IT is hailed as one Scotland's top sporting and tourist assets but the game of golf could also hold the key to tackling the problems of physical inactivity, obesity and low youth participation in sport.

Experts will reveal that the country's golf courses could be central to helping people aged eight to 80 to keep fit as the world's top golfers gather to compete in the 144th Open Championship in St Andrews.

Gusts of around 20mph will greet players on the Old Course while tens of thousands of fans will soak up the tournament as well as the magic of the home of golf where even floral displays take on a sporting theme on day one of the championship proper on Thursday.

More than 200,000 spectators are expected to follow star players such as Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth, Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia in the famous tournament this week.

As matchplay gets under way major organisations from the European golf sector will gather with researchers at the University of St Andrews in an effort to better describe the health benefits of golf, and to explore ways to increase participation.

Dr Rehema White, of the university's sustainable development department, said: "Europe is currently experiencing a crisis in physical inactivity and we are going to focus on showcasing and documenting the particular contributions which golf can make to overcoming these worrying trends.

"Amongst all sports, golf offers a unique suite of health opportunities.

"The aim of our research is to help us understand how to encourage young people to take up sport in general, and golf in particular, to improve their health and wellbeing.

"In Scotland we are lucky enough to have an existing network of golf clubs and courses, providing a mix of facilities."

She added: "Anyone can pick up a club and chase their ball across the windblown and sheep grazed Askernish Golf Course on the Isle of South Uist, or around the green fairways of well-established Banchory or on one of the many urban courses scattered across Glasgow and Edinburgh.

"Visitors are offered a diverse choice of facilities around the country.

"Perhaps best of all, golf has one of the broadest age brackets - from eight to 80 years old."

The project will unite five European countries - the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, the Netherlands and Portugal - in a three year initiative designed to test innovative new access ways to golf for young people while also documenting the health benefits it is said the sport can provide.

Richard Heath, general secretary of the European Golf Association (EGA), the organisation leading the project, said: "Europe has excellent capacity for golf with over 6,700 courses and some 7.9 million citizens already playing the sport.

"Nonetheless, we are facing significant challenges in effectively engaging young people to take up the sport and we are actively seeking innovative new solutions for growing youth participation."

The project will unite the national golf governing bodies of the five participating countries alongside the PGAs of Europe, the European Observatoire of Sport and Employment and the University of St Andrews.

Current rates of physical inactivity are worryingly high, as evidenced by the recently published 2014 Eurobarometer report on Sport and Physical Activity which found that 59 per cent of EU citizens never or seldom exercise or play sport at least once a week.