Golf habits among physicians and surgeons: observational cohort study

OBJECTIVES: To examine patterns of golfing among physicians: the proportion who regularly play golf, differences in golf practices across specialties, the specialties with the best golfers, and differences in golf practices between male and female physicians. DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: Comprehensive database of US physicians linked to the US Golfing Association amateur golfer database. PARTICIPANTS: 41 692 US physicians who actively logged their golf rounds in the US Golfing Association database as of 1 August 2018. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportion of physicians who play golf, golf performance (measured using golf handicap index), and golf frequency (number of games played in previous six months). RESULTS: Among 1 029 088 physicians, 41 692 (4.1%) actively logged golf scores in the US Golfing Association amateur golfer database. Men accounted for 89.5% of physician golfers, and among male physicians overall, 5.5% (37 309/683 297) played golf compared with 1.3% (4383/345 489) among female physicians. Rates of golfing varied substantially across physician specialties. The highest proportions of physician golfers were in orthopedic surgery (8.8%), urology (8.1%), plastic surgery (7.5%), and otolaryngology (7.1%), whereas the lowest proportions were in internal medicine and infectious disease (<3.0%). Physicians in thoracic surgery, vascular surgery, and orthopedic surgery were the best golfers, with about 15% better golf performance than specialists in endocrinology, dermatology, and oncology. CONCLUSIONS: Golfing is common among US male physicians, particularly those in the surgical subspecialties. The association between golfing and patient outcomes, costs of care, and physician wellbeing remain unknown.