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Risk assessment agency: Golfers should be wearing protective helmets

Published

8 years ago

on

With thousands of dollars paid out each year in claims from head injuries sustained on the golf course from stray golf balls, there is now a new initiative that proposes that all golfers should wear helmets while on the course.

Statistics show that between 16 and 41 percent of amateur golfers are injured each year from errant golf balls. These accidents leading to both insurance claims and time lost at work. As GolfPunk originally reported, that has prompted businesses to lobby for tighter safety measures on the course.

Chris Hall, a spokesperson for the health and safety and employment agency Protecting.co.uk, spoke about the need for greater protection on the golf course — citing the protective helmets used by rugby players as one example.

“If you look at a selection of other sports played in the UK, both contact and non-contact, there are measures in place to reduce injury. For example, many amateur and lower-league rugby clubs insist on protective helmets; martial arts classes provide pads for their students – and this is not just to prevent injury. It’s because financially, it makes sense for clubs (and their insurers) to prove they’ve reduced harm wherever possible.”

Research shows that golf had an injury rate of 1.8 per 1,000 participants while rugby’s injury rate was 1.5 per 1,000. Perhaps more poignant is the fact that the demographic breakdown of golfers leans towards men in their 40s and 50s, of which many make up a large proportion of managerial and director-level employees — in other words, people companies can’t afford to have out of work.

Despite the farfetchedness of the thought of golfers having to wear helmets on the golf course in the future, Hall suggested that there is a distinct possibility that the idea could be implemented, once more stressing the importance for greater safety measures within the sport.

“Public safety campaigns are crucial to changing the status quo. Cyclists are aware that helmet use is recommended. With enough support from insurers, businesses and health & safety professionals, a similar scenario could happen with golfers.”

So, GolfWRXers, there you have it. How would you feel about wearing a helmet while enjoying your round of golf? Do the stats change your opinion?

Related Topics:

Gianni is the Managing Editor at GolfWRX. He can be contacted at gianni@golfwrx.com

18 Comments

18 Comments

  1. Jamie

    Nov 5, 2018 at 11:31 am

    When Bryson shows up on Tour with a helmet and a short bus, I’ll consider it. Thanks for the laugh.

    Reply Report comment

  2. Tony Dyck

    Nov 5, 2018 at 10:58 am

    Dumbest article I’ve seen on WRX.

    We can report posters for bad behaviour, but unfortunately there is no method for reporting absolute junk articles posted by WRX.

    Reply Report comment

  3. Tiger Noods

    Nov 4, 2018 at 11:19 pm

    A 41% injury rate is slightly higher than the casualty rate for Marines at Iwo Jima. (https://www.quora.com/What-were-the-average-soldiers-odds-of-surviving-WWII)

    Reply Report comment

  4. TRUMP 2020

    Nov 4, 2018 at 10:10 pm

    Like riding a bicycle, you’re going to get racked sooner or later. Its just part of it.

    Reply Report comment

  5. Aztec

    Nov 4, 2018 at 7:49 pm

    Is the injury rate of 1.8 out of 1000 just head injuries or all injuries? Does it only include injuries incurred by errant golf balls or injuries caused by anything encountered while playing golf? How many of these injuries would be prevented by the use of a helmet? Without clarification, this article lacks credibility and, frankly, is a bad attempt at being relevant.

    Reply Report comment

  6. Brad

    Nov 3, 2018 at 4:34 am

    ROFL when I read the line that read “between 16 and 41 percent”….What, the authors of this study can’t do math well enough to narrow their probabilities to within less than 25 percent variance?

    Funny enough, this study also showed that aerobics had the highest injury rate at 5.3 per 1,000 per year. What out Richard Simmons, they’ll be making you wear a stack hat as well soon…

    Reply Report comment

  7. B. Ferguson

    Nov 3, 2018 at 12:35 am

    After that poor woman lost her eye on an errant drive recently, you’d need a full-face motorcycle helmet with a windscreen to feel safe.

    Hmmm . . . maybe I should keep a life jacket beside my bathtub, too.

