"Fore!"..."What!?" - Study shows new drivers may cause hearing loss on the golf course

You know how these new, space-aged metal drivers make it so even an 80-year-old grandma’s drive sound like it’s been shot from a cannon?

Well a new study from British scientists report that these new drivers can cause hearing damage (Click here for the MSNBC article).

In the study, the drivers commonly recorded decibel levels on impact of over 130. Anything higher than 80 is said to be dangerous by most doctors.

The question is, do drivers need to be that loud? One source in the article suggests that the equipment manufacturers design them to be loud so it’s more exciting when you hit it, not unlike how movie theaters always find a way to make the whole lobby smell like popcorn, I suppose.

But frankly, I’m having a hard time believing golf clubs are destroying my hearing. I went to a Rage Against the Machine concert in high school once. Whatever is left of my hearing after that can probably handle the odd “PING!” on the links.
All things being equal, I think a golf course is still one of the quietest places on earth, except when there’s some backyard birthday party with fireworks and a moonwalk going on next to the 7th fairway as you’re trying to hit your approach.

But for those of you scared silly now about your ears on the golf course, the study recommends that golfers wear ear plugs on the course. Which will save your ears, sure, but not necessarily your skull when you don’t hear “Fore!” from the fairway over.

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