Startling evidence reveals number of golfers hospitalised due to on-course injuries

A new survey has revealed around 33,000 active golfers have been hospitalised at least once due to an injury sustained on the course.

The research, by golf insurance website Compare Golf Insurance, questioned 1,706 UK golfers about their experience of incidents that have occurred while playing. It found that one in ten has been injured, with a fifth of those injuries having been severe or life threatening.

Almost a quarter (23%) of golfers worry they’ll hurt another player while on the course and, for some, this worry becomes a reality. According to the survey’s findings, in the last two years alone, a fifth of UK golfers have either injured someone else or come close to doing so. That’s over 327,000 people nationwide.

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Even more golfers (36%) have witnessed another golfer being injured on the course, 20% of which resulted in severe or life-threatening injuries.

Perhaps most worryingly, only half of respondents were found to have adequate insurance cover to protect them financially in the case of accidents. That’s despite seven in ten respondents stating that they believe all golfers should have insurance.

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The survey comes during the third UK lockdown, when many golfers will be dreaming of getting back out on the course. It’s a key time to arrange cover for when restrictions are lifted.

John Woosey, the managing director of Compare Golf Insurance, said: “Golfers will be itching to get out on the course when the UK lifts lockdown restrictions this spring. But, as these results show, the game of golf comes with a risk factor that it’s important to understand and protect yourself against. After all, even a small mishap can cause a debilitating and costly injury, whether to yourself or to another. For many golfers, as we’ve seen, it’s just not worth taking that gamble – which is why specialist golf insurance is so vital.”