Opinion & Analysis

Skin cancer: The not-so-hidden danger on the course

Published

13 years ago

Jun 24, 2013

It’s not the water hazard on the back side, or that bunker in front of No. 18 that’s the biggest opponent on the course. It’s the sun.

Who cares if you get a little sunburn? How bad can it be? The reality of this seemingly little discomfort is far worse than the pain involved in healing from a sunburn.

Skin cancer in all of its forms can be disfiguring and fatal if left untreated. The problem most golfers have in protecting themselves is with sunscreen and the slippery residue left on their hands after applying. If the residue gets on your grips, they can be harder to hold on to than an oil-soaked baby seal.

With this in mind, there are many golfers who would rather not apply it or only before they begin their rounds, but with rounds lasting four to five hours, sunscreen just doesn’t protect that long.

Some of you out there have less of a chance of acquiring skin cancer than others. There are 3.5 million new cases of skin cancer diagnosed and 2.2 million treated in the United States each year. The highest at risk for skin cancers are blonde, fair-skinned individuals, but that doesn’t mean the winners in the perfect tan club aren’t at risk for developing skin cancer.

It can affect anyone, and the more time spent in the sun increases your risks for developing one or another form of skin cancer.

Basal Cell Carcinoma.

There are three different forms of skin cancer, and the mildest and most common form is Basal Cell Carcinoma. Basal Cell generally starts as an irritation in the skin. Like with all skin cancers, the sore will not heal, it will just slowly grow.

In my case, it looked like a small irritated indentation in the skin that felt scratchy for lack of a better adjective and never really healed. Of the three forms, Basal generally isn’t life threatening, but if left untreated it can be disfiguring.

Squamous Cell Carcinoma.

The second is Squamous Cell Carcinoma, which generally is a dull red, rough, scaly raised skin lesion. This lesions usually appear on head, neck, ears, lips or back of hands and forearms.

Squamous Cell is more invasive and can be a much faster grower than Basal Cell. What makes Squamous more dangers than Basal Cell is the rate of growth and it has a tendency metastasize. Once this happens, your future is at risk.

Just five sunburns doubles your chances of developing Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Melanoma’s characteristics are brown or black skin lesion with irregularities in symmetry, border and coloration. Melanoma can develop in an existing mole or on previously normal skin.

Melanoma has a high fatality rate because of its aggressiveness or willingness to metastasize. Once this happens, Melanoma has a fondness for bone, lung and brain tissue.

Melanoma.

The Skin Cancer Foundation estimates 42 percent of population gets at least one sunburn a year, and having only five sunburns doubles your chances of getting melanoma. By the time we reach 50, that’s a substantial increase in risk with just one burn a year, and I’d be willing to gamble most of us who enjoy this great game risk more than just five sunburns a year.

So what can we do to try to avoid developing any of these skin cancers? This area for us golfers is a tough spot, when the advice is stay out of the sun during peak hours, which in North America is 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Those hours work out OK for most during the week, but during the weekend only so many people can fit into the morning tee times.

The most important precaution we can use from the sun is sunscreen with a SPF of 15 or higher applied every two hours. The third recommendation by the Mayo Foundation is to regularly check your skin and keep your doctor informed of any changes you see.

I know we already talked about the oil-covered baby seal, but there are ways to use sunscreen and not have it affect your equipment this way. First off, apply a good amount of sunscreen at home or in the locker room then thoroughly wash and dry your hands before you head out to the course or range. On the course, the spray sunscreens work great and allows you to apply it without risking getting it on the palms of your hands, which keeps it off the grips.

The one thing that has to be kept in mind when using spray sunscreen is that most will stain your clothes. Don’t ask me why lotion style sunscreen doesn’t stain and spray does. I guess it just works out that way, so be careful as you spray.

One tip I have is to carry a small hand towel in your bag and apply the sunscreen to it, then spread it on your skin with the towel. This once again keeps it off your hands.

With a little due diligence, we as golfers can lower our risks for developing any of these skin cancers. I must add that this may seem like somewhat of a silly thing especially if you are below the age of 30, but if you are getting burnt there will likely be a price to pay for it down the road. I know, I’ve had it removed twice already.

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Matt Moorhead

P. Matthew Moorhead has spent last 18 years working for General Motors. When not at work, he spends his time trying to improve his game with Eric Johnson of Oakmont CC and trying out all the new golf equipment, coaching youth soccer and spending time with his family. Through the early part of this decade he chased a dream of racing sportbikes around the Midwest to some minor success and spectacular crashes. He worked as an assistant pro for a few years and spent a summer in the 90s working as a putter rep for a now-defunct putter company and signed LPGA players to use the brand.

