Welcome back blog readers! Today we’re going to talk about the sport of golf, and how hard it is to play. Last winter, I joined a golf sim league with my friends at the age of 29 after not touching a club for 15 years.  My Dad always hated golf, so I only played a handful of times growing up. To be honest, I hated it too. I thought it was a dumb sport that everyone was miserable playing. I loved watching the Tiger Woods highlights as a kid, but never watched any tournaments or played the video games other than Golden Tee.

Fast forward to 2019, Tiger wins the Masters and it was one of my favorite sports memories. The following year, COVID hit, and everyone was stuck inside. Until the golf courses opened, and all of a sudden millions of new players joined the sport. My roommate at the time was always a big golfer and was probably going 3-4 times a week at the time. Still, I never joined him because I didn’t want to do something I knew that I would struggle with.

In February of 2024, a couple of buddies (including my old roommate) asked if I wanted to join their golf sim league that played weekly. At the time I was working every second of my life, so I figured “what the hell?” and joined them. To say I struggled is an understatement. I routinely would double par holes and shanked more shots than I hit straight. It was embarrassing, and I skipped a couple of weeks because of how much stress it caused me.

But then it happened, I started to get hooked on the sport. I was surprised that nearly every person in the league was really supportive. People would respectfully give me tips and were genuinely impressed and happy for me when I started to hit the ball better. Because of my early season struggles, I believe my handicap was a 48 (front nine) when the playoffs started. Well, we won the league. The prize was free entry into the fall league ($1000 value) and thus ensured my golf career would continue.

Over the summer we tried to play once a week so I could get practice on an actual course. I was pleasantly surprised that the local courses were significantly easier and shorter than the PGA courses we played on the sim. Slowly but surely, I was able to work on the short irons and improve that part of my game. Toward the end of the summer, I got too busy with work and took a couple of months off, but thankfully fall league was right around the corner.

The fall league was great, much smaller so we were able to get a bay to ourselves, so we got nine holes of individual play then a nine-hole scramble. This turned out to be great practice and by the end of the league my nine-hole handicap was down to 21 by the end of it and we lost in the championship to a much better team.

We signed up for the spring league in 2025 which was only a nine-hole scramble since it was a full league. My entire goal was adding distance to my game, and I made a lot of progress. Midway through the league I was getting my drives upwards of 270 yards but as the weeks went on, they started spraying way off course. I have spent the last couple of weeks correcting it, and now they’ll stay straight between 180-200 yards. Progress on my hybrid faded too, but I’ve hit it well enough to know I can do it. Hit down at the ball, I keep telling myself before I smoke the ground.

What I’ve learned is that being “bad” at golf is all relative. Both of the guys I play with say they’re bad, but one just hit a 360-yard drive last night while the other makes every put inside 12 feet. Compared to me, they are very good golfers. I have another buddy who is a near scratch golfer and won his high school state championship for golf. Compared to the two guys I play with; they are bad, and he is good. Scottie Scheffler just shot 19 under par last week, compared to him my scratch golfer friend is bad. In amateur play, the handicap system really does a good job keep everything balanced and allows for everyone to have fun.

Where do I go next? Goal this summer is to get the distance back on my driver and my hybrid. I’m confident enough in my irons/wedges to play most courses, but I need some more distance before I can play the more advanced courses with my friends. I started this at 29 years old, and absolutely hated it. A year later and I make sure I golf or go to the range every week. Crazy how that works right?