“Walking 18 holes is equal to a 3.5 mile run or a 5 mile walk. It burns up to 2,000 calories and
over 10,000 steps are taken during an 18-hole round.” – wearegolf.org
Wendelken, the manager of tournament
operations and membership services with
the Northern Ohio Golf Association into
the game. “When I was in sixth grade, one
of my friends’ older brother worked at the
local course. We would go to the course in
the evening and play as many holes as we
could. My parents never played golf, and
the course that I grew up playing is now
closed.”
Logan Ray, assistant executive director
and director of championship operations
of the Louisiana Golf Association, said
golf came into his life a little later than
most. “I did not play golf very often
growing up, but my interest was sparked in
college at Sewanee: The University of the
South,” said Ray. “I stayed on campus for
two summers between my freshman and
junior years and worked as the assistant
superintendent at the 9-hole Sewanee golf
course.”
Being around the game of golf everyday
made Ray appreciate its beauty, he said.
“The USGA P.J. Boatwright Internship
brought me even closer to the game. Once
I was immersed in golf administration,
I realized that it was the perfect fit for
me. The relationships that are developed
through the game of golf are amazing. I
was captivated by
how unique golf No golf course is the
was
compared
to other sports. same, players call
No golf course is their own penalties,
the same, players and integrity is the
call their own foundation of the
penalties,
and
integrity is the sport.
foundation of the
sport. As Bobby Jones once said, ‘Golf is
the closest game to the game we call life.’
You get bad breaks from good shots. You
get good breaks from bad shots, but you
have to play the ball where it lies.”
Golf is more than birdies or bogeys,
handicap indexes, and championships.
The sport is about bringing family and
friends together for a duration of time in
nature.
Whether you play once a year, a month,
a week or everyday that the weather
permits, golf is a passion. It should be
enjoyable and an escape from other things
that stress us and consume our lives.
We all came into golf because of
someone or something that made us try it,
and somehow it stuck with us. The game is
social, and it can bring four total strangers
together any day for a round and sprout a
new friendship and bond.
Everyone has a golf experience, even if
he or she tried it once or twice and never
returned. It is a sport where greatness is
never measured in years and decades, it
is defined by days, weeks and months. In
the end, we all know that even the best in
the world can chunk a wedge shot from 50
yards out just as easily as a 20 handicapper
on a Sunday afternoon.
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