Survey says: The good folks at Golf Digest have just completed the largest and most comprehensive health survey of golfers ever conducted, and the results are, well, somewhat unflattering. Apparently, only the pros from the LPGA and PGA tours take their bodies seriously.
For its survey, Golf Digest rounded up 514 American golfers, of which 80 percent were male with an average age of 52.7 and an average handicap of 15.6. They were then asked questions about their health, exercise program, diet and golfing habits.
According to the findings – gulp! -- there is some truth that golfers are not exactly “athletes.’’ Actually, “unhealthy’’ was the word Golf Digest used in its release. Among the results:
*80 percent of golfers suffer from some sort of pain, injury or illness;
*30 percent have been unable to finish a round because of an ailment;
*66 percent are overweight to the point where 13 percent are obese;
*29 percent grab a hot dog at the turn (after nine holes);
*19 percent have never set foot in a gym;
*17 percent think sex the night before they play has a positive effect on their game; 3 percent think it has a negative effect;
*6 percent claim to have been hit by lightning while playing golf;
*76 percent consume an average of 6.8 alcoholic beverages a week;
*9 percent say they have consumed 10 or more beers during a round of golf.
ON TOUR
Last chance: Michelle Wie is up against the wall in her bid to become the youngest winner of a major championship this week at the Weetabix Women’s British Open. Should the 16-year-old prevail after numerous near-misses, she would replace Young Tom Morris, the son of Old Tom, who was 17 years, five months and 3 days when he captured the 1868 British Open. If Wie misses out on the golden opportunity, she will be 17 years, five months and 21 days when the next women’s major – the Kraft Nabisco Championship – rolls around next spring.
Rookie class: The Champions Tour is in need of a major infusion of talent, and it will get one next season when “The Magnificent Seven’’ form the Class of 2007 join the 50-and-over circuit. The rookies include Nick Faldo Mark O’Meara, Nick Price, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Jeff Sluman and John Cook. Between those seven players, they have won 19 majors, 72 PGA Tour titles and 198 international victories while occupying the No. 1 spot in golf for 203 weeks. Four – Faldo, Price, Ballesteros and Langer – are in the World Golf Hall of Fame.
NOTEWORTHY
Amateur qualifying: Chris Kessler of Scottsdale was one of five players to advance from U.S. Amateur Sectional qualifying earlier this week at Talking Rock Golf Club near Prescott. Tim McKenney, also from Scotttsdale, was the first alternate. Scottsdale’s Drew Kittleson went a different route, as he was medalist at the sectional qualifier in St. Paul, Minn. The U.S. Amateur will take place Aug. 21-27 at Hazeltine Golf Club in Chaska, Minn.
Top finishers: Julie Yang of Tempe and Daffodil Sanchez of Mesa both recorded high finishes recently in the U.S. Kids World Championships held at Pinehurst N.C. Yang finished second in the girls’ 11-year-old division, while Sanchez was fourth among 12-year-old girls. Arizona also finished fifth in the girls’ team championship. The three-day tournament for children between the ages of 4 and 12 included 960 players from 47 states and 33 countries.
Honored: Peter Longo, a part-time East Valley resident, has been honored as the 2006 recipient of the Joe Jemsek Par Excellence Award for his work with disabled golfers. Longo has written three books and recorded a video about teaching golf to the disabled while teaching the sport in the U.S. and Europe over the past 25 years.
And, finally: Highlights and interviews from the recent U.S. Junior Amateur Championship will be shown during a one-hour special on NBC this Saturday from 3-4 p.m. The national championship for boys 17 years and younger took place recently at Rancho Santa Fe Golf Club in southern California, where Scottsdale’s Philip Francis defeated Chandler’s Richard Lee in the first-ever all-Arizona final. |
