Try this ancient sport—or keep at it—for fresh air, fitness, and fun.
Sean Kennedy’s father introduced him to the game of golf at the age of seven, and by the time he was eleven, he was hooked. He played golf in high school and landed a spot on the College of Charleston Men’s Golf Team. After graduation, he made teaching the technical elements of golf his career. As The Cliffs Communities PGA director of instruction, he shares his love of the sport with people of all ages.
Golf is often referred to as the game of a lifetime because players’ ages range from toddler to over a hundred years old. Like Kennedy, many golfers pick the game up early and never retire their clubs. It is a sport that not only spans ages, but continents; golf is popular across the globe. There are currently more than 16,000 golf courses in the United States, and more than 38,000 worldwide, according to the National Golf Foundation. And it’s not just a sport for men. One quarter of golfers are women.
“The game is a great metaphor for life,” Kennedy says. “Life comes at you fast and presents constant problems to solve. You are constantly managing emotions and learning new skills and techniques to help solve those problems. Golf is all-encompassing: physical, psychological, and social—a little microcosm of the human experience.”
Spending time outdoors soaking up the sunshine is one of the top benefits of the sport, but there’s a long list of additional health benefits. The R&A Golf and Health report cited a study published by the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports reporting that golfers live five years longer than non-golfers.
It might be time to try a golf bag pushcart and skip the golf cart. A walking game of golf is considered moderate exercise and can help prevent and treat diseases including diabetes, heart attack, stroke, cancer, depression, and dementia. Golf also improves balance and muscle endurance as well as cardiovascular, respiratory, and metabolic health. The sport reduces the risk of isolation, anxiety, and depression, and improves self-esteem.
“I see golf as more of a mental health boost,” says Kennedy. “There is no mastery of this game. That’s what intrigues me the most.”
Golf Facts
There are 16,000 golf courses in the U.S.
Number of golf courses worldwide: 38,000
Women make up 25% of golfers
Golf’s reach: 106 million, or one out of three Americans over age six
In 2021, 3.2 million people in the U.S. played on a golf course for the first time
Source: The National Golf Foundation
Ready to hit the links? Here are a few area courses to try:
Cherokee Valley Course and Club – 450 Cherokee Valley Way, Travelers Rest
Holly Tree Country Club – 500 Golf Club Dr, Simpsonville
The Preserve at Verdae Golf Club – 650 Verdae Blvd, Greenville
Furman University Golf Club – 400 N Hwy 25 Bypass, Greenville
Carolina Springs Golf Club – 1680 Scuffletown Rd, Fountain Inn
Paris Mountain Country Club – 301 Old Rockhouse Rd, Greenville
Southern Oaks Golf Course – 105 Southern Oaks Dr, Easley
River Falls Plantation – 100 Player Blvd, Duncan
Willow Creek Golf Club – 205 Sandy Run Dr, Greer
Pebble Creek Country Club – 101 Pebble Creek Dr, Taylors
