Our Top 11 Reasons why golf is the best sport!
- The Great Outdoors
- Physical Challenge
- Mental Challenge
- Great Exercise
- Social
- Fundraising
- The Masters
- Lifetime Sport
- Classy Sport
- Golf Trips
- The Ryder Cup
I first fell in love with the game of golf at around age 10. I received my first set of clubs for Christmas and we went out and played the next day. Since then I have been hooked on the game and think about it often. Golf is truly a special game and one that can be enjoyed for many, many years.
At golfjourney365, my goal is to play golf as often as possible and share that passion with others that love the game as much as I do. Golf has been special in many people’s lives as it can help shape us as people and provide certain social connections that might not happen otherwise.
It provides a challenge that we might not find elsewhere and overall is a wonderful game that we can all embrace.
Below I explain my top 11 reasons why golf is the best sport.
Why Golf is the Best Sport: 11 Reasons
1 – The Great Outdoors
The beautiful nature of golf courses is truly impressive. When playing golf we get to be outside, enjoying the weather and the beautiful scenery. Typically the grass is green and lush, the bunkers look great and there are always water hazards that help make the course look phenomenal.
We experience a variety of styles of golf courses from the coastal type of courses like Pebble Beach to the courses with rolling hills and amazing trees in the areas of Michigan or Canada. We also get the links style courses like a St. Andrews. Overall the scenery on these courses vary, but they are all beautiful and we get to be outside, enjoying and playing a game we all love.
Just simply getting the change to walk 9 or 18 holes as the sun rises or the sun sets is something I truly enjoy. To me, there is nothing better than waking up early in the morning and having that first tee time or tee. Grabbing the bag and walking 18 holes to start the day.
There is something special in being outdoors in the early morning as the sun is rising on a warm summer day. The birds are chirping as I am enjoying the outdoors and challenging myself with a game of golf.
2 – The Physical Challenge
Golf might be the one of the only sports where you have to be on top of your game for over 4 hours. If you have ever played a stroke play tournament, you know how difficult it is to physically produce quality shots for 4 straight hours.
We all know that one physical breakdown where we hook a ball out of bounds can ruin our round and possibly be the difference between winning or losing.
Having played the game for close to 30 years now, we all seek the secret feeling or swing tip that is going to set us on our way to playing quality golf. We know that if we find a feeling or swing thought, we can ride that for some time and play some of our best golf.
Golf is perfect in that it is difficult to replicate from day to day. One day, we could shoot around par and the next day we might not break 80. Why is that? If it was simple to repeat day and day would the game be as fun? I don’t think so!
I believe the true special part of golf is the day to day challenge or week to week challenge to play quality, consistent golf. We have to work hard to play the golf we want and that makes it that much rewarding when we do. If golf were simple to repeat day in and day out would we still love it as much.
I believe we fall in love with the game because of the journey we are on to master the game or at least play our best round ever.
3 – The Mental Challenge
Oh, the mental side of golf. We have all been there, it is the 16th hole and you are shooting the best round of your life. You only have 3 holes left. Next thing you know you have finished double bogey, bogey, double bogey and you just can’t figure out what happened.
Or it is the first tee shot of the day and there are 30 people standing around the tee box. All of a sudden you feel strange and just hope that you get the ball in the air.
Or you have played such great golf in preparation for a big tournament you are in. All of sudden it is the 3rd or 4th hole and you haven’t hit a good shot yet. Why do these things happen?
I wish I could solve this for everyone, but it is what makes golf addicting to us. The mental side or the mental challenge that we have all faced at different times in our golf journey.
It seems like when the more we want to play good, quality golf the more difficult it becomes. Our body tightens up and we struggle to produce the shots we need. It takes years to sorta figure this out, but there are still times when we might struggle. Check out the PGA Tour on any given week and I am sure you can find golfers that are struggling with the mental side of the game.
When you combine the physical challenge with the mental challenge, golf can be difficult, but it also makes it addicting. The challenge to play good golf keeps us coming back because we will get that stretch of holes or shots where things fall in place and we think we can do it again and maybe next time for a longer amount of time.
The amount of self talk during a round of golf is great preparation for the other pressures of life. The person that can control their emotions and produce on a golf course, just might be able to handle the pressures of a presentation for work or the pressures of negotiations at work. These are people that I would want to hire.
Here are two highly recommended Mental Game Books:
4 – Great Exercise
Walking and golfing – what a great combination. When I play my early morning rounds as the sun is rising on those beautiful June and July days, the physical benefits of an early morning walk and calorie burn set me up for success for the rest of the day. I leave feeling energized and excited about the day to come. The health benefits of a 2-4 hour walk while enjoy the social interaction and the great outdoors are excellent.
Wouldn’t we all benefit from a 400-800 calorie burn at the beginning of a day. With golf, we get to play a game we enjoy, while enjoying the outdoors, while getting great exercise during our day. Here at golfjourney365, I have a complete post on the exercise and the calorie burn we get from playing golf, check it out here.
Highly Recommended Book on Golf Fitness
5 – Social
Golf is an excellent way to connect with others. With the game usually played with 2-4 people in a group, you will find many men and women that enjoy the camaraderie of playing golf with others. It is an opportunity to connect and learn more about someone and spend quality time.
