As the year winds down and Summer gets closer and closer, it may be time to start thinking about taking up a sport. Whether it’s for school athletics or simply for fun, taking up a sport can be a good way to get to know new people and learn new skills you never would’ve been able to learn. While some may lack either the physical ability or desire to play a sport such as basketball, football, baseball, or softball, there are sports out there that anyone can learn regardless of their physical abilities. One of those sports is golf.

Golf is a sport that doesn’t require much movement. It’s not like basketball where you’re running up and down a court for four quarters or like baseball or softball where you need to reach a base before the ball does. Golf is more focused on technique and confidence. Although golf has a bit of a learning curve, just about anyone can learn how to play. In golf, the most important parts of your body aren’t your legs or arms, but your coordination and focus. It’s more of a mental game than a physical game.

The most physical parts of golf involve walking from hole to hole if you don’t use a golf cart. Similar to football, a golf course can be measured in yards. After hitting a ball, picking up your golf bag with all of your clubs inside then walking 100+ yards can be exhausting, but it’s nothing like running up and down a court or field for an entire game. Even if you can’t or don’t want to walk that distance for golf, you can rent golf carts at most golf courses that not only speed up the game, but make it a lot less physically taxing.

Even if you’re looking for a sport to play for school, our school’s golf team is full of beginners trying to learn the game. When I first joined the team three years ago, I had no experience at all playing golf, and now I know how the game works and my swing has come a long way. The golf schedule isn’t as demanding as a lot of the other sports at RHS, as practices only tend to be about an hour long and you don’t need to work out in a gym everyday to prepare. It’s not a lazy sport though. You should put in the extra work at driving ranges and at nearby courses if you really want to improve your game. The point of the golf team currently is to introduce new players to the game of golf and help you learn to enjoy it. It definitely won’t take up your entire schedule, so even if you have other commitments after school, golf shouldn’t interfere that much with those commitments. So if you’re looking to start playing golf, you may want to start by looking into joining the golf team. It’s the perfect way to not only learn how to swing the club, but learn how golf courses work and how to keep score of a game.

Being a part of the golf team also gets rid of the one major flaw with learning how to play golf: the expenses. Golf can be a very expensive sport to pick up if you don’t already have the equipment. On the golf team, players often receive donated equipment to use throughout the season for free. A golf set can cost anywhere from $200 to $800 for some individual clubs, so the ability to get a set of golf clubs from the school is a great opportunity for any new player. The golf team is a very inclusive environment for any students at RHS, so if you’re interested, you should definitely look into joining the team next year.

In general, golf is a pretty relaxing sport that’s great for anyone with spare time. It’s not as physically demanding as most major sports are and it’s something that you can easily play with friends. It doesn’t have to be a competitive match either, two or more people could easily go to a golf course just to hang out and play a quick match. Even if you’re alone, there are plenty of driving ranges that’ll help you improve your game. Golf is such a flexible sport that you can play it in most situations with most people. There doesn’t have to be a gender divide like most sports have, and there’s rarely an age divide either as even old people can play the game as long as they can still move around without struggling. The RHS Golf team in particular has no gender divide, both males and females can play for the same team during the golf season. Golf is just a perfect sport for anyone that wants to get out and do something, but don’t necessarily want to play a game that involves physical training or over-the-top competitiveness.

If you’re interested in joining the golf team for next Fall or have any questions about it, you can contact the coach, Brandon Pezzuto, by searching for his name while composing a new email.