It has been around for several hundred years, and for a time it was the Provence of the elite and the wealthy. If you’ve seen a lot of golf movies, you know that women weren’t even allowed to be a caddy until the middle of the last century. And while it’s still a bit expensive to play a lot of golf, it’s not exactly prohibitive anymore. It’s no wonder that more and more people are choosing sports as more than just a competitive outing. Golf is so much fun that it is also becoming one of the most popular hobbies.
When you think of the word hobby, it can conjure up inner hobbies like collecting stamps or knitting. Others will paint or listen to music. But that doesn’t mean that hiking isn’t a hobby at all. In fact, there are a host of hobbies that involve the use of a large amount of muscle mass. And while you probably don’t consider golf a strenuous activity, it will give a TV junkie a decent challenge in the early rounds.
One of the reasons golf can be such a draw is the surroundings. Enchanting landscapes, the greenest perfectly trimmed grass, trees and water: it is a walk through nature with a white ball thrown. You don’t have to be young or in good shape, and you don’t have to be particularly competitive as you are only playing against the field and against yourself, but if that’s what works for you, more power to you.
Golf is also great exercise. Throw on a large, metal-filled backpack, take it for a few miles, and you’ve got a great workout. The good thing about golf is that the backpack and the steel have some purpose while you walk with them on your back. If you can play a few rounds a week, you would walk something like ten miles with the extra weight, plus flex and stretch all of your other muscle groups along the way. Depending on how well you play, that could mean a lot of extra flex and twist.
Golf requires bending, turning, small muscle precision, and power from large muscle groups. Outside of swimming, it is a bit difficult to achieve a more complete cycle of bodily functions, as can be achieved in a round of golf. And the sights and sounds certainly measure up to just about anything else that really requires activity. It is a bit difficult to enjoy the look of a mountain when you hold on to it for your life.
In short, golf has the perfect balance between physical activity and aesthetic quality. You will search everywhere to find a unique hobby that has more to offer in one package. And while it costs more to go for a walk, you may have wasted the money on burgers anyway. Make a small investment in your health and happiness and try the old game.