I have enjoyed playing golf with close to 1,000 different people in my life, but the most special rounds are with my own father or my kids. These rounds bring a special excitement because they are the people I enjoy the most.
At the same time, I still love playing a round of golf with 3 other really good golfers and playing some fun games like match play or skins games. These social connections help make golf the best sport!
6 – Fundraising
We have all played in the 4 person scrambles that are held as fundraisers for a scholarship fund or some other quality charity looking to help others out. The social nature of these fundraising events are fun and exciting. They bring people together to play the game we love.
Typically, the scramble format is used to help golfers of all ability levels have a great time. Even the person who isn’t a good golfer can have a good time and contribute to the team in some manner. There is usually quality good and drinks that can be enjoyed by those participating.
At the end of the day, you have found a way to have fun through golf, while donating some money through golf and other fun games to help out a charity, a booster club, or a scholarship committee. These types of events help separate golf from other sports!
Check out our post – The Golf Scramble: Golf’s Most Popular Outing Format
7 – The Masters
We await every April for The Masters. It is the sign that spring is here as we are able to turn on our televisions and see the beauty of Augusta National. The course is perfect and the Azaleas are even that much better. I was fortunate to attend a practice round at Augusta National and it is truly something special.
It is difficult to explain, but everything is so perfect. Every detail is done at such a high level. The golf and the competition isn’t too shabby either. On the final day of the tournament, you can guarantee there will be drama on the second nine at Augusta. The crowds will be roaring and golfers will have the pressure of trying to win the Masters!
8 – Golf is a Lifetime Sport
Whether you are 5 years old or 85 years old, the game can be enjoyed and played. We can play the game for many years and get the many benefits from the game.
While a sport like football is difficult to play past the age of 35 because it is so difficult on the body. Golf is a game where we can walk 18 holes or use a cart. However, we are still outside in the outdoors challenging ourselves physically and mentally while enjoying the social nature of the game.
On the professional side of golf, it is great to see Jack Nicklaus win the Masters in 1986 at 46 years old, or see Tiger Woods win the 2019 Masters after everything he had been through. Or someone like Arnold Palmer who was around the game for 6 decades.
These types of stories are hard to find in other sports, but because golf is a lifetime sport, our favorite golfers of all time can compete at a high level for sometimes over 30 years!
9 – Golf is a Classy Sport
If you want to teach your son or daughter to be a quality human being and to interact with others in an appropriate manner, being at a golf course is a great place for your son or daughter.
Typically, golf is known as a classy sport. One where you learn to respect the game by calling your own penalty strokes. One where as a 15 year kid, you can golf with the 55 year old adult and learn about life and being a gentleman.
Golf has so many life lessons and it starts with being a respectful person and telling people great shot or striking up a conversation about life. Due to the slower nature of the game, there are many opportunities to interact and learn about others.
Growing up, I enjoyed the many different people I was often paired with at my local course and learned a great deal from many that I golfed with. It helped shape me as a person and helped in my career from learning how to interact with others in a positive manner.
10 – Golf Trips
If you have never been on a golf trip, what are you waiting for? Golf is the perfect sport to head out with 4, 8 or 12 people to a destination for 3-4 days of non stop golf.
Living in the colder part of the United States, we would frequently take trips to Arizona, Myrtle Beach or parts of Florida for golf trips. The camaraderie on the trips and the fun competitions, while playing in warm weather make the trips extremely memorable.
It is something I look forward to every winter and gave us some hope of playing golf in warm weather during the long, cold winters.
11 – The Ryder Cup
If you want great competition with high stakes and a ton of passion, then the Ryder Cup is the perfect event. It is held every other year with the United States hosting one event and the European team hosting the next event. In recent years, the amount of fan and noise at the event make it stand out from a traditional pro tournament or even the majors.
The fans are rabid and cheering for the home team. It is one of the few true team events where the players truly care about the outcome. They are representing their country or continent and want to perform. The pressures are real and the courses are usually amazing.
It makes for great television with action all over the course with the match play format. The swings of emotion or entertaining and worth watching. With the event only taking place every other year, it makes it extra special as we wait and enjoy the build up to the event.
Get your Ryder Cup Gear!
Final Thoughts
Golf has been a special sport for me. It has taught me to control my emotions, how to be a gentleman and today provides great stress relief and an opportunity to challenge myself both mentally and physically while getting some excellent exercise. As a young kid, I struggled to control my temper in everyday life, but I knew if I wanted to play golf at high level I needed to control these emotions.
I love the game and look to play as frequently as possible. One of the coolest projects I completed was a golf simulator built in my garage. This allows me to play year round and have now played over 500 rounds on my golf simulator.
At first I thought it would be too expensive, but after some research I was able to build for a reasonable price. I no longer am slowed down by the winter weather and can enjoy the game everyday of the year.
Here are just two of the posts I have created on golf simulators:
Take Action – Recommendations
I think we can agree that golf is a special sport and in our opinion the best sport! Are you looking to improve your golf game? We are all on a journey to get better and to enjoy the game as frequently as humanly possible. In our own journey we have learned a great deal about the game and the swing. Here are 6 teachers we would recommend.