    Reply Report comment

  8. James

    Nov 2, 2018 at 4:57 pm

    Can’t wait to see Rickie in an orange helmet! Tiger in red on Sunday.

    Reply Report comment

  9. joel jolicoeur

    Nov 2, 2018 at 3:50 pm

    I hope you did not pay Gianni for this.

    Reply Report comment

    • Brandon

      Nov 2, 2018 at 8:07 pm

      They shouldn’t pay that guy anything ever.

      Reply Report comment

  10. A. Comoner

    Nov 2, 2018 at 3:32 pm

    What a load of manure!! Complete waste.

    Reply Report comment

  11. chp

    Nov 2, 2018 at 3:23 pm

    If all vehicular speed limits were reduce to a 5 mph maximum, there would be fewer injuries as well

    Reply Report comment

  12. PJ

    Nov 2, 2018 at 2:56 pm

    Is it April 1st?

    Reply Report comment

  13. DB

    Nov 2, 2018 at 2:16 pm

    Research, statistics, and SCIENCE! … No thanks. I would like to live my life as an actual human. I’m not wearing a helmet to play golf.

    Reply Report comment

  14. STOP IT

    Nov 2, 2018 at 1:37 pm

    Please wear a helmet in a LOS ANGELES or any So Cal golf course, even better a driving range and see what happens.. PLEASE TEST THIS HERE! We need someone to make fun of and laugh drunk and high during these 6 hour rounds.

    Reply Report comment

  15. Samuel Jackson MmmMMM

    Nov 2, 2018 at 1:08 pm

    Sorry but this story lost me when it started comparing injury rates between rugby and golf… Who ever came up with this concept just lost ALL their credibility comparing the two.

    Reply Report comment

  16. Lynn Hall

    Nov 2, 2018 at 12:20 pm

    ‘Statistics show that between 16 and 41 percent of amateur golfers are injured each year from errant golf balls.’ then I read ‘Research shows that golf had an injury rate of 1.8 per 1,000 participants’ … Uh, is this British math ?

    Reply Report comment

    • Scott

      Nov 3, 2018 at 10:54 pm

      I can not figure out how i only know a couple of people that have been hit when 41% of all golfers have been plunked.

      Reply Report comment

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News

2026 PGA Championship betting odds

Published

1 day ago

on

May 12, 2026

By

Scottie Scheffler leads the betting ahead of the second major championship of the year, with the World Number One a +345 favorite to get his hands on a second PGA Championship.

Rory McIlroy who won the Masters back in April is a +800 shot to complete half of the calendar slam at Aronimink Golf Club this week, while Jordan Spieth can be backed at +5900 to become a career grand slam winner.

Here is the full betting board for the 2026 PGA Championship courtesy of DraftKings.

Scottie Scheffler +345 – (Check 0ut his WITB here)

Rory McIlroy +800 – (Check out his WITB here)

