I found this recent artiucle by the AP a good bit of news for golf. The more people can hear about the good, mainstream rationales for golf...the better. The story was written by Eddie Pells.
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Hit ball, drag bag and burn calories
Study shows golf more of a workout than some thought
Dec. 31, 2008 07:03 PM / Associated Press
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. - Is golf really a sport or just a hobby?
Is it a good walk spoiled, or should we forget the walking part?
Would a PowerBar help more than an apple after nine holes, or should we forget them both and just wolf down another candy bar and Coke?
And do you really have to have Tiger Woods' biceps to be any good?
A sports scientist pondering these and other 19th-hole kinds of questions, crunched a bunch of numbers and came up with answers, a few of which put new twists on some age-old assumptions.
Among the top findings: Given the number of calories burned, it's certainly OK to call golf a sport.
"One of the more interesting things I found was that the actual act of swinging a golf club takes significant energy," said Neil Wolkodoff, director of the Rose Center for Health and Sport Sciences in Denver.
Maybe more energy than many people might think for a motion that takes a grand total of about three seconds.
Wolkodoff found eight male volunteers, ages 26 to 61 with handicaps between 2 and 17, strapped them into some state-of-the-art equipment and took them out for a few rounds of golf on the hilly front nine of Inverness Golf Club in suburban Denver.
Wolkodoff discovered the subjects burned more calories when they walked and carried their clubs (721) than when they rode in a cart (411). When they walked, they traversed about 2.5 miles, compared to 0.5 miles when they rode.
The conclusion was that the act of swinging the golf club could actually be considered good exercise - a theory many on the "not a sport" side of the golf debate long have questioned.
"As far as physical exertion, it's not the same as boxing, but it's definitely more than people thought," Wolkodoff said.
But before all you golf addicts cancel those gym memberships and turn the treadmill into a permanent coat rack, consider this: Though the 2,884 calories the average player might burn by walking 36 holes a week is considered good for health (studies have shown that those who burn 2,500 calories a week improve their overall health by lowering their risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer), it will do little to improve fitness - meaning it won't increase your overall aerobic capacity.
Another finding the study showed is that being fit directly affects your ability to play good golf.
Wolkodoff soon will submit the results of his test to the Journal of Applied Physiology, the Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport and Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
So, is golf a sport?
Answer: It certainly is a sport, but probably not the only sport you would need to play if you really want to get fit. But getting fit on the treadmill or in the weight room will definitely diminish fatigue on the golf course and, in turn, help you play better.
"The study shows there's significant energy expenditure in golf, more than bowling and some other sports it's been compared to," Wolkodoff said. "There are a lot of sports that don't have this level of energy expenditure."
For more information on the study, go to rosechss.com