Effects of Park Golf on Working Memory and Prefrontal Cortex Activation in Older Adults

This study investigates whether a park golf program can improve working memory and prefrontal cortex activity in community-dwelling older adults. A total of 36 older adults (aged 65-85) were randomly assigned to either a park golf group or a health education group. The park golf group participated in a supervised park golf program (2 sessions per week for 4 weeks, 60 minutes per session), while the health education group attended lectures on healthy aging topics such as nutrition and fall prevention on the same schedule. Before and after the intervention, participants completed cognitive and physical assessments, including the Korean Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-K), the Timed Up and Go test, and a spatial working memory task (N-back) performed while brain activity in the prefrontal cortex was measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), a non-invasive, radiation-free imaging method. The findings may help establish evidence for community-based physical activity programs, such as park golf, as a strategy to support cognitive health in older adults.