  • Jon Rahm +1300 
  • Cameron Young +1500
  • Bryson DeChambeau +1700
  • Xander Schauffele +1850
  • Matt Fitzpatrick +1950
  • Ludvig Aberg +2000
  • Tommy Fleetwood +2600
  • Collin Morikawa +3500
  • Brooks Koepka +3900
  • Justin Rose +4300
  • Russell Henley +4600
  • Si Woo Kim +4700
  • Justin Thomas +4800
  • Robert MacIntyre +5300
  • Patrick Cantlay +5300
  • Viktor Hovland +5400
  • Tyrrell Hatton +5500
  • Jordan Spieth +5900
  • Sam Burns +6000
  • Hideki Matsuyama +6200
  • Adam Scott +6400
  • Rickie Fowler +7000
  • Chris Gotterup +7400
  • Patrick Reed +7400
  • Min Woo Lee +7800
  • Ben Griffin +8000
  • Sepp Straka +8400
  • Shane Lowry +9000
  • Akshay Bhatia +9200
  • Maverick McNealy +9200
  • Joaquin Niemann +9200
  • Jake Knapp +9200
  • Jason Day +9600
  • Kurt Kitayama +10000
  • J.J. Spaun +10000
  • Harris English +10500
  • Nicolai Hojgaard +11000
  • Gary Woodland +11000
  • David Puig +11000
  • Michael Thorbjornsen +12000
  • Jacob Bridgeman +12000
  • Keegan Bradley +12500
  • Corey Conners +14000
  • Alex Fitzpatrick +15000
  • Sungjae Im +15500
  • Sahith Theegala +15500
  • Harry Hall +15500
  • Alex Noren +16000
  • Thomas Detry +16500
  • Marco Penge +16500
  • Kristoffer Reitan +17000
  • Alex Smalley +17000
  • Wyndham Clark +17500
  • Sam Stevens +17500
  • Keith Mitchell +17500
  • Daniel Berger +18500
  • Ryan Gerard +20000
  • Nick Taylor +20000
  • Rasmus Hojgaard +21000
  • Dustin Johnson +21000
  • Pierceson Coody +23000
  • Aaron Rai +24000
  • Jordan Smith +24000
  • Angel Ayora +24000
  • Bud Cauley +25000
  • Matt McCarty +26000
  • Jayden Schaper +26000
  • Brian Harman +27000
  • Taylor Pendrith +27000
  • Ryan Fox +27000
  • J.T. Poston +27000
  • Cameron Smith +29000
  • Ryo Hisatsune +29000
  • Michael Kim +29000
  • Max Homa +29000
  • Denny McCarthy +29000
  • Tom McKibbin +30000
  • Rico Hoey +32000
  • Matt Wallace +32500
  • Ricky Castillo +33000
  • Haotong Li +33000
  • Michael Brennan +34000
  • Max Greyserman +36000
  • Stephan Jaeger +37500
  • Christiaan Bezuidenhout +37500
  • Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen +39000
  • Aldrich Potgieter +40000
  • Andrew Novak +42000
  • Patrick Rodgers +42500
  • Daniel Hillier +42500
  • Max McGreevy +46000
  • Billy Horschel +48000
  • Chris Kirk +48000
  • Ian Holt +49000
  • Casey Jarvis +49000
  • William Mouw +50000
  • Steven Fisk +50000
  • John Parry +50000
  • Nico Echavarria +52500
  • Garrick Higgo +52500
  • John Keefer+55000
  • Matthias Schmid +57500
  • Austin Smotherman +57500
  • Sami Valimaki +60000
  • Andrew Putnam +60000
  • Lucas Glover +62500
  • Daniel Brown +62500
  • Jhonattan Vegas +75000
  • Emiliano Grillo +80000
  • Mikael Lindberg +85000
  • Adrien Saddier +100000
  • Bernd Wiesberger +100000
  • Elvis Smylie +110000
  • Stewart Cink +130000
  • Kota Kaneko +130000
  • David Lipsky +150000
  • Chandler Blanchet +150000
  • Andy Sullivan +150000
  • Joe Highsmith +180000
  • Adam Schenk +200000
  • Travis Smyth +200000
  • Davis Riley +225000
  • Martin Kaymer +400000
  • Brian Campbell +400000
  • Padraig Harrington +450000
  • Kazuki Higa +450000
  • Jordan Gumberg +450000
  • Ryan Vermeer +500000
  • Austin Hurt +500000
  • Tyler Collet +500000
  • Timothy Wiseman +500000
  • Shaun Micheel +500000
  • Y.E. Yang +500000
  • Michael Block+500000
  • Mark Geddes+500000
  • Luke Donald+500000
  • Bryce Fisher+500000
  • Jimmy Walker +500000
  • Jason Dufner +500000
  • Jesse Droemer +500000
  • Jared Jones +500000
  • Garrett Sapp +500000
  • Francisco Bide +500000
  • Zach Haynes +500000
  • Paul McClure+500000
  • Derek Berg +500000
  • Chris Gabriele +500000
  • Braden Shattuck +500000
  • Ben Polland +500000
  • Ben Kern +50000

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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

2 days ago

on

May 11, 2026

By

GolfWRX is on site for the second major of 2026: The PGA Championship from Aronimink in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania.

