In a fast-paced world, golf is the way I slow down
Bernard Barnes
By Bernard Barnes, North News intern
Now that the Super Bowl and NBA finals are in the books, sports fans have nothing but “boring” old golf, the sport that “wastes so much TV time.” Just a bunch of rich white people talking about who has the bigger boat or how their child just got into Harvard. Or so I thought.
As a football player, I found that there is little time for quiet or taking it slow. Your brain is going 100% and there is no stop in sight. But when I step onto the golf course, it's all about the slow pace of the game.
If people just slowed down, we could see how peaceful life is. As you calm down, you can work better and more efficiently.
Golf helped me when I was having a hard time in my life, as I was getting ready to graduate from high school.
Everyone was asking me the same questions over and over again: “What college are you going to?” “What are you going to do with your life?”
I didn't have any answers for them. And no one was trying to help me answer them.
So one day, while I was taking a walk, I saw a golf course and wanted to try. It was hard at first. But after a couple of tries, I got the hang of it. The game made me calm. After I was done with my first round of golf, I had more of a blank mind than a full mind. Then, everything came to me at once about my dreams and goals. That is why, I think, golf is very helpful for people going through mental health issues.
And it’s not just me. According to environmental psychologist Professor Jenny Roe, golf can help people with anxiety and depression.
It makes sense. When I step on to the golf course, it’s like everything slows down. I can hear the birds, smell of the green of the golf course, and the music in my ears. It is just me and my thoughts. It is the best feeling in the world.
Golf has changed my life in so many ways, from helping me clear my head when times were rough to meeting new people. People on the outside may call golf boring or even not a sport. But as a player of the game, golf brings me to a whole new world for people to explore.