A Study on the Status of Safety and Health for Golf Course Caddies and Improvement of Protective Measures in South Korea

ABSTRACT

Due to the rapid expansion of the leisure industry, there were about 32,000 golf caddies in South Korea in 2020, an increase of 18.5% compared to 2016. Consequently, they face an increasing industrial accident rate, which is presumed to be the result of exposure to various harmful factors. Through a survey and oral interview of 221 caddies across more than 20 golf courses, health protective measures, protective measures for caddies, preparation for golf cart operation, physical burden, compliance with golf cart safety during games, and golf course responses to emotional labor were investigated in this study to identify safety and health problems of caddies and suggest prevention measures. Preliminary interviews were conducted to confirm golf courses’ safety and health status and participants’ characteristics. Golf caddies’ health and safety were confirmed using frequency analysis, independent sample t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis. The results showed that caddies’ workplaces were relatively vulnerable to safety and health issues and caddies were exposed to various harmful risk factors. In addition, it was confirmed that golf caddy protective measures, golf cart safety compliance, physical burden, and health protection affect golf courses’ response level to caddies’ emotional labor.