8 minute read
Golf is Good for your Health, with Dr. Andrew Murray
A Healthy Relationship
As Chief Medical Officer for the European Tour, Dr. Andrew Murray has become accustomed to dealing with the global pandemic on a daily basis. In more normal circumstances however, looking after the health of elite golfers, he knows better than most the impact golf can have on its participants.
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We were therefore very grateful when Dr. Murray took time out of his busy schedule to talk to us about all things golf and health. He tells us about his journey to the European Tour, the impact the pandemic has had on the Tour, and the significant role he has played within the invaluable Golf & Health project…
How did you first get into golf?
I have done a few different things in life. I spent a lot of time travelling and then worked as a runner and a climber. I spent a fair bit of time in Antarctica, the North Pole, Namibia, then I settled down to work as a GP and Sports and Exercise Medicine doctor. It was actually when I was running from John O’Groats to the Sahara Desert that I started to read a lot about the health benefits of exercise – be that walking, running, cycling or golf. If you do that for 30 minutes per day, you live, on average, seven years longer. It is very, very good for physical health. You are between 40-70 per cent less likely to die of heart attacks, strokes, or have issues with breast cancer, type-two diabetes, depression and dementia.
One of the best things that we can do for our health is to get folk into physical activity, and golf is a great vehicle for that. It can be played from 3 to 103, it is something that can be played by all of society, and I have started playing it as well. I have got a six-year-old and a four-year-old who are starting to play. I will also play with my mum and dad. From a professional perspective, I have moved into sport as the Chief Medical Officer for the European Tour, providing support for The R&A and various other international governing bodies.
More recently, you have been heavily involved in the research aiming to link the relationship between golf and health?
I worked with the World Golf Foundation and The R&A around whether there are benefits from playing golf. The evidence is consistently growing that golf can be considered a healthenhancing physical activity that meets all the criteria that the World Health Organisation put down. If you go from being a couch potato to a regular golfer, you will live longer, have better physical health and it is likely to benefit your mental health. It has also been shown that regular physical activity decreases anxiety, depression, dementia and also makes you ABOVE:Dr Andrew Murray (far left), Golf & Health ambassador Annika Sörenstam (centre, left), Chief Executive of The R&A Martin Slumbers (centre, right) and other leading figures in Golf and Health during the First International Congress on Golf and Health at the UK Houses of Parliament, October 2018.
more productive. So, regular exercise helps you be more productive. Even spectators can get benefits. In Scotland, we looked at various events that showed that spectators walk 11,500 steps on average, so that tends to keep most doctors happy!
Before COVID-19, what were your core responsibilities as CMO?
My job as the Chief Medical Officer for the European Tour and Ryder Cup Europe is pretty straightforward: it is to help prevent and treat illness and injury, advise regarding anti-doping and support players to be at their best and to help them with health and performance.
Did you ever anticipate the COVID-19 situation to evolve in the way that it has?
I think COVID has been full of unpleasant surprises. Initially we tried to work out what the issues were with the virus, what decisions had been made by policy-makers, and what we could do about it. We needed to look carefully at what best practice was, so I looked at the World Health Organisation documentation, worked very closely with FIFA, World Rugby, ICC, ATP, all the other sporting bodies. At that point, we put a plan in place to deal with COVID. That did not mean we could decrease the risk completely, but we could certainly pull it down to a level that meant that our players, caddies and staff were not at any higher risk being in our bubble than they would be if they were in another environment. And it worked pretty well in terms of putting tournaments on. Governments were very, very restrictive in terms of the measures they would require to host professional golf events. We did have transmission but at a very, very low level – 0.14 per cent of tests on-site were positive in terms of our players and there were very similar numbers in terms of our caddies too. And there was zero transmission outside. Any transmission that occurred was in shared, indoor spaces, like cars and hotel rooms or dining areas. So, essentially, I suppose science has proven common sense – that if people can spend time in the great outdoors on the golf course, it is a low-risk environment. We needed to get the travel element right as well because not all of our events are in the same place. We initially did cluster events in Austria, the UK and Iberia so there was not much in the way of flights that needed to be taken. But we support travel planning with our players, give them advice regarding what to wear in terms of masks, hand sanitizer, seating arrangements, ensuring that a minimum number of flights were taken and that you are not routing through areas that had a lot of COVID. The players, caddies and staff overall have been exceptional. BELOW: Dr. Murray presents alongside Annika Sörenstam at the Golf and & Scientific Meeting, High Elms GC
LISTEN to more of Dr. Andrew Murray’s thoughts
BELOW: Dr. Murray with his colleague Dr. Roger Hawkes at the European Tour’s BMW PGA Championship
How will the reintroduction of full capacity crowds at events alter yours and the European Tour’s approach?
If you look at the professional circuit, we are looking to get back to a degree of normality. We need to ensure we are putting on a safe event, but at the same time, we are always looking to provide spectacular events that can produce the sort of scenes that we have seen in recent years. We are confident we will get there. From a community perspective, it is very difficult to see golf going back into a lockdown restriction. 60 million people benefit from playing golf globally, and it has been shown that golf has benefits and is a low-risk environment. I think if science is logically applied then golf courses will remain open for people to play. I think we will see a continuing boom in community play.
Switching our attention to the last principle of emphasising the health benefits of golf, the impacts of COVID-19 have only reinforced the messaging behind the Golf & Health Project. Tell us about the project and why it was founded.
The project was initially set up because people thought that golf might be good for health but there just was not the science to back it up, so the World Golf Foundation, The R&A and all of the stakeholders put some money in the pot to try to get some science behind it. Dr. Roger Hawkes coordinated the project – he is sort of the godfather of golf and health and is someone that has taught me a lot. And it was found that there are significant health benefits to golf although there are also specific injuries that people can get to backs, shoulders, wrists etc. We
The European Tour’s Golf for Good campaign forms the crux of its CSR operation. What is it?
The three pillars of the Golf for Good campaign are essentially giving back – contributing financially or through other means to the local community and charities; acknowledging the efforts of key service personnel; and emphasising the health benefits of golf. I think it is a fantastic initiative that various people have put together and I think it will continue to grow. are also looking to provide information to golfers about what they can do to maximise the health benefits, and what they can do to decrease risk, such as getting your skin checked once a year or wearing sun cream. That information is on www.golfandhealth. org. I would urge all golfers or health professionals to have a look at it.
The CPG has supported and been an active collaborator with the Golf & Health Project since it was launched, providing things like governance and operational assistance. As an organisation, it has also integrated the project’s key messaging around the health benefits of golf into its own communications and activities, ensuring its members share the sport’s important role in maintaining a healthy, active population.
Has the Golf & Health project helped to inform government policy?
The World Health Organisation have launched their global action plan on physical activity. They are looking for all stakeholders to put information out there regarding the health benefits that their activity has, and golf has been no different. The likes of CPG, the World Golf Foundation, the European Tour, The R&A are getting this information out and governments are taking notice. People are being encouraged to prescribe golf, isn’t that amazing? That is not just the golf industry, that is teachers, professionals, people that are less invested in the game. We are seeing real traction with this.
