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Vacation Safety: Do golf getaways put you at risk?

By Megan Roth

Golf – it's America's new favorite pastime. In the year 2000, there were approximately 27 million golfers in the U.S. alone; it goes without saying that this figure has increased since then (nowadays, there are over 60 million golfers around the world).

This explains why there are numerous vacation golf packages at resorts across the country. Many such packages are all-inclusive baseand include concierge services free of charge.

Under such conditions (where all you have to do is show up and play), it's easy to forget about any and all responsibilities. I've done it – just shown up on the course, grabbed a margarita and hit the course.

It seems perfect, really: go out on a sunny day, hop in a covered golf cart and roam the greens for hours (everything you could need is on the course: restrooms, towel stations, cold beer) – wait, what?! Drinking and driving a golf cart – isn't that illegal?!

Bill Murray will attest: it's not the greatest idea. Yet, alcoholic beverages take prevalence when it comes to what's served on, at and around the golf course.

Perhaps this explains why an estimated 24,000 golf cart-related injuries occur on courses across the country each year (though it has not yet been proven, it's assumed the majority of these involve alcohol).

Other injuries attributed to alcohol consumption? Dehydration, inaccurate depth perception and inability to swing (and drive) straight – which puts all golfers on the course at risk of injury (regardless of whether they've been drinking or not).

And while alcohol and recklessness contribute to injuries on the golf course, they cause only a fraction of reported golf-related injuries. In fact, a mere 17% of such incidents are isolated traumas (such as getting hit with a club or ball) and over 80% occur from overuse.

That's a significant percentage (to say the least); yet, it's not something that crosses most of our minds when we hit the course on a sunny afternoon. The majority of us don't think to stretch out and warm up as we saunter through the clubhouse to the manicured greens. However, we could save ourselves a load of headaches (and other pains) if we did.

Studies show warming up for just 10 minutes before golfing can lessen one's risk of injury by 60 percent.

Now, I know – when on vacation, that 10 minutes could be better spent going to the clubhouse for a beer or snagging a souvenir t-shirt out of the golf shop. But trust me, it'll be worth it when it saves you the pain and hours of having to ice your sore shoulder while you lay on the beach the next afternoon.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Megan Roth

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on March 25, 2009 (boomark / email).