HIGH SCHOOL JOURNALISM: Golf is more than just a sport

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By Mallory Dirks, Midland junior

WYOMING - When the high school golf coaches are asking new people to join their teams, an overused answer is  “golf is boring.”

It may not be throwing on helmets and ramming into the nearest person, but it is not boring. No high school sport is boring. Whether you are running in circles for minutes on end or rolling around on a mat with another person, each high school sport has some exciting and rewarding parts to it.

Golf's main objective is to get the ball in the hole in the least amount of stokes, trying to get the lowest score possible. That's unlike other high school sports, where the high score wins.

Golf is not a sport that requires muscle and agility, but hand-eye coordination and patience.  Eighteen holes of swinging a golf club could get repetitive, yes, but to some it can be relaxing. Standing in the middle of an open, green golf course in April, the sun is out and everything is coming back to life, you learn to love nature and get used to tan lines.

During a high school golf meet, you get so many new opportunities. Golfing in a group of four for three or four hours, you talk and get to know each other, make new friends.

Have you ever been in the middle of a wide tree-filled area with 20 pounds of metal on your back as thunder rolls overhead? It's only happened once in two years, obviously  a rare occasion, and it's one of the only times you get to ride on a golf cart during a meet.

There's nothing wrong with walking courses, either.  You get exercise in a relaxed way and you don't even realize you've been outside so long.

Golf is something you can keep through your whole life - just look at the all the retired men's associations.

Call it a sport now, call it a stress reliever later.