Millions of people around the world and about 500,000 in Germany have known it for a while: Golf is much more than taking a walk outside while trying to make sure a little white ball goes into a little hole in the ground. It’s fun, fitness and quality of life and most importantly leads to a healthy lifestyle.
Golf as fitness
“Playing golf helps relieve stress and is ideal to regenerate the body, mind and spirit from everyday life as well as giving players a cardiovascular workout,” according to the Golf Academy Paderborn.
Golf is a holistic experience for the body and soul. Golf players know and appreciate the unique effects of a stress-relieving round of golf in nature, where one can set the spirit free.
On top of that, golf is also beneficial to improve concentration, psyche and coordination.
Golf basically unifies therapy and prophylaxis and brings relaxation to the mind, body and spirit. Even people who have heart problems can play this sport without concern.
When it comes to fitness, just a simple golf swing gives you quite a workout.
One golf swing engages 124 out of 434 muscles in our body.
“It‘s biomechanically proven that golf is a sport where the most muscles are used.’’
Golf is also quite a cardiovascular workout where the heartbeat can reach up to 150 beats per minute.
There’s no question – golf gets the highest marks as the perfect strength and cardiovascular training for every type of exercise level and age.
Differences in golfing in Germany vs. the U.S.
We had the opportunity to visit one of the golf clubs nearby and asked Jochen Moeller, the manager of the Golf Club Websweiler Hof in Homburg/Saar, about the difference between golf in the U.S. and Germany and also about the opportunities for Americans to play golf in our region.
In the Saar-Lor-Lux region, with its radius of 100 kilometers around Ramstein, there are more than 30 golf courses.
The difference to golf courses in the U.S. is that golf courses in Germany are mostly all privately-owned. Nevertheless, they are open to the public.
Since this new regulation of privatization was carried out, only a few clubs still have tee times.
A big advantage of privately-owned golf courses is the atmosphere that reflects this privatization. In most of the golf clubs, there is a slight dress code and some sort of handicap certificate to play on the course is desired.
While golf in the U.S. has grown to be a sport that is as normal as playing tennis here in Germany, golf in Germany is still more of an elite sport. Most players are affiliated with a specific club and club hopping isn’t practiced much.
With a few exceptions, restaurants on privately-owned golf courses are basically open to the public and even as a non-golfer you can enjoy the nice atmosphere and the good food.
It’s recommended to make reservations in advance, because capacity is often limited.
