Am I evangelizing Golf too much? Who even knows

 I'll come out and admit it right away, not going to hide or lie about it. I'm becoming a golf evangelist. And proudly so. Here are the facts so when you judge me you will give me greater benefit of doubt than otherwise.

First, I like golf because it's not about physical stamina or prowess. You need to have strength in your arms to hit the ball, but beyond that, you can be of any physical shape and size and age and you'd be a great golf player if you put enough dedication into the sport. I've seen old men in their seventies literally knock the ball out of the course, seven and eight year olds being trained by their dads often outperform me by a factor of ten. You gotta know the technique, you gotta practice and make those balls fly. That's what matters. It's cool because your past is mostly almost entirely irrelevant.

Second, it's as much a game of the mind as the body, if not more so. And that's because of two related but different reasons. First, you need intense focus to get your shot right. SO many of the people I talk to are like, wait what's the big deal, how hard can hitting one stupid ball with a bat be, and they're thinking about sports like baseball or cricket. Well...the balls really small and the hitting area of the bat is tiny, and you can't just hit the ball with that area, you need to connect at specific area and specific angle with specific power, and that takes a lot of focus. Not to mention the environmental conditions can change the variables, and it's really really hard to maintain a precise control of your arms. And the attention can be taken away at any point by even the most minor distraction. The second point is this: it's a form of meditative practice for sure. As in, if you're really good with meditation you'll probably do well in golf and vice versa. Because you need such a focus and dedication, you need to be in peak emotional state for every shot...you miss one and lose your mental composure and you're bound to underperform in the following shots massively. You gotta be in top emotional form for your shots to land.

Third, besides the topmost professional levels, it's a game you play against yourself than against your opponents. Basically you're your own opponent and your goal is to outperform your past record. With the concept of handicap, you basically get 'free points' against the players you're playing with, so in the end it's a competition between you and your competitors on who can outperform their past record the most, which is a wild concept and one I really appreciate.

Fourth, it's an incredible opportunity to meet people, have meetings, go out on picnics and be out and about in the sun without looking for strange excuses. The golfing itself is the excuse, and if you play it well you're all the better!