I'm sorry for everyone who hates golf. As a golfer, I'll be the first to admit that watching it is so ~boring~ but being on the actual course is a feeling second to none. The sweetest sound in the world is a golf club topping the fresh cut grass, perhaps only second to the sound of a ball dropping into the hole (and the sooner it drops the better the sound). The poor souls hating on the game must not be able to hit the ball because how else could you say it's boring? And how sad is it that that's the reason to hate it???

Golf is a beautiful enigma of a game that takes a short time to learn but a lifetime to master (sorry for the cliché, but it's just about the most real thing I've ever heard). People spend years trying to master the sport, balancing strategy with skill. It combines physical ability *maybe not extraneous physical ability, but you gotta hit the ball 280 yards straight down the fairway with something other than luck* with mental awareness. You get in your head, the game is over. You get overconfident, the game is over. You get under-confident, and the game is over.

I'm telling you, golf is just about the hardest drug you can take without doing anything illegal. I have witnessed a man throw his club into a river, purely for missing a 3-foot putt (something that should be made fairly easily). I have seen people win hundreds of dollars for hitting the right shot on the right hole, and they look as though they have won the lottery. The game is so much more than putting a ball in a hole. The mental strength it gives you makes you tougher in the real world, and the reward you feel after succeeding is one of the best feelings I know.

Here's another secret about golf: it has gods. That's right, you heard me. They punish you if you show any signs of arrogance, but they also send a blessing your way if you show humility and restraint. Do any other sports do that? I don't think so.

But the best part of golf is the that it is the game that keeps on giving. You could be 12 or 75, the game will last you a lifetime. Golfers really only play themselves, so its great for some alone time but some *friendly* competition is always welcome. However for me, being a female golfer, my favorite part about the game is the look on people's faces when they see me whack one straight down the middle with my beloved driver.

So next time you see a course or your dad offers to take you to the range, just go for it. It truly is the game that keeps on giving, but just remember: what happens on the course, stays on the course.