For 90% of people I know, the only things that come to mind when they hear the word golf are Tiger Woods or Caddyshack. And that’s fair— it’s not exactly the choice pastime of the millennial set, though that may change come 2050.
Being born into a family of golfers or having buddies who like to take a six-pack to the driving range every once in a while are generally the most common prerequisites for getting into it golf. I fall into neither of those categories. I simply registered for golf through my local rec center, having no idea how I’d feel about it. The reason? My Saturday morning tennis lessons were canceled and I needed motivation to get out of bed and start my weekends on an active note. Plus, I do love my short skirt sports.
I remember once watching an episode of Malcolm in the Middle in which it was said that the only thing worse than no TV is golf on TV. It’s kind of true. But now that I’ve taken a few weeks of golf lessons I can say that playing it is actually way more fun than watching it.
For starters, there aren’t many people I know who don’t think golf carts are fun AF. Throw in the fact that a little wine spritzer on the course isn’t exactly frowned upon and you could be looking at a few glorious weekend hours spending quality time with friends. Consider the fact that 15 of the last 18 presidents have been golfers and Richard Nixon didn’t even start to golf until the age of 39. If you take your first golf lesson now, you’ll be setting yourself up for a lifetime of bragging rights at your future retirement community.
Another thing worth addressing is the cost of equipment and playing. Once I registered for my second set of lessons and decided it was something I wanted to commit to, I found that buying used golf equipment is surprisingly easy and affordable. My instructor told me what I needed to know to buy a good set of clubs, and I was able to snag some for $50 on Craigslist. Poshmark has since helped me land a $15 pair of lightly used Adidas golf shoes and a Stella McCartney skirt. That’s less than the cost of a spa treatment! So here’s my rule of thumb: stick to Craigslist for the clubs and Poshmark for the fashion. There’s an unbelievable range of cute clothes on there for the course from Lacoste, lululemon, Adidas and Nike.
My instructor lets me play on the driving range with free golf ball rentals anytime I want to during the week, as long as I’m enrolled in class, which is the perfect 40-minute break in the middle of a work week. As for the lessons themselves, they pretty much went like this: two weeks practicing putting and chipping and then open season on the driving range. The driving range works wonders if you’re stressed about something— just give it a try!
Stepping on the course for the first time was a lot of fun, and I’ve become pretty intrigued by the number of golf courses both around me and spread throughout the world— from Cabo to Maui and beyond!
Now all I have to do is get some girlfriends on board so I don’t have to rely on lessons to make sure I hit the course on a weekly basis. But that’s what vinas are for, right?
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(Featured image via @fit_with_wit)
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