When most people think of golf, they imagine simply standing there, lifting the club, and the ball will fly straight. As simple as that.

Unlike other sports, golf requires extreme patience and critical thinking. From perfecting your posture to analyzing the trajectory of the course to picking the right clubs, golf is a meticulous learning process.

For those that prefer peaceful and quiet games over the outcry and cheering of the audience, golf is an attractive sport. The techniques involved in golf trains one to be still, patient and knowledgeable of where to draw strength from the body.

Sophomore Serena Wong, a member of the Varsity Girl’s Golf team, said, “I got into golf from hearing it from my friend during freshmen year. I had wanted to be in a sport that was uncommon unlike basketball and soccer.”

Golf is more on the underrated and uncommon side of sports, so people tend to forget that golf is indeed an athletic activity that requires just as much strength, passion and power as any other sport.

I joined the Varsity Girl’s Golf team at Los Altos in my sophomore year. I was never the extremely athletic type, yet I still wanted to participate in a sport. So, I chose golf, naively underestimating it to be an “easy” sport.

And after my first practice, I felt sore all over and couldn’t even finish hitting half of the 100 balls I had.

However, I kept practicing even after realizing that golf is a difficult sport. Because in return for the exhausting practices, I became stronger and more patient and trained both physically and mentally.

On the surface, golf does seem relaxing: walking leisurely on the grass, stopping every few times to hit the ball and enjoying the outdoors. But the refining of techniques behind the scene are forgotten as people focus on the lack of applause or cheers during a golf game.

For teens, their lives move very quickly. Assignment deadlines, projects, applying for colleges and countless high level courses all force teens to move quickly in life. This is reflected in most teens’ love for high energy games where they can cheer.

But with golf, teens are able to slow down, truly aim for what they want and learn how to hit the ball exactly to where they want. Given the current climate of distance learning during the pandemic, golf is a great way for teens to relieve stress safely and slow down on their lives.

“Golf is a sport. It also is very challenging to do. Golf teaches you how to hold your position and fix your posture when playing. The sport also provides a lot of workouts on both your arms, back, and legs,” said Wong.

Therefore, a sport is not limited to an activity where its audience are very vocal and the players are often seen out of breath. An activity is also a sport if its players and audience are quiet and collected and there are minimal movements involved.

No matter your outlook on sports, golf remains as one of the most underrated and neglected sports because of its calmness and minimalism. So, next time when choosing a sport to play, pick a nearby golf course and enjoy a tiring, yet rewarding golf game by yourself or with companions.