Modern golf is a very popular game whose origins are still debated to this very day. Nonetheless, the majority of historians believe that it was first played in 15th century Scotland where it was presented at the royal court. Others have suggested, however, that it might have origins in the early Roman period. In any case this is a game with serious heritage, and yet the debate still rages on as to whether your can really consider golfing as exercise. What do you think?
If you’re looking at the very basics, those being the amount of calories you burn during the game, then it’s hard to deny that golf is exercise. The Rose Centre for Health and Sports Sciences conducted a study recently which has shown that players averaged around 721 calories when they walked and carried their clubs as opposed to using a cart (at this point the average was 411). Considering that the average course entails only 2.5 miles of walking, it’s pretty easy to see that the swing is responsible for a lot of those burned calories.
Good for your heart?
While it’s very obvious that golf won’t get you into the same tip-top condition as, say running or boxing would, but if a player gets in around 36 holes per week they could burn about 2,800 calories… that’s around a day’s worth of meals, and does help to improve overall health as well as lowering the risk of heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Of course, it won’t necessarily improve your aerobic fitness.
Burning Calories
Many people don’t think of golfing as exercise because it’s quite a slow and gentle activity which doesn’t generally get your heart rate up. In fact, most think of it as more of mental activity than a physical one. There’s no doubt, however, that golfing does burn a decent amount of calories, and that it’s much better than sitting on the couch all day. Plus the sport can actually encourage further activity; many enthusiast will take up light weightlifting to improve the strength of their swing.
What is your verdict? Can we consider golfing as exercise?
