Is the act of walking taken for granted? I think so! Done so often; it’s easy to neglect its necessity.
It may be another reason golfers live five years longer than others.
That doesn’t include golfers who ride motorized golf carts, however. If you golf regularly by walking, (one to two times per week), the physical effort cannot be denied its place in healthy living.
A full-length golf course may occupy 150 acres of land. When a person walks 18 holes, the walking may add up to five or six kilometres! At a short course like Hollies, a walker can log two or three kilometres during nine holes of play. Double that for 18.
These may be critical times for non-walkers, generally speaking. Further, they may not be aware of it. Not unlike the Industrial Revolution of the last century, we too are impacted by our own computer revolution. The difference however, is the increase of people choosing to sit on a couch or in front of a computer screen.
Appearing restful, it’s deadly in disguise. It’s been stated that a sedentary lifestyle is more lethal than smoking.
There is a saying, “If you stop, you’ll stop.” And like a machine needing lubrication, so too does the body. Divorcing oneself from a computer to walk is no different than disciplining oneself to diet or exercise. Sitting is now more than ever considered a disease and more problematic is its lack of acknowledgement.
Golf courses are great for walking. The land is soft and kind to one’s joints, unlike cement or concrete. The geography is not level either, providing opportunities for one to climb or negotiate side hills.
These are the prescriptions for mildly stimulating one’s heart rate and cardiovascular system. I’m not a doctor, but these claims seem legendary, bordering on common sense now. Golf is also different than a normal walk.
Being engaged in a game, one experiences the fun of play while walking. A normal walk can be boring and to the uncreative mind, lifeless. Consequently, golf evicts everyone from the experience of boredom.
And while you’re golfing, ask yourself about your pace. Do you walk leisurely, like death on feet, or do you stride with a sense of life, of confidence? When one lives on Vancouver Island, the feeling is “lay back”….but not back and die!
So, when playing golf, walk with a pace of liveliness. That’s what’s meant when hearing the phrase “look alive!” And live…an extra five years!