Football and baseball may get all the glory, but golf is one of the best sports in the world.
You can play at any age.
Whether you're three or 83, you can play golf. How many 80-year-olds do you see playing football? Zero. Golf is always worth learning, because you can continue to play it throughout your life.
It's a necessity in the business world.
Many business deals are made on the course. What better way to foster a business relationship with a coworker or boss than some quality time on an 18-tee course? While everyone else takes their clients out to lunch, you can take them to a golf course to play a round. You're more likely to impress with your golf etiquette and sportsmanship than with how many breadsticks you can eat at Olive Garden.
The courses are beautiful.
From oceanside to countryside, golf courses across the world are gorgeous. Courts and fields have nothing on white sand, blue water, and green fairways.
Even professionals can miss a little putt...
You don't have to get too upset when you miss an easy shot. Even the pros have off-days. Knowing that the most advanced players have the potential to miss a putt that you know you could make always gives you a confidence boost.
A four-putt, Rory? It's okay, you'll get 'em next time, McIlroy.
...Or lose their grip on a club.
Yes, that is Tiger Woods at the 2015 U.S. Open.
You can have a handicap.
Handicaps are calculated based on a person's ability to play golf over 18-holes. The handicap is the number of strokes a player makes above par. This number is subtracted from the actual score and allows players of different skill levels the ability to play against each other on more equal terms.
It's a mental game.
While golf is not considered the most athletic sport, it does help to stay in shape. However, a large part of success in golf is mental. When it comes to the mental game of golf, it doesn't matter if you can bench 300 pounds, or 20 pounds. A positive attitude and concentration can make a world of difference.
Honesty is the only policy.
There are no referees in golf. You have to hold yourself accountable when keeping track of your own score. If you know that your sand wedge touched the sand in the bunker, but no one else saw it happen, it still counts.
If you're playing in pairs against another team, you can keep track of the other team's strokes as well. Everyone knows you shot a triple bogey on that par 3, Kevin, don't lie about it. Don't! Just don't!
It's quiet.
Playing golf may not be relaxing, but at least it's usually a calm environment. That one guy who always takes business calls at the driving range needs to leave.
Golf raises money for charity.
Golf is the go-to sport for any fundraising event. Golf tournaments raise millions of dollars for charity each year. In 2014, the PGA announced that it "surpassed $2 billion in all-time charitable giving."
It's an Olympic sport.
Football and baseball may be the most popular sports in America, but we'll be cheering on the American golfers in the 2016 Summer Olympics. This will be the first time golf has been played at the Olympics since 1904.
So get out on that driving range and practice your swing. You'll thank yourself later when you've gained a skill that you can use for the rest of your life.