In terms of studies we like to see, it has to be right up there with the one that says coffee is good for you. The Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports this week revealed what we’ve known all along – golfers live longer. According to our good professors over in Geneva, who based their study on data gathered from 300 000 Swedish golfers, the death rate of golfers is over 40% lower than for other people. Scientists Anders Ahlbom and Bahman Farahmand (not the guys you’d expect to bump into at the halfway house) say this equates to a five-year increase in life expectancy. Unless, of course, you miss a three footer to win the US Open, which will probably take five years off your life. And with golf played by about 60 million people worldwide, there are some seriously healthy people on this great big fairway called earth.
"People play golf into old age, and there are also positive social and psychological aspects to the game," said Ahlbom. "Maintaining a low handicap involves playing a lot, so this supports the idea that it is largely the game itself that is good for health."
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