Fore your health – Dr. Rich Golf (Dr. Richard Goldberg)

by Dr. Richard Goldberg, guest writer

They say that golf is a metaphor for life.  For those who play golf, there are great opportunities for self-development.  There are also opportunities for health promotion.  And for those who do not play golf, this article applies just as well to a multitude of everyday activities.  Seeing golf as a vehicle for health promotion and new insight is part of the philosophy of the game that I have developed as Founder of Dr. Rich Golf, a golf mental coaching program (www.drrichgolf.com).  

The World Health Organization says, “there is no health without mental health.”  And, it may surprise you, but most golfers are not taking advantage of the game’s potential to improve our mental health.  In fact, too many golfers complain “this game is driving me crazy.” Look around the golf course and you see people ready to snap a club, swearing, grousing, or rushing through the round to get somewhere else.  It’s a wonder that so many people keep coming back to the game. 

What’s really unfortunate is that so many golfers are missing out on the opportunity to improve their mental health (and their game) by getting in touch with the beauty around them.  Every golfer has experienced that effortless swing sending a ball soaring through the air with an other-worldly beauty.  Every golfer has had a taste of this beauty although it’s hard to reproduce.  And once the beauty of a special shot is experienced, every golfer wants more.  But we don’t have to rely on more great shots to find the health-promoting beauty all around us on a golf course.   All it takes is opening ourselves to it, and slowing down to enjoy some details of nature that are all around us on every golf course.    

Years from now, let alone in a few days, no one is going to remember the numbers on our scorecard.  But what will be remembered are the friendships we shared and the peace instilled by the nature around us.  Golfers should take some moments during every round to contemplate something beautiful – flowers, fescue, a soaring bird, or the sound of a flag flapping musically on a windy day.  If you are sure to pause from time to time to be present in your surroundings instead of living inside your head – you will have made a good start.  Not only will your mental health improve, but you will play better golf.   

Richard Goldberg, MD

Dr. Goldberg is the author of BETTER GOLF BETTER LIFE. Order the book wherever you get your books – from Amazon to a local bookstore.

Dr. Goldberg is:

Professor (Emeritus) Department of Psychiatry & Human Behavior at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University