A special campaign to make people aware of the health benefits of golf for people of all ages and abilities will be released next month.
The first Golf and Health Week runs from 15-19 April and is intended to encourage golfers, non-golfers and cursed golfers to participate in the sport.
Various health-related themes are promoted during the campaign, including:
April 15: fitness professionals and amateurs
April 16: mental health (including dementia)
April 17: handicap golf
April 18: golf for everyone – with different health projects (eg Parkinson's, loneliness, stroke and other programs that can benefit health)
April 19: club level – focus on golf clubs (eg: fitness, food, drinks, gym classes)
While the program is coordinated by The R & A, Golf Australia promotes local content in these categories during the week to bring some of the great stories of our game to the attention of a domestic audience.
The collaboration campaign runs through digital and social media channels with the hashtag #GolfHealthWeek and includes content that focuses on emphasizing the physical and mental health benefits of golfing and projects delivered by golfing institutions and clubs around the world, including EDGA (formerly the European Handicap Golf Association).
The campaign is also supported by professional golfers, including Annika Sorenstam, Brooke Henderson, Padraig Harrington and Zach Johnson, ambassadors for the Golf and Health Project, which since 2016 has studied the many and varied health and well-being benefits of golf, considered all risk & And had research published regularly in international peer-reviewed journals.
R & A CEO Martin Slumbers said: "It is important that we continue to promote golf as an activity that people of all ages and abilities can enjoy and show that golf can offer significant benefits to the health and well-being of those who participate in sports.
"We work closely with our affiliated national associations and partners to create an exciting and inspiring campaign that will stimulate interest in playing the sport and encourage people to take advantage of the health benefits that golf can offer."
David Gallichio, general manager of golf development at Golf Australia, said: "Golf is a sport that can be played for life and one that helps to increase the physical and mental health and well-being of the participants.
"With Golf and Health Week we can continue to tell this story and promote the benefits of our sport to a wide audience. The Golf and Health Project in particular has helped us in Australia to tell the story of our sport to the government and wider community. "
To arouse interest and encourage activity in the days before, golfers are asked to tweet their achieved steps and calories burned from all the golf they play with #GolfHealthWeek. The week ends on Good Friday at club level, where golfers are encouraged to go to the fairways during the Easter holiday weekend.
Last year there was a global consensus among health, public policy, and sport leaders who supported golf in the race to tackle physical inactivity and prevent diseases such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and breast and colon cancer.
The evidence that connects golf and health, commissioned by the World Golf Foundation and supported by The R&A, was presented in Westminster after research led by the University of Edinburgh and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Previous research has also shown that those who play golf live five years longer than those who do not, while the sport has shown self-respect and benefits for itself.
See www.golfandhealth.org/ for more information about the Golf and Health Project.