For years our Snapchat feeds have been littered with wooden boards stocked with various cheeses and Instagram stories have featured hour long “happy birthday to the craziest bitch” posts.

It seems now that the boys are back on social. Everyday I see beautiful landscapes and fairways, friends video-taping friends as they tee off, or maybe a candid leg shot with a beer and foot on a golf cart pedal. Whatever it is, Golf is big-time-in.

This surge of young people playing golf may seem new to me as a recent college graduate. It’s certainly possible that this phenomenon has been present way before now, but it seems to have taken off majorly in my circles.

I’ve heard a few explanations on why this might be. Many people say that golf is a good skill to have for business outings and networking. I find this conclusion to be a bit out-dated and unrealistic. Golf itself seems to resemble this sort “boys club” atmosphere we always hear about in the corporate world, the type of activity where 1980’s male executives play a not-so-quick 18 in the middle of the work day only to end up at Texas Roadhouse with a t-bone and a few margs. Besides, I don’t think I’ll be closing the big deal after I drive directly into the woods for seven straight holes and violently threaten my putter when I inevitably 4-putt.

I’ve come to a few of my own conclusions about why golf is so popular among young men or recent graduates.

We Crave Competition

I’m not an athlete. I never was a star athlete, or even resembling one. I’ve played sports in settings where I was surrounded by passionate and high-level athletes but I never had outstanding talent nor the drive to get there. Regardless of this, when it came time for a little basketball game in the rec center or at the park, I go full-hardo mode. You don’t want your buddy dropping 15 on your noggin and embarrassing you in front of the moms and the children at the park. You definitely don’t want to lose your spot on the court and wait another two hours for the guys who insist on playing to 21 but can’t dribble. I’m running my post moves into the ground so I can earn myself a night of drinking, debauchery, and probably a cheese steak later. I truly believe as young men we need something in our lives to add competition. My friends and I who are all relatively (objectively) bad at golf throw some wagers despite the best score being well above 100. We need something to keep the t flowing and alive.

Corona Virus

There’s no sugar-coating how debilitating this has been for everyone around the world. Obviously, people have been impacted and destroyed much more than I have, there’s no debate there and I would never even assimilate that there was. That said, it does kind of suck that there’s not really any place to drink, the bars aren’t open, and there’s really not a good place to hang out where legitimate social distancing can occur. As golf courses were some of the first places to open, we flocked to them. It also doesn’t hurt that I prefer to be wearing a collard shirt as I drink beer because it makes me feel like a fancy boy. I think this certainly jump-started the golf-bug for us because it forced us to embrace a game that we once thought was boring or pretentious or for old men who hate their families, and we quickly realized it was pretty damn fun. Me and my dad sucking at golf together has dramatically increased our relationship.

 

We Need Something to Kill a Day/ Take Your Mind Off Current Position

Define The Bad Golfer - Golf Talk - The Sand Trap .com

If there’s one thing that golf does it’s temporarily erase your real life issues. When your out there with buddies, having a laugh, hearing the whistling of beautiful birds, and cheating at a sport that encourages it, you can’t be bothered with the real world. For someone like me, who hasn’t yet..let’s say found a fitting and inspiring professional occupation tailored to my skills, I need something to absolutely destroy an entire day. Golf takes like 100 hours and after you’ve been in the sun and swinging a metal rod around the woods, you’re pretty beat. I can’t be left to my own devices all day or I will just play video games and eat Velveeta mac and cheese. Additionally, if you’re someone who has a new gig that isn’t necessarily enticing or inspiring, clear your head a bit. There’s something that is so inherently frustrating about not being able to hit a ball with a stick that can make you forget how much your life currently sucks.

I’m all in for the young man golf revolution. Let’s take over the golf clubs and normalize being terrible, being out there for the love of the game. Paying homage to the Scottish men with their funny hats and their goofy pants by losing sleeves of absurdly prices little white balls.

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