Staff WriterA mole is unlikely to trouble a golfer quite like a knee-high bunker lip or a three-footer with a bit of borrow on it, but skin cancer specialists are warning that it deserves far more attention from those spending long days on the course.
As millions of Britons head back to the fairways this season, The MOLE Clinic is urging golfers to take cumulative UV exposure seriously, describing the issue as a “hidden epidemic” within the sport.
Golf looks gentle enough from a distance. A stroll. A swing. The odd muttered apology to a divot. Yet a standard round can last between four and six hours, often played between 10 am and 4 pm, when ultraviolet radiation is at its strongest.
For the skin, that is not leisure. That is a long shift under the lamp.
A Long Walk Under Peak UV
The concern is not one sunny Saturday. It is the repeat exposure.
Research cited by The MOLE Clinic indicates that professional golfers may receive up to 217 times the annual UV radiation required to cause sunburn over the course of a year.
Recreational players are not exactly getting off with a warning either. They can receive more than five times the UV exposure needed to cause sunburn in just one hour on the course.
That is before you factor in the classic British delusion that cloud cover somehow works like factor 50. It does not. UV rays are perfectly capable of slipping through grey skies while everyone is busy deciding whether it is “brightening up”.
Golf’s Quiet Skin Cancer Problem
Golfers are a particularly exposed group because the damage builds slowly. Hours on the course become years. Years become decades. The hands, face, ears and neck take the brunt while the player worries about yardages, lies and whether the halfway hut still has sausage rolls.
Skin cancer is now the most common cancer in the UK, with more than 150,000 new cases diagnosed annually. Incidence rates have more than doubled since the early 1990s.
Men over 50 — a major golfing demographic — have the highest rates of melanoma incidence and mortality in the UK.
“Golf is often perceived as a low-risk sport from a health perspective,” says Dr David Veitch, Medical Director at The MOLE Clinic. “But from a dermatological standpoint, it involves prolonged, repetitive UV exposure over many years. That cumulative damage significantly increases the risk of melanoma and other skin cancers.”
The Grip Problem
There is also a very golfer-specific problem here: sunscreen and grip.
Many players avoid sunscreen because they worry about greasy hands affecting the club. It is a practical concern, especially for anyone who has watched a driver twist open at impact like a pub door in a gale.
But avoiding sunscreen altogether is a poor trade-off. Sunscreen should be reapplied every two hours, particularly during long rounds, warm weather or periods of sweating.
Golfers also tend to overestimate the protection offered by clothing. Standard golf apparel may provide an SPF of only around 7 unless specifically labelled as UPF-rated.
In other words, that crisp polo may look tidy on the first tee, but it might be doing about as much for your skin as a caddie who only says, “Hit it better.”
The Neck, Ears And Forgotten Trouble Spots
Baseball caps are another issue. They shade the face, but leave the ears and back of the neck exposed.
Those areas are easy to forget during a round. They are also among the places dermatologists are watching closely.
“The back of the neck is one of the most commonly sun-damaged areas we see in male patients,” adds Dr Veitch. “And yet it’s frequently forgotten.”
A wide-brimmed hat, UPF-rated clothing, sunglasses and proper sunscreen are not fussy extras. They are part of sensible course preparation, right alongside tees, balls and the quiet hope that today’s swing has survived breakfast.
Mole Checks And Early Detection
The key figure is stark: when detected early, nearly 99% of skin cancers are curable.
Delayed diagnosis changes the picture considerably, which is where professional skin checks and mole mapping come in.
The MOLE Clinic provides Full Body Skin Checks, offering comprehensive head-to-toe examinations using dermoscopy.
It also provides Advanced Mole Mapping, using high-resolution digital imaging to monitor changes over time and support earlier, more accurate detection.
“For individuals with high cumulative exposure — including regular golfers — annual skin checks are not optional; they’re essential,” says Dr Veitch.
A Better Routine For Golfers
A practical golf sun routine does not need to be dramatic.
Apply broad-spectrum sunscreen before teeing off. Reapply during the round. Use sport-specific formulas that are less likely to interfere with grip. Wear UPF-rated clothing where possible. Protect the ears and neck. Check the skin regularly for new or changing marks.
Warning signs include a new mole, a changing mole, irregular borders, uneven colour, bleeding, itching or a mark that refuses to heal.
The golfing instinct is often to shrug and carry on. That may be fine after a lip-out. It is less useful when your skin is trying to get your attention.
Final Word From The Fairway
Golf is a brilliant game, but it is also a four-hour sun exposure session with scorecards.
The warning from The MOLE Clinic is simple enough: regular golfers should treat skin checks as part of their annual health routine.
A mole check will not cure a slice, rescue a buried lie or stop a playing partner giving swing advice after shooting 94.
But it may catch something early. And that is a result worth far more than saving par.
