GOLF from a physical therapy perspective, PART 1

I am Dr. Mark Vigil, and I am an avid golfer.  This is the first of a series of articles that will go through the numerous benefits of playing the great sport of golf.  In this article, I will briefly review how golf can improve your strength, balance, endurance, mentality, and cognition.  Although I am just an average golfer, I have noticed the game benefit me personally and hope this article series can inspire others to take up the game in order to improve their life as well.  This is not an instructional manual to improve your game, but a physical therapy perspective of the specific ways golf can help someone’s lifestyle. I hope you enjoy.

Strength

Golf is a standing game where you use a club to hit a ball.  That is the essence of the game, but it requires adequate leg strength to stay erect, arm strength to lift the club, and core strength to transfer the arm and leg strength into the ball.  Nearly all of a person’s muscles are involved in order to swing a golf club. This means that golf can help to improve your functional strength, which will enable you to perform more of the activities that you enjoy.

Balance

The golf swing requires the transfer of weight around a player’s body.  You will need the ability to balance on each foot with varying amounts of pressure from side to side and from toes to heels. The conditions on each golf course vary, you may encounter some holes with steep inclines or uneven terrains. This will also challenge your balance and help you improve upon this essential skill.

Endurance

Golf requires you to stand up and walk a significant amount of the time, even when riding a golf cart.  It is estimated that you will walk an average of 2-3 miles when playing 9 holes! On top of this you need good endurance in order to tolerate the total time of standing for each shot.  An average 9 holes of golf will take 2 hours to complete. This means even if you were using a golf cart, you need to be able to stand for at least 30 minutes in total.  This is a great endurance goal for many people.

Mentality

Being able to hit something as hard as you want is a great way to de-stress.  During a golf shot, a player will select a golf club that ensures they can swing with full force.  The sensation of the “crack of the bat” (or club in this instance) is a thoroughly enjoyable sensation.  At the same time, it prepares us for defeat.  I would say the vast majority of my shots are hit very hard but do not go exactly where I want them to go.  This gives me a great opportunity to reflect and learn to be better prepared for the next shot.  Just like in life as in golf, the game has ups and downs but like Rocky said, “It’s not how hard you hit, it’s how hard you get hit and keep moving forward.”

Cognition

Golf is a very cerebral game that requires significant focus, understanding and problem solving.  There are many distractions that can occur while being on the course, so being able to focus on a task at hand is a great skill refined through golf. Golf is played whether it is hot or cold, windy or raining, so knowing how far you hit a ball with your clubs in various conditions is a great mental task.  Golf is a great way to keep your mind sharp, as no two shots are the same even when playing the same course or replaying a shot.

I truly believe golf is one of best ways to engage all of the previously mentioned skills at one time.  I would advise everyone to give the game of golf a shot.  Simply swinging a club will start training your strength, balance, endurance, and cognition to a great degree.  This is only part 1 of my golf series and each skill mentioned in this article will be broken down in greater detail in future posts.  For now, I leave you with the great words of golf legend Arnold Palmar…

“Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening – and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented.”