14 Comments

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Mark Wishner

Aug 5, 2013 at 6:41 pm

Skin cancer is a problem in the general population and an epidemic in the golf community. However it is preventable through education and treatable for the most part when detected early.

For information on sun protection for golfers, visit http://www.sunsafetee.org We are a nonprofit organization that teaches sun protection and skin cancer prevention specifically for golfers.

Reply Report comment
jay

Jun 29, 2013 at 6:29 pm

Played a round a couple weeks ago without a hat, I have a shaved head by the way. Why? Because I thought one of my golf hats were in the car and I didnt check, stupid me. The top of my head was so burnt it made me dizzy. By the end of the week I was peeling dark brown patches of dead skin. I always make sure theres a hat in my car now. Gonna spray some SPF-15 on my arms and legs from now on too.

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TM

Jun 28, 2013 at 1:06 pm

My wife, inlaws, father, mother, brother, and many friends have had cancerous and non-cancerous growths removed in just the past 36 months. I have been lucky so far, but no doubt my time will come.

Part of it is living in Arizona, sure, and being fair skinned doesn’t help, but also everyone spends an exceptional amount of time outside. This type of article cannot be repeated enough, thank you Matt!

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Brandon King

Jun 27, 2013 at 11:20 am

I really need to start a preshot routine that involves sunblock. I think a easy solution for application might be to just get a small pack of latex gloves to keep in the golf bag.Slip a few on while your waiting on the tee box,apply some sunscreen and discard the used gloves into the garbage can.You get the advantage of being able to apply the sunscreen in a efficient manner but can keep it off your hands.

Great article.

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Loupus

Jun 26, 2013 at 3:18 pm

Guess I screwed up the HTML. I meant to quote the following:

“One tip I have is to carry a small hand towel in your bag and apply the sunscreen to it, then spread it on your skin with the towel. This once again keeps it off your hands.”

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Loupus

Jun 26, 2013 at 3:16 pm

Great tip!

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Trevor

Jun 26, 2013 at 10:16 am

Good article,

I should really apply sun screen as well. I am 33 and dark skinned, I’ve only burnt I think twice in my life, I never wear sun screen nor do I even wear a hat when I golf. I’ve decided this year to wear a hat and bring a bottle of spray sun screen. The chances are lower for me but nobody is immune to it!

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Lisa

Jun 25, 2013 at 6:45 pm

Great article!!

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Nick

Jun 25, 2013 at 10:38 am

I am a serial sunburner. I have started using spray sunscreen and experienced the clothes staining problem. In my experiance non-sport sunscreen will not stain. CVS brand spray sunscreen in my bag now and I can attest it does not stain and I apply liberally.

My problem is my face. Spraying that stuff around my eyes nose and mouth is unpleasent but my mother had a terrible time with skin cancer so this article has inspired me to be more proactive.

If 5 a year doubles your risk, what do you think 40 a year will do? I’d say that’s about where I am at.

Reply Report comment
- RoxRedGlare
  
  Jun 29, 2013 at 10:50 pm
  
  It’s not hard. Right handed gofers wear your glove on your LEFT hand, so spray the sunscreen on your LEFT hand (take the glove off dummy) then spread it around your face, ears, neck, etc. For my calves and arms, I spray directly on the skin then rub it it with my LEFT hand. For the left arm I spay then rub my forearms together.
  
  Put your glove back on and viola, no slippery grips.
  
  Oh, and PUT A HAT ON to protect your ears. (hats have brims, caps have bills)
  
  Reply Report comment
  - Mark Wishner
    
    Aug 5, 2013 at 6:43 pm
    
    Rox shares a great idea and in fact on our website http://www.sunsafetee.org we have a video of this technique.
    
    Once you learn it…no excuses for not wearing and reapplying sunscreen!
    
    Reply Report comment
Dennis

Jun 24, 2013 at 5:41 pm

Congratulations on bringing this up. Skin cancer is real, dangerous but very little golfers seem concerned. Have yourself checked regularly.

Reply Report comment
Mat

Jun 24, 2013 at 12:31 pm

In the past few decades, skin cancer rates have gone from 1:1500 to 1:50.

If you’re not sure about a mole, take a picture of it, and keep checking it. Removals aren’t expensive.

Do it.

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