The Common Golfer

Wake up!  Scientific studies have shown that getting treatment for sleep apnea (which causes snoring and lack of sleep) can improve an affected golfers handicap by an average of 3 strokes.  Another finding in the study was that people were more apt to stick with their treatment, if they believed that there golf game would improve.

“Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) can lead to daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and cognitive impairment, all side effects which can negatively impact a person’s ability to golf to the best of one’s ability,” said researcher Dr. Marc L. Benton.  “As any golfer knows, when your ability to think clearly or make good decisions is compromised, the likelihood of playing your best is greatly diminished.  Through treatment with NPAP, we can improve many cognitive metrics, such as attention span, memory, decision-making abilities, and frustration management, which may, in turn, positively affect a person’s golf game.”

Oddly enough, the study actually found that “better” golfers with handicaps of 12 or less benefited the most from treatment.  Better golfers saw an average improvement of 9.2 to 6.3.

Dr. Benton estimates between 1 and 3 million golfers in the United States have untreated OSA.  Maybe next time you’re stuck behind a group of crappy golfers, you can recommend they go see a doctor!