I Play Golf Now
How a long weekend away showed the importance of letting loose and finding new hobbies.
Hi, I’m Reid! I write about my life experiences and how we can all live in brave new ways. Dare You is an entirely reader-supported publication. To receive weekly posts and support my work, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Today is a shorter post than usual.
My boyfriend and I checked into a resort about 20 minutes out of the city this past Friday to celebrate some recent milestones we’ve hit with the full intention of checking out on Sunday feeling fresh for the week ahead…. Alas, it’s Tuesday morning, and we are still here, milking every minute before our 2 pm check-out. My first gut reaction is to feel guilty for taking the time away and excuse ourselves with “we were just having so much funnnnn!” But I know that it’s important to shake things up from time to time, let loose, and get away from normal life every so often.
To be honest, we needed this. The entire weekend has been perfection. Friday, we did a day at the spa, then Saturday we played golf… “we” meaning my boyfriend played golf while I enjoyed driving the gold cart and eating snacks. However, on a few holes, he encouraged me to take a swing, so I did, and I actually enjoyed it! We had so much fun on the holes where we both played (me not well, I might add) that we decided to stay and do another day of golf…..and then ANOTHER day of golf. On the third day, I even rented my own set of clubs instead of using my boyfriend’s and really gave it my all!
Never in a million years did I ever think I would enjoy playing a sport like golf, let alone even think about taking the time to learn it properly. I grew up watching golf and going to tournaments with my family, but always considered it a sport that was better suited for men (awful, I know) or for people who are members of country clubs and have a ton of time on their hands. But something about the whole experience of being out on the course all day made me fall in love with it.
It’s gotten me thinking about the value of picking up a new hobby as an adult, knowing full well you will suck at it in the beginning and that it will also not provide any career or financial gain. “What’s the point?” My old self would say. It has been rare for me to put my time and energy into anything that doesn’t have potential to further my career or provide some outcome in the future that I believe will enhance my overall well-being. To put my energy into learning a new sport just for the fun of it would have seemed crazy to me a few years ago. But now, I see the value in having an outlet like golf. An outlet to suck at, and then get better at, and enjoy the process of learning something new.
It’s powerful to go into something new knowing full well you will be the worst in the class. There is zero pressure and no bar has been set. This creates a space where magic can happen. It reminds me of when I signed up for Clown Class. I wanted to put myself in a situation where the only thing I expected was to make a fool of myself…turns out it was a deeply fulfilling experience and something I grew to love very much. I never want to stop learning new things. I want to keep challenging myself and throwing my hat in the ring. Perhaps golf could be a new way to practice doing just that.
I’m curious, have you picked up any surprising hobbies as an adult that have brought you great joy?
-Reid