Like everyone across the country, one of your New Year’s resolutions is to get in shape. You want to get mobile after the long winter while improving your overall health. While hitting the golf course can improve your range of motion when making a swing, you can add another exercise to your game by walking the course.
Golf Courses Offering a Range of Terrain Conditions
Golf courses have 18 holes of terrain that includes steep hills and slopes. Since you can walk up to 4 to 5 hours while playing the game, the workout you get can equal up to a moderate cardiovascular activity depending on how fast you walk. So you can burn 800 up to 900 calories and get in over 4,000 steps when going to all 18 holes.
Health Benefits from Walking Golf
Walking golf has been shown to provide a range of different health benefits to the golfer's body.
Walking golf can increase mobility, which is essential to golfers as they are practicing their swings. The activity can also improve lung functions as well as coordination. Perhaps the biggest health benefit from walking golf is an improvement to blood flow, which helps the heart and cardiovascular functions in your body.
Other Health Benefits from Walking the Course
Additional health benefits that golfers have found when walking the course include gaining a sense of relaxation. By walking to each hole, people can enjoy the scenery, breathe deeply, and get a mental boost. Once you reach the next hole and it is your turn up to the tee, your mind has a better focus on the activity at hand as you feel more calm.
Keep in Mind Your Physical Limits
Before engaging in any exercise, including walking golf, first speak with your medical professional to ensure that you can physically walk 4 hours at a time. For very old and very young players, they may not have the physical endurance to walk across all 18 holes. In these instances, it may be ideal to walk some of the course and ride along the rest when you feel your energy beginning to ebb. Also, there may be certain medical conditions that will limit the amount of walking you should do during the day.
Research the Golf Course So You Can Engage in Walking Golf
Although there are always benefits to walking, and walking golf, some golf courses do not allow such an activity. Instead, they may require golfers to use a golf cart. The reason is that some golf facilities make money by renting carts. Also, they want to preserve the condition of the golf terrain. If you are interested in engaging in walking golf, you can probably find a course near you where it is allowed.
Get Out On the Course and Walk
The one thing to keep in mind is that walking golf probably won't burn off enough weight if you are looking to lose a lot of pounds in a short amount of time. Since you are constantly stopping and starting your game, the activity isn't strenuous enough to remove the fat from your hips or belly. Yet there are other health benefits that you can find that makes this activity one you should do for your New Year's fitness resolution.
