A dedicated campaign to raise awareness of the health benefits of golf for people of all ages and abilities is to tee off next month.
The first ever Golf and Health Week will take place from April 15-19 and will aim to encourage golfers, non-golfers and lapsed golfers into taking part in the sport.
The collaborative campaign will run across digital and social media channels using the hashtag #GolfHealthWeek and include content focused on highlighting the physical and mental health benefits of playing golf and projects being delivered by golf bodies and clubs.
Focusing primarily on Great Britain and Ireland, it will be coordinated by The R&A with the support of the European Tour, the Ladies European Tour, The Professional Golfers’ Association and the Golf Foundation, as well as national associations including England Golf, Scottish Golf, Wales Golf, the Golfing Union of Ireland and the Irish Ladies Golf Union.
A number of other organisations have expressed interest in supporting the week, including EDGA (formerly the European Disabled Golf Association), the PGAs of Europe and Golf Australia.
The campaign is also to be backed by professional golfers including Annika Sorenstam, Brooke Henderson, Padraig Harrington and Zach Johnson, who are ambassadors for the Golf and Health Project.
Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said: “It is important that we continue to promote golf as an activity that can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities and demonstrate that playing golf can provide significant benefits for the health and wellbeing of those who participate in the sport…
Last year, a global consensus amongst leaders in public health, public policy and sport backed golf in the race to tackle physical inactivity and the prevention of illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes
and cancer of the breast and colon.
Evidence linking golf and health, commissioned by the World Golf Foundation and supported by The R&A, was presented at Westminster following research led by the University of Edinburgh and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Previous research has also highlighted that those that play golf live five years longer