A new season of golf has started. Most will think “wow that is such an old person’s sport.” It’s really not. People of all ages can play it and enjoy it. The simplicity of the sport is what makes it great until you get to the scoring system that can get a bit complicated.

  In golf, people usually play 18 holes, but if you’re not in the mood for 18 you can just play 9; unless you’re in a tournament. The main objective is to make it to the hole on the green, in the fewest amount of strokes (when a player swings their club). It depends on what the “par” (number of strokes it should take to get to the hole) is. It can range from 3 to 5.

  I talked to Michael Hughes, a PVHS golfer, on how he thinks this season has turned out so far. “I feel that as the season goes on, I’m improving more and more every day”.

   I also interviewed Steve Nygaard, one of the coaches for the boys’ golf team. “I enjoy being around the student-athletes in that kind of environment. The game teaches kids patience, integrity, and hard work.”

  The team has done a good job this season. During one of the Sunset League matches, at The Club in Sunrise on April 10, our Trojans earned a collective score of 358. Which in golf, you need to get the lowest score possible. The highest score of that match was Desert Pines with 532, and the Trojans winning that tournament.

  The tournament after that, still in the Sunset League Match, was at the Aliante Golf Course, the boys again won with a score of 367. Western lost with a score of 441.

  I also asked Coach Nygaard about the teams improvement throughout the season. “I think all the boys have improved. Their scores have been getting better all year. The putting and short game improvements have probably been a big part of that.”

  Like with everything you just need to practice and try to get better at it. The same with me, when I played golf all throughout middle school. I wasn’t the best but I also wasn’t the worst, If I had kept going I would have been a much better golfer than I am now. The only reason I stopped was that I didn’t like actually competing with people, I would much rather play with a couple friends and not care what we were doing.

  Golf is a sport that involves a lot of precision and accuracy, but you don’t need to be very athletic to play the sport. If you really understand the sport and enjoy playing it, it can be very enjoyable. It’s a pretty recreational sport, but when people have to compete- they compete.

  I honestly recommend that people play it if they aren’t crazy about sports. It’s probably one of the most leisurely sports anyone could play. It’s a nice pastime, and great for relieving stress, the environment is usually very calming.  

  So next time you want to try something new, go out to one of our local golf courses, Lakeview Executive Golf Course or Mountain Falls, and have a good time.