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30.11.2011 Golf

GOLF – the game for life

By Compiled by Dr Felix K. Frempong, President, Ghana Golf Association
GOLF – the game for life
30.11.2011 LISTEN

A cursory look at Golf internationally, shows that the game is on the upsurge and previous acronym that the game is for the privileged and the rich is being reviewed and discarded. The impact of Golf is felt in three areas, Health, Environment and Economic. In general, this reveals a trove of benefits contrary to previous misconceived ideas about the game.

HEALTH AND HUMAN BENEFITS
It is documented that the best exercise for good health is the minimum of 30mins walk three times a week. This is easily achievable through golf, a game that is easily for all ages and a game of life for life.

Golf is really a healthy game. During a game of Golf, you swing mini weights, you exercise your joints, bending, walking, and you walk diverse terrain, flat, hillsides and knolls.

The mind constitutes 60% of the game golf. The game trains you in the powers of concentration, integrity, self control, determination, emotions of joy and disappointment and how to handle all these avalanche of emotions. The spirit of compassion is imbued into participants of this noble game .

Golf is a mass participation game contrary to other sports which are spectator sports. It helps you burn calories regularly at one's ability hence the innovative way players are given Handicaps to give all players equal chances of winning Tournaments.

At the Professional level, it is unique to find the young and old, early twenties and over fifty years Golfers competing in the same Tournament. . It is unprecedented compared to all other sporting disciplines and really is a game for all ages.

At the worst, where walking becomes compromised players can be helped with buggies that carry them around the course.

Temperamentally the game relaxes you despite going through all sorts of emotions, - i.e. joy, disappointment, hope, success and winning.

In Golf there is always more than one winner. It is documented that as one grows old one of the best therapeutic options is to join a Golf Club, seek camaradie.

The best present you can give your child is to introduce him or her to Golf. The game is used as a vehicle for Youth Development, teaching the kids essential life skills e.g. First Tee Program of USA.

This involves orientating kids in life lessons and teaching them how to be good responsible adults some day. This Program has established nine core values that represent the positive values connected with golf.

Quoting from the First Tee program these values are “HONESTY, INTEGRITY, SPORTSMANSHIP, RESPECT, CONFIDENCE, RESPONSILITY, PERSEVRANCE, COURTESY AND JUDGEMENT”.

1. Honesty - the quality or state of being truthful; not deceptive.

Golf is unique from other sports in that players regularly call penalties on themselves and report their own score.

2. Integrity – strict adherence to a standard of value or conduct; personal honesty and independence.

Golf is a game of etiquette and composure. Players are responsible for their actions and personal conduct on the golf course even at times when others may not be looking.

3. Sportsmanship – observing the rules of play and winning or losing with grace. Players must know and abide by the rules of golf and be able to conduct themselves in a kind and respectful manner towards others even in a competitive game.

4. Respect – to feel or show deferential regard for; esteem.

In golf it is important to show respect to oneself, playing partners, fellow competitors, the golf course, and for the honor and traditions of the game.

5. Confidence – reliance or trust. A feeling of self-assurance.

Confidence plays a key role in the level of play that one achieves. Players can increase confidence in their abilities by being positive and focusing on something they are doing well regardless of the outcome.

6. Responsibilities – accounting for one's actions; dependable.

Players are responsible for their actions on the golf course. It is up to them to keep score, repair divots, rake bunkers, repair ball marks on the green, and keep up with the pace of play.

7. Perseverance – to persist in and idea, purpose or task despite obstacles.

To succeed in golf, players must continue through bad breaks and their own mistakes, while learning from past experiences.

8. Courtesy – considerate behavior toward others; a polite remark or gesture.

A round of golf should begin and end with a handshake between fellow competitors. Players also should be still and quiet while others are preparing and performing a shot.

9. Judgment – the ability to make a decision or form an opinion; a decision reached after consideration.

Using good judgment is very important in golf. It comes into play when deciding on strategy, club selection, when to play safe and when to take a chance, the type of shot players consider executing, as well as making healthy choices on and off the golf course.

ENVIRONMENT
Golf is synonymous with greenery and is one of the environmentally friendly games. The average Golf course, cultivates, grass, trees and landscapes the terrain called Golf course, planting different species of trees, short, bushy, shrubby and different types of grass.

The nature of the game demands that the course is kept mowed and kept in playable state therefore beautifying the environment

In most cities Worldwide, Golf Courses form the Green zones of the cities.

Golf is the only game where Tree planting is part of the option , providing a healthy environment which in some situations serves as a fire belt around properties.

ECONOMIC IMPACT
Golf is a mass participatory as well as a spectator sport of millions of its enthusiasts. It is estimated that more than 28 million Americans play golf, a population that surpasses the total population of Ghana.

Indeed in America the game of golf is a leading industry player with immense positive contributions contrary to the accolade tagged to golf in Ghana as a game for the rich.

The golfing population in Ghana number a couple of thousands and indeed investment into this sector of sport is long overdue.

Golf is so much more than just a game. It is a significant industry, a major contributor to the American economy and to the economic vitality of individual states. GOLF 20/20 published its first national report in 2002, which demonstrated that golf in 2000 was a $62 billion industry, bigger than the motion picture and recording industries combined. A follow-up report in 2007 confirmed that golf had grown to become a $76 billion industry, with a total impact on the U.S. economy in 2005 of $195 billion.

Additionally, the recent report indicates that golf is responsible for contributing about $3.5 billion annually to charities across the country in the USA, more than any other sporting activity.

This makes golf a larger than life industry estimated to be larger in the US than the motion picture and video business ; larger than the performing arts, newspaper industry and other spectator sports.

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