Leisure benefits, flow experience, and life satisfaction comparison between players of actual and virtual golf

Society has been transformed by technology advances, such as virtual reality in leisure sports. We analyzed the leisure benefits, flow experience, and life satisfaction of players of actual golf and virtual golf. The 281 participants were divided into two groups according to whether they played actual or virtual golf. Data validity and reliability were confirmed, and between-group differences were statistically verified with a multivariate analysis of variance. There were significant differences, namely, physical leisure benefits were relatively higher in the actual golf group, and social leisure benefits and flow experience were relatively higher in the virtual golf group. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of life satisfaction. It is significant that both actual and virtual golf offer physical and social benefits.