Mayo Clinic Study: Living within 1 mile of a golf course RAISES Parkinson's risk by 126%

Living within a mile of a golf course was tied to a 126% higher Parkinson's risk. Here's the truth. This one made headlines — and the number is real. A 2025 study in JAMA Network Open (with Mayo Clinic researchers among the authors) found that people living within one mile of a golf course had 126% higher odds of Parkinson's than those six-plus miles away. The suspected culprit: pesticides sprayed on fairways drifting through air and seeping into groundwater. Risk was nearly double for people whose drinking water came from a system containing a golf course. But read this carefully, because the headlines won't. This is an association, not proof. The researchers themselves said it's too early to tell anyone to move. It's one study, in one region of Minnesota and Wisconsin, and it can't establish that golf courses cause Parkinson's. Why it still matters for us: it fits decades of evidence linking pesticide exposure to Parkinson's — a disease that hits older adults hardest. What you can do: if you live near a course and drink well or public water, a simple carbon water filter is cheap peace of mind. Send this to someone who lives by the links. ⛳ Follow for health headlines, fact-checked.