It has been famously said that golf is a good walk spoiled. Yet despite this sentiment (often misattributed to Mark Twain), the sport is anything but, especially when you consider the many health benefits it provides.

Just as important, you can experience these perks at virtually any age, making it a true lifetime activity.

The numbers

According to the National Golf Foundation (NGF), a record 45 million Americans ages six and up participated in the sport in 2023, with over 26 million doing so on courses. In addition, first-time interest is at an unprecedented high: the links welcomed 3.4 million rookies that same year. And although golf may be considered a pastime geared toward middle-aged individuals, the largest group in this report—at over 12 million—was actually in the eighteen to thirty-four range; an estimated 3.5 million juniors joined the fun as well.

These players are likely driven primarily by a simple desire for a fun outing. At the same time, however, they are getting much more from the experience than they might have imagined.

Mental and social benefits

When you play a round of golf, there’s a surprising amount of thinking involved, requiring you to have steely concentration and decision-making chops for hours. For example, based on every hole’s length, design, and wind conditions, you need to determine which club to use, how hard to swing it, and where to aim your shot. Then once you’re putting on the greens, you must consider factors like distance to the hole and ground slope to estimate where and how hard to tap your ball. And don’t forget about tracking your strokes and calculating your overall score!

Additionally, perhaps more than any other sport, golf offers major social perks. Though it’s not technically a team game, it’s almost always played in foursomes, allowing for friendly conversations and laughter. It is also a great way to bond generations—golfers often teach their kids the ropes, and parent-child or sibling rounds of golf are commonplace.

Such pluses are great for anyone, particularly in today’s screen-focused culture. But they’re arguably even more important for older folks to help with cognitive decline and isolation. In fact, one UK company, Golf in Society, specifically uses golf as a tool to support the well-being of those in the senior population who have a condition like dementia, Parkinson’s disease, or depression.

Physical benefits

As a moderate-level activity, golf gives you a healthy workout while also being low-impact—no jumping or running required—which is helpful for your joints as you get older. This a big reason why people can golf well into their golden years; “shooting your age” (getting a final score lower than your age) is actually a common holy grail type of quest for older players. Here are the primary ways the sport can aid your well-being.

Getting outdoors
No matter how long you’re on a course, how you traverse it, or how old you are, you are out: in nature, on grass, and surrounded by trees. As a result, you’re spending hours breathing in fresh air and taking in vitamin D. Well-known benefits of the former include improved lungs and a strengthened immune system, while the latter may help fortify your bones.

Walking
Walking is one of the most popular ways for people to stay active, and golf encourages it in spades. It’s estimated that players trek between four and six miles (or more!), take over 10,000 steps, and burn upward of 2,000 calories on an 18-hole course. And the workout is even greater if you carry your clubs or use a pull cart for them while walking.

Are you concerned about being able to physically handle it? Ride around in a readily available golf cart to take control of the amount of walking you do and gain an easy way to transport your golf bag.

Swinging a club
A golf swing in itself, especially the first shot at each hole, is a full-body workout, utilizing the shoulders, arms, legs, back, and core. Research shows that swinging a club can also be more beneficial for older adults since it can help improve their strength, stability, and balance, common challenges associated with the aging process.

Overall, science indicates that partaking in golf can have quite a positive impact on one’s long-term health in many ways, including preventing type 2 diabetes, lowering cholesterol, and aiding heart health. Maybe of the best perk of all? Longevity. A ten-year study published in 2020 suggested that playing the sport can lower an individual’s risk of death; another widely reported one indicated that people who golf may live longer—as much as five years—than nongolfers.

Beyond the links

Even if golfing nine or eighteen holes outdoors isn’t your ideal day out, there are more ways than ever to experience the sport, allowing you to still get some solid exercise.

Topgolf
The well-known entertainment phenomenon offers a driving range complete with music, food, and screens that track your shots like a video game—think of it like a bowling experience with a golf club.

Golf simulators
These high-tech options, which allow you to play virtually while they analyze your swing, have skyrocketed in popularity; the NGF estimates that there are over 1,600 such systems at facilities nationwide.

Miniature golf
Of course, you could simply head to one of the over nine hundred miniature golf courses across the country for a day of putting with friends or family. At many of these places, you can also get your hacks in at a driving range.

Often considered a distant cousin of high-intensity, calorie-burning sports like basketball, hockey, and football, golf is gaining recognition for being an effective, slower-burn way to improve one’s health, regardless of age. So join the throngs of young and old alike who are hitting the links for not only a good walk but also a good time and a good workout.