Do Drivers Damage Hearing?
His golf driver.
We all know that modern drivers - thin-faced, oversized titanium drivers - make a loud sound at impact. It's no longer the crisp "thwack" of the persimmon, or the cool "ping" of the stainless steel. Now, the impact noise is more like a loud bang or pop. An explosive, percussive noise.
Heck, the noise of the driver can even be louder than the noise created by that guy who's always yelling, "get in the hole!" or "you da man!"
But loud enough to cause hearing loss? That question is still under study, but the doctors are concerned enough to warn golfers susceptible to hearing damage to consider wearing earplugs while playing golf.
Read more about the study, including a comparison of the decibels produced by driver/golf ball impacts with the decibels generated by such things as chain saws and jet engines.
Comments
Outlandish, who in their right mind would conduct such a study-too many morons doing ridiculous research and spending someones money.
When golfers begin wearing earplugs, the new headline will read “British Doctors golf advice can be fatel”. Golfers susceptible to hearing damage who consider wearing earplugs while playing golf should think twice before doing so. Or at least play with those who can hear audible warnings of danger to inform you of your inpending doom. Not hearing “Fore”, or the bad weather siren can be bad for your health if not reacted to appropriatly. Shotgun starts are useless. Not knowing how many trees you hit or if the shot made it to the sand or water will make discovering your shot location more difficult. So let me enjoy the explosion of my 150 yard shank. It may be on the other fairway, but it least it sounded good.
Although some new style drivers can be quite loud I very much doubt they would hurt your hearing. My friend often jokes that mine sounds like a metal bucket on a stick.