Golf and Parkinson’s Disease – Anthony Blackburn & Golf in Society
Parkinson’s disease affects 1-2 in 1000 people worldwide. Creator of GOLF IN SOCIETY, Anthony Blackburn, has set out to improve the lives of the ageing population by introducing them to the health & wellbeing benefits of golf, particularly in those with dementia and Parkinson’s.
The GOLF IN SOCIETY project is a social enterprise that has groups in the UK in which people with these conditions are able to go to a golf environment and take part in sessions on the driving range, putting green and golf course where they are gaining many of the physical, psychological and social benefits that golf can offer.
These groups offer the chance to get away from often predominantly house-bound lives into a social environment, that mixes outdoor and indoor interaction, whilst also offering a vital respite for the care-givers, in which they can have time to themselves as well.
Blackburn is certainly convinced that golf is helpful in terms of strength and balance and social interaction etc., and with the help of the scientific community, through the Golf & Health Project and the project’s relationship with Lincoln University, will be able to assess and measure its effectiveness to build a full picture of its effects.
The future of the project aims to see their golf sessions “socially prescribed” as a service that facilitates healthy ageing and supports people with chronic illness, especially later in life.
Anthony Blackburn was present at the 2018 Golf & Health Scientific Meeting at High Elms Golf Club, UK, to explain more about his work and its effects on participants so far.
The Golf & Health Scientific Meeting
Hosted by High Elms Golf Club, the Golf & Health Scientific Meeting brought together a wide variety of research specialists from around the world to share the incredible, cutting-edge research they are undertaking in the fields of physical activity, medical interventions and social prescribing, dementia and Parkinson’s research, rehabilitation, and community engagement, all with a focus on the health benefits that golf can give.
