The Effect of an 8-Week Park Golf Exercise on Fall Efficacy, Balance, and Gait in the Older Adults

Objectives The purpose of this study was to analyze and determine whether elderly people's fall efficacy, balance, and gait would change positively by participating in park golf exercise for 8 weeks. Methods The subjects of this study were 20 people aged 65 or older who had no health problems, no experience of falling, no experience of regular exercise or park golf, and were selected for the experiment. For the data, SPSS Statistics 26 was used to conduct an independent t-test, reliability analysis, and two-way repeated measures ANOVA with measurement time as a repeated factor. At this time, if significant differences were identified in group, period, and interaction effects, a post hoc analysis was conducted using the Bonferroni method using Syntax. Results First, elderly people’s participation in park golf was found to have a positive effect on their fall efficacy. Second, elderly people's participation in park golf was found to have a positive effect on their balance ability. Third, elderly people's participation in park golf was found to have a positive effect on their walking ability. Conclusions In summary, participation in park golf for 8 weeks has the positive effect of increasing the balance and walking ability of the elderly, and this increase in balance and walking ability reduces the elderly's fear of falling and improves their confidence that they will not fall. Therefore, as participation in park golf has proven to be effective as an intervention method to prevent falls among the elderly, multifaceted measures should be explored to encourage active and continuous participation.