As we get older, the opportunities to be competitive are fewer and farther between. When you were a child, you probably had the chance to compete in a variety of sports and other activities. While there is certainly more to life than competition, most people draw motivation and desire from the opportunity to prove their abilities. If you pick up golf as a hobby as an adult, it will give you a new way to compete – both against others, and against yourself.

When first getting started in golf, the competition you experience is going to be against yourself, and against the course. For example, you might be striving to make your first par, or shoot your first round under 100. Once you have a little bit of experience, your main focus will likely be on improving your personal bests. That score of 98 for 18-holes was once exciting, but now you are determined to go lower. There are always new milestones to reach in this game, as no one has ever played a perfect round of golf – and no one ever will.

Once you develop some basic skills and you become more confident as a golfer, you might shift to thinking about being competitive with other people. You could enter a tournament at your local course where you will be able to test your skills against others from the area. The thrill is playing in a golf competition is hard to understand until you try it for yourself. Each shot that you face during your round will seem more difficult than it does when you are just playing for recreation. In addition to the fun of playing against others, playing in a tournament will also help you to learn about your game. Weaknesses are sure to be exposed under pressure, so you can learn from your competitive rounds and go back to the range with a list of things to work on.

Why should you play golf? There are too many reasons to count, but we hope that this article has given you a good picture of the many benefits of getting involved in this game. It should be enough to know that many people who get hooked on golf never manage to lose the ‘itch’ to get out on the course whenever possible. It is a game which is loved by millions, and each individual golfer has his or her own unique reasons for staying involved year after year. Good luck and have fun out there!