Golf: My Idea of Relaxation

One of my favorite hobbies to counter the busy hustle and bustle of life is playing golf.

This activity offers me the perfect chance to clear my head while participating in a sport that challenges me in a relaxing atmosphere. Whether I spend the day golfing and relaxing with friends, or on my own, it always serves as the perfect reset to a busy week.

Did you know that golf is one of the healthiest sports out there? While it may get a bit of bad rap for being “boring” or more calm than most people expect sports to be, it really is a full-body workout, and it challenges the mind in ways few other sports can. I personally love this sense of conquering myself, as I used to in my days of wrestling; it offers the biggest adrenaline rush.

Golf is often quite physically demanding because it requires you to walk a tremendous distance over many hours of playing outdoors in a variety of different landscapes, while holding precise positions; all of which you need to be prepared for. It also requires you to analyze your particular movements, your stance, how you hold yourself, how you position yourself during a swing. The amount of attention that goes into the physical work of golf is intense; it’s hard to believe unless you’re actually doing it.

I don’t know of any other sport that requires this much mental focus and dedicated concentration. It will force you to be in tune to so much of your environment in an effort to perfect your swing. And any recreational pursuit that brings with it the benefit of improving other areas of your life, as in the case of improved concentration, is an excellent usage of time as far as I’m concerned.

Golf is truly a mental and physical test, and because I live for the challenge, even when relaxing, this sport tests me. In golf there is always room for improvement, no matter how good you are at one aspect, there will be others you can always work harder in. Above all however, it’s this test of will that really drives me, and I love the feeling of never being complacent.