Many say golf is a good walk wasted, but for me, it is an unconquerable, euphoric challenge.
Millennials are bombarded with the daily stresses of life. They feel pressure because of expectations placed upon them, sometimes those burdens can be too heavy to bare. Golf may not be able to fix those issues directly, but it can make life seem a lot more bearable.
Over 200,000 millennials have stopped playing since 2013 for reasons such as it is too boring or too difficult.
I started playing golf when I was eight. I spent hours outside during the summer hitting whiffle balls up and down my street (on the grass of course), making plenty of divots as I went along.
I still remember the first time I went golfing. My dad took us kids to a local course in Salt Lake City. It was there an infinite passion for the game was born, all from that first swing on the No. 1 tee box. I have no idea what my final score was that day, but it didn’t matter.
As time moved forward and I grew up, the love never left. I played on school teams. My job through high school and after graduation was at a golf course. My Sunday afternoons were spent on the couch with my dad watching golf. It became a huge part of who I was.
Golf produces serenity for me. Yes, I sometimes take it a little too seriously, but there is something about the idea of being outside, in the peace and quiet, with others or by myself. It enables the opportunity for me to self-reflect and reevaluate life.
When I am stressed or need time to wind down from the two jobs, being a full-time student, writing for the newspaper, and marriage responsibilities, I go golfing. Though I like to think of myself as a descent golfer, there is something therapeutic about beating the snot out of that little white ball.
Call me crazy, but it works. Where else do you get to be in the peaceful outdoors where you can see, feel and touch nature and take out all one’s aggression on an object that doesn’t talk back?
Don’t get me wrong, I am an avid sports fan and love the fast-paced and perform-under-pressure sports, but I think I need golf because I need something that is toned down. Life is a marathon not a sprint, but we sometimes we go too fast.
An average round of golf, for 18 holes, takes roughly around four hours. You are moving at a comfortable pace and often times have opportunities for “down time,” which allows you to breathe and forget about the real life that awaits you when you leave the parking lot.
Millennials should be jumping all over something like this, an opportunity to unwind and breathe. Yes, it takes time, a little bit of money and commitment to give up four hours or even just two if you play nine holes.
You don’t have to be good at all. I promise.
A.A. Milne once said, “Golf is so popular simply because it is the best game in the world at which to be bad.”
So, what does that say to millennials and others about not giving golf a shot? Give it a whack. All golf needs is for you to hit one good shot, then it has you coming back. Go and play a therapeutic round. You won’t regret it.
