An overwhelming 92% of golfers would not be willing to wear a hard hat while on the course. That’s according to a survey we recently conducted in light of the news that golfers could be forced to wear hard hats to reduce injuries in the sport.
The survey of nearly 1,000 golfers also found that 80% of respondents would be less willing to play if they were forced to wear a hard hat. In addition, 82% didn’t believe that wearing a hard hat would reduce their chances of injury.
Safety on the golf course has been a hot topic of late, following the incident at this year’s Ryder Cup, in which a woman lost sight in her eye after being struck by a shot from Brooks Koepka.
However, despite the subsequent calls for greater safety measures at major events, our survey revealed that nearly three-quarters of respondents wouldn’t be in favour of spectators wearing hard hats in future.
Bernard Gallacher said of the findings: “I can understand why so many golfers are opposed to the idea of wearing hard hats. Not only is wearing a hard hat intrusive, but it’s also not going to prevent accidents from happening – you can’t legislate for one-off accidents.
“The suggestion that golfers should wear hard hats feels like a kneejerk reaction to the Brooks Koepka incident, and there are many other ways authorities could make golf safer for players and spectators.
“For instance, reviewing the distance between spectators and players. There needs to be a rethink on where spectators stand at driveable par-4 holes, especially when you consider that many of today’s top golfers can drive the ball over 300 yards.”
Another key finding from Golf Care’s survey was that 77% of golfers would still take out golf insurance even if other golfers wore hard hats. This suggests many still feel that the introduction of helmets wouldn’t make the golf course a noticeably safer environment.
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