News

Risk assessment agency: Golfers should be wearing protective helmets

Published

8 years ago

Nov 2, 2018

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?

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Gianni Magliocco

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

18 Comments

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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
A. Comoner

Nov 2, 2018 at 3:32 pm

What a load of manure!! Complete waste.

Reply Report comment
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
PJ

Nov 2, 2018 at 2:56 pm

Is it April 1st?

Reply Report comment
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
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
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
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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Testing Lorem Ipsum

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May 13, 2026

Pro Shop

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News

2026 PGA Championship betting odds

Published

1 day ago

May 12, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

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
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Alex Fitzpatrick +15000
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Harry Hall +15500
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Thomas Detry +16500
Marco Penge +16500
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Alex Smalley +17000
Wyndham Clark +17500
Sam Stevens +17500
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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
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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
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Tour Photo Galleries

Photos from the 2026 PGA Championship

Published

2 days ago

May 11, 2026

GolfWRX Staff

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.