Benefits of playing GOLF....

Benefits of Playing Golf
The benefits of playing golf are unlimited, but I've outlined a few below which I believe are incredibly important.

1. Coordinated Skill Gratification

Whether you are watching a great sports person or dancer we all recognise the skill that person delivers in their performance and take pleasure in watching their inspirational feats of brilliance.

That pleasure continues into our own practise as we challenge our own skills and adapt them into our own interests, in this case, specifically golf. Even as a complete novice we are capable of acknowledging when our body moves in a comfortable synchronised manner.

Interestingly, we are sensitive to this movement ahead of the contact on the ball (feed forward) and are capable of signalling such messages to the rest of the body to react in an appropriate manner.
The enjoyment factor related to a coordinated movement can not be underestimated. Combine this with a true contact on the ball and your enjoyment level increases to a point that is felt with even the highest quality players (feed back). This is due to our sensory messaging carried through the nervous system from our body to our brain.
There is a correlation between this process and Proprioceptive skills (spatial awareness). Propioception is an essential ingredient for improving golf performance and is covered in more depth within this site. There are other benefits to this process. Golf requires the ability to deliver varying power strikes; this will only be possible when our subconscious motor programming areas engage allowing a fast response to your intensions. As complex as this may sound, it is very achievable once you are aware of your own body movement ranges and limitations.

2. Companionship

A round of golf will take up to 5 hours to complete which will involve trails and tribulations. The completion of such exercise which includes companionship and walking in the open air brings self satisfaction. Interestingly, this will still happen even if your performance is not to the level you necessitate.

However, should you increase your performance level to a new personal best then your enjoyment level will be off the scale.

There is a huge sense of pleasure after completing such a challenge which often carries on way beyond the completion of the round and into your next performance.

3. Enjoyable Practice

A huge benefit with golf is the ability to practise on your own. Why there is no question that companionship is often carried on to the practise range, there is also a great sense of ‘self absorption’ into these sessions. This is the chance to develop your skills and learn how to control your own body movements while developing a new sensation for ‘internal immersion’. For many, this type of practise brings the game and ‘self’ together often for the first time and can be a memorable personal experience.

4. General Health

“People who are physically active have a lower risk of coronary heart disease” - British Heart Foundation

Physical activity declines rapidly with increasing age for both men and women, this starts in their mid forties. Of people aged between 16 and 24 only 47% of men and 70% of women are physically inactive. With an older age group between 65 and 74 this drops to a staggering 83% of men and 87% of women.
A survey for the charity ‘Mind’ revealed that 83% of mental health problems benefit from physical exercise in helping to relieve the symptoms of depression, stress and anxiety. It also suggested that it helped with manic depression and schizophrenia.

Conclusion

Learn to play.

Learn to play well.

The Benefits are Endless.

                                                                           
                                                       NUR ANISAH MOHD JAMIL