Golf stakeholders put premium on health benefits of the sport

MANILA, Philippines – Aside from fun activities, summer gives us reason to check on our health and engage in a healthier lifestyle through sports. Yet, more and more active Filipinos are skipping the gym in favor of the great outdoors, hitting greens, and searching balls.

Golf, many experts say, is good for one’s physical and mental health. It is a proven weight-loss program for the more serious enthusiasts, which complements weight training and provides an extensive cardiovascular workout even to weekend players.

If these do not encourage you yet to take a swing, consider these:

• Playing golf lowers a player’s harmful cholesterol level.

• A round of golf burns about 300 calories in a 150-pound individual.

• The driving range burns about 200 calories per hour.

• Bearing weight also strengthens muscles and bones.

• It also helps a player gain more length in his drive.

• Exposure to the sun also gives a golfer plenty of Vitamin D. It also helps a player sleep better, even if he’s not tired enough yet after playing three to four hours in a regular course.

Being a social game, a golfer also finds new friends and gets more opportunities in sealing new partnerships and business deals. Golf in the Philippines has become a thriving industry, with its main stakeholders forming into the Golf Distributors Association of the Philippines (GDAP) to ensure the quality of products and services its members render to its clients.

The GDAP has also lined up the 15th Philippine International Golf Show from Sept. 24 to 26 at Hall I of the SMX Convention Center at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City among its activities where it would give active golfers and would-be enthusiasts the chance to pick up clubs, yell fore, and stay healthy.