City Golf Courses Create Wellbeing For The Whole Community In Urban Areas


It has long been known by evolutionary neuroscientists that human beings love to get back to nature. The benefits of being in contact with the natural environment are manifold and  well documented. Just being able to see some trees outside a hospital window has been shown to have incredibly positive effects on the post-surgery recovery of patients compared to those who have a window looking onto the urban jungle.

Golf professionals have long claimed to work in the best office in the world and now the science is catching up and showing it to be completely justified.

Research published in the esteemed journal 'Nature' has added another piece to the puzzle of how human beings cope in a 21st century environment with a physiology that evolved hundreds of thousands of years before the invention of the wheel.

The scientists in this study were looking at the specific impact of noise on human performance and wellbeing. Specifically they compared the impact of urban noise (traffic sounds) against natural soundscapes which was birdsong in this case.

In a study of almost 3000 people the birdsong had incredibly powerful effects on mental performance and general levels of anxiety and wellbeing. Birdsong improved the participants ability to deal with complex problems and reduced anxiety leading to overall improvements in wellbeing.

The opposite effect was found with the urban noise.

In a world where mental health issues are increasing the researchers even found that exposure to birdsong was incredibly helpful for patients with severe anxiety, depression and even schizophrenia and recommended it be piped into mental health wards.

Importantly for golf (and communities close to urban golf courses) the research found that the impact of birdsong increased in line with the diversity of species and the range of birdsong that could be heard. 

Chief Neuroscientist at Psyenz (Stephen Smith) said.

 "It is well known that city golf courses provide an oasis in the concrete jungle for wildlife. There is a far more diverse range of bird species on and around a city golf course than there would be if it was not there or was even a heavily used city park. This leads to a wider range of birdsong both on the golf course and in the local area. This research clearly shows that this must be having a hugely beneficial impact on the local community - though it probably would go unnoticed until the golf course is gone"

At Psyenz we think this research shows the importance of inner city initiatives such as the R&A design at Lethamhill in Glasgow have impacts that extend far beyond golfers. Psyenz also believe that this shows the need for local councils to re-evaluate the importance of public golf courses for the whole community

Stephen Smith- The Fairway Physician

info@psyenz.org

07806 794 527

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