Somerset doctors are giving patients a chance to improve their health at the golf course.

The Taunton Deane Borough Council scheme is for people with mild health problems.

The aim is to give them regular physical exercise instead of medicine.

Several hundred people in the Taunton area have been prescribed exercise under the scheme, run by the NHS and local authorities.

The aim is not to improve people's ability to play golf - it is to get them active

Joel Chapman

It also features other forms of activity, such as swimming or aerobics.

Golf has been introduced for those who find other methods of getting fit, such as running, fitness classes or going to the gym, daunting.

The sessions for all of the activities are taken by qualified fitness instructors.

Those who take the golfing option are offered a course of eight holes at the council-run municipal course, Vivary Park, at a cost of �36, compared with the usual price of �80.

As part of the package, patients are entitled to coaching sessions.

There is also the opportunity to discuss lifestyle issues, such as healthy eating and stress.

NHS savings

Council business development manager Joel Chapman said: "The aim is not to improve people's ability to play golf - it is to get them active, to improve their mobility and their strength, which leads to health benefits.

"Golf is a more sedate activity which appeals to a different audience.

"There is just as much benefit in walking round a golf course for an hour as there is in going to the gym."

Fitter people

Local doctors said they welcomed the scheme because it encourages physical activity in a controlled and sensible way.

Council leader Jefferson Horsley said the scheme would save local taxpayers money in the long run.

He said: "There is a net benefit to the community, both in terms of having fitter people and a lower cost to the NHS," he said.