The tournament’s location, just outside Philadelphia, and its status as a major championship mean GolfWRXers are in for a treat: WITBs from a strong field, custom gear celebrating the PGA Championship, and the rich culture of the City of Brotherly Love — we have noted a relative absence of cheesesteak-themed items thus far this week, but most of the rest of the usual suspects are well represented.

Check out links to all our photos below.

General Albums

WITB Albums

Pullout Albums

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News

How much each player won at the 2026 Truist Championship

Published

2 days ago

on

May 11, 2026

By

Kristoffer Reitan held his nerve at Quail Hollow on Sunday to claim his first PGA Tour victory and the $3.6 million winner’s check that came with it. The Norwegian fended off a packed leaderboard on a dramatic final day, with Rickie Fowler and Nicolai Højgaard both taking home $1.76 million for their runner-up finishes.

With a total prize purse of $20 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Truist Championship.

1: Kristoffer Reitan, $3,600,000

T2: Rickie Fowler, $1,760,000

T2: Nicolai Hojgaard, -$1,760,000

4: Alex Fitzpatrick, $960,000

T5: Tommy Fleetwood, $730,000

T5: Sungjae Im, $730,000

T5: J.J. Spaun, $730,000

T8: Ludvig Aberg, $600,000

T8: Harry Hall, $600,000

T10: Patrick Cantlay, $500,000

T10: Matt McCarty, $500,000

T10: Cameron Young, $500,000

13: Justin Thomas, $420,000

T14: Min Woo Lee, $360,000

T14: Chris Gotterup, $360,000

T14: Nick Taylor, $360,000

T17: Alex Smalley, $310,000

T17: Gary Woodland, $310,000

T19: Austin Smotherman, $242,100

T19: Rory McIlroy, $242,100

T19: Keegan Bradley, $242,100

T19: Sudarshan Yellamaraju, $242,100

T19: Kurt Kitayama, $242,100

T24: Patrick Rodgers, $156,643

T24: Pierceson Coody, $156,643

T24: Adam Scott, $156,643

T24: Andrew Novak, $156,643

T24: Harris English, $156,643

T24: J.T. Poston, $156,643

T24: David Lipsky, $156,643

T31: Brian Harman, $114,416.67

T31: Viktor Hovland, $114,416.67

T31: Alex Noren, $114,416.67

T31: Tony Finau, $114,416.67

T31: Nico Echavarria, $114,416.67

T31: Corey Conners, $114,416.67

T37: Sam Burns, $82,187.50

T37: Maverick McNealy, $82,187.50

T37: Akshay Bhatia, $82,187.50

T37: Taylor Pendrith, $82,187.50

T37: Matt Wallace, $82,187.50

T37: Andrew Putnam, $82,187.50

T37: Bud Cauley, $82,187.50

T37: Lucas Glover, $82,187.50

T45: Justin Rose, $60,000

T45: Daniel Berger, $60,000

T45: Ryo Hisatsune, $60,000

T48: Denny McCarthy, $50,000

T48: Aldrich Potgieter, $50,000

T48: Webb Simpson, $50,000

T48: Michael Kim, $50,000

T52: Mackenzie Hughes, $45,187.50

T52: Max Homa, $45,187.50

T52: Brian Campbell, $45,187.50

T52: Jhonattan Vegas, $45,187.50

T52: Matt Fitzpatrick, $45,187.50

T52: Chandler Blanchet, $45,187.50

T52: Jordan Spieth, $45,187.50

T52: Jacob Bridgeman, $45,187.50

T60: Xander Schauffele, $42,500

T60: Robert MacIntyre, $42,500

T60: Ricky Castillo, $42,500

T63: Ben Griffin, $41,250

T63: Sepp Straka, $41,250

T65: Ryan Gerard, $40,250

T65: Si Woo Kim, $40,250

67: Ryan Fox, $39,500

68: Jason Day, $39,000

69: Sahith Theegala, $38,000

70: Sam Stevens, $37,500

71: Hideki Matsuyama, $37,000

72: Tom Hoge, $36,000

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