
Football
Share
Published 07:55 20 Jan 2023 GMT
Explore more on these topics:
GP practices in Fife have been invited to take part in the pilot study, with participating practices linked with initially four local golf clubs offering a six-to-eight week, free-of-charge programme.
The clubs running the programme are Cluny Clays, Dunfermline, Dunnikier Park, near Kirkcaldy and Elmwood, near Cupar.
Around 30 participants have already been involved and more programmes are planned for this spring.
The R&A says that research has revealed that, on average, golfers live five years longer than non-golfers.
The sport can help prevent and treat 40 major chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart attacks, stroke, breast and colon cancer, depression and dementia.
Frank Sullivan, professor of primary care medicine and medical school director of research at the University of St Andrews, is leading a team of expert academics in the School of Medicine to support the activity.
Mr Sullivan said: “This pilot initiative has been carefully designed to offer an accessible and social introduction to golf and to provide long-term health and wellbeing benefits for patients across Fife.
“Our focus on developing connection pathways that are acceptable and feasible to implement for all involved is crucial.
"The most effective intervention in the world will not achieve its intended outcomes if patients are not connected with it.”
[caption id="attachment_335085" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)[/caption]
The R&A says that while pilot testing of the model has taken place in Fife, the findings will be evaluated and assessed for the feasibility of a larger-scale roll-out.
Linda Duncan, one of the participants at Cluny, said, “Golf has become something for me. It’s helped me get out in the fresh air and meet other people. The health benefits for me have been ten, 20, 30-fold.”
The R&A said it has committed funding to the Golf for Health project to support research at the university and the delivery of pilot golf packages by golf partners.
Kevin Barker, director of golf development at the R&A said: “The R&A is actively promoting the health benefits of golf to encourage more people into the sport.
"We see social prescription as a great way for golf to contribute to the health of communities and to provide people with opportunities to enjoy playing the sport throughout their lifetime.”
Related links:
Football

How the final Premier League table would look if every refereeing error was erased
Things would have looked very different. Every major refereeing decision leading up to the final few weeks of the Premier League season have been analysed, to establish how things may have played out differently, had PGMO officials always made the correct calls, in an impressive new report from the Athletic. The 2025/26 season ultimately ended […]
Football
23h
Here’s why French fans riot – even when their team wins
It’s now an infamous tradition Following Paris Saint-Germain’s win in the Champions League final against Arsenal on Saturday, at least 780 people across France were arrested with more than 450 in custody, as football fans clashed with police. A person was found dead after an accident on Paris’s ring road, which rioters tried to block […]
Football
1 day ago
WATCH: Comical moment footballer is run over by his own medical team
Football