New research reveals golf is more dangerous than rugby

While professional sports players often sustain injuries, sports can be just as dangerous for those of us who play it for fun. Played as a pastime for many, the potential damage these sports can cause is often overlooked.

So which is the MOST dangerous sport to play in the UK? 

GolfSupport set to find out! Following their 2018 analysis of the official National Health Statistics Report on sports injuries, they surveyed 5,732 British sports lovers to discover the sports most susceptible to injury!

The research reveals that, regardless of the time or country it’s played in, golf remains a dangerous sport.

When respondents were asked to choose which sports they’d been injured in whilst playing, 71% chose football, crowning the sport as the most dangerous of all.

As the nation’s favourite sport, it comes as no surprise that millions of football-mad Brits have sustained injuries at some point in their lives.

Basketball is the second most dangerous sport in the UK, with 69% sustaining an injury whilst playing. The fast-paced and dynamic nature always requires players to be on their toes, explaining the high probability of getting hurt.

In third place is hockey, with 68% claiming injuries, and golf claims fourth! Whether it’s pain from the miss-hit of a driver, or being struck by a golf ball, a rate of 66% shows it’s not the laid-back sport many believe it to be, thus mirroring our previous research in America, with golf maintaining a higher injury probability than rugby, tennis and cycling.

Other dangerous sports making up the top ten include:

• American football (63%)
• Rugby (61%)
• Tennis (57%)
• Badminton/squash (57%)
• Cycling (55%)
• Athletics (50%)

Further survey results

When asked for the main causes of their injuries, the majority of Brits cited “someone else’s carelessness“. With 63% choosing this, it seems our biggest  fear when playing sports is each other!

Other causes include:

• Self-inflicted – 47%
• Equipment/objects – 35%
• Nature of the game (e.g. contact sports) – 19%
• Lack of rules/safety protocols – 14%

Of the injuries sustained whilst playing, respondents stated that a whopping three in five (62%) of these injuries required a visit to the hospital or GP.

Are British lovers of sports more careful following an incident? Apparently not. When asked if they would take more care after recovering from an injury, a whopping 61% said no – only 39% said yes! We think it might be worth practicing at home first to avoid more accidents…

We were also intrigued to discover whose responsibility the public feel it is to ensure safety in sports across the nation. Most Brits say the individual playing should look out for themselves (50%), followed by the sports facility or business (40%), and some even believing the burden lies on the Government (9%).

Which injuries are most common in golf?

For fellow golf lovers, we wanted to delve further into game-specific injuries to help us fine-tune our performances. Of those who favour golf, we asked which areas of their bodies have been injured most during play, and the most common answer was their back (65%). As posture is a fundamental factor of great swings, so it’s no surprise that repetitive back strain, especially if done wrong, can lead to serious damage.

Back problems were followed by elbow injuries (59%) more commonly known as ‘golfer’s elbow’. Next was the shoulder (54%), wrist (47%) and knee (32%).