Is Golf Really More Dangerous than Rugby?

When you think ‘dangerous sports’ you’re not thinking golf. But, according to a new report, you may want to change that opinion.

It is typically the consensus that golf isn’t a hazardous sport because there is no contact involved. For sports like hockey and rugby, you would think that you are for more likely to suffer an injury from running around and hitting opposing players, especially with the new information we are learning about CTE in the brain. But golf beats them all in injuries.

According to a National Health Statistics Report, injuries suffered on the course were at a rate of 1.8 injuries for every 1,000 persons. That number is ahead of both of the sports I mentioned above. The only activities that had a higher injury rate in the report were general exercise, basketball, and football.

Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa receives treatment on the course…

Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa receives treatment on the course after an arm injury on the second hole during the third round of the 2017 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club on August 12, 2017 in… Get premium, high resolution news photos at Getty Images

Further, the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that amateur golfers are extremely prone to suffering an injury. According to their study, 15.8 to 40.9 percent of amateurs suffer golf related injuries on an annual basis. The most common of those problems end up being lower back strains, which account for 15.2 to 34 percent of those injuries.

You can view the full research behind the claims here.

Before endorsing any kids to drop their clubs and grab a football helmet, it is important to note that these reports are a little bit misleading. For example, the National Health Statistics Report lumps golf into a category with tennis, badminton, and bowling, so golf by itself may have a lower rate of injuries. And to be fair, I’m willing to bet that a lot of these injuries have alcohol involved.

So maybe golf may not be as safe as we expect but it’s also not dangerous enough to warrant a pulling kids away from the game. But next time you’re on the course, be mindful of potential injuries so you don’t become the next statistic.

Then of course, there’s this:

A post shared by Golficity (@golficity) on Jan 14, 2018 at 4:57pm PST

Stay safe out there.

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