%) between pre-control and post-intervention.CONCLUSION: Lack of golf performance improvements could be because of the natural variation in club-head velocity across sessions or the inability of subjects to utilise their power gains during the golf swing. Longer SIT interventions may be needed to observe improvements in golf performance.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.