We need to inject some youthful zeal back into this game, along with a heavy dose of common sense. No more wasting water and money. Golf courses are basically just poorly managed farms that forget to grow food. All we need are greens and fairways, the rest can be used for nature, agriculture, whatever. But that’s a conversation for another day.

I’ve played golf my entire life and I’ll admit, I’m not a very good golfer. If I play an honest round I’m happy to break 100 (most golfers will tell you they shoot in the low 90s but they’re lying). There are tons of golfers like me who make a couple pars in a round, maybe a birdie, perhaps a few exceptional shots, but ultimately we lose balls, duff a handful of drives, and hit a few in the drink. But we still take it seriously, and genuinely enjoy the game.

Point is, it’s okay to not be great at golf. It’s fun, challenging, and ultimately rewarding. Many hobbies are just expensive cheap thrills — wakeboarding is clumsy and you need a speed boat, barista competitions cause anxiety and are slathered in social commentary, and The Hopscotch Championship is too dangerous. What do we ask from our recreational activities? I think most people would agree that hobbies allow us to become more well-rounded individuals. The chess board or the golf course is a canvas for our individual actions, where we can learn more about ourselves, a simple ritual that clears the mind, but also strengthens it. It gives us a chance to get away from our lives, and to embrace being unproductive. Obviously there must be more to hobbies than simply indulging in “fun.” Or we’d invent a candy-eating contest or just play drinking games.

I’ve come across a few Reddit threads that ask for recommendations about inexpensive hobbies. Invariably, disc golf comes highly recommended by today’s internet crowd, but never actual golf. Throwing frisbees around in a park is not a serious hobby, and it is not an activity for grown-ups. The only reason to play disc golf would be if you lived in North Korea or Venezuela and regular golf was banned. That golf is some super expensive sport is a complete myth. I guarantee you there’s a municipal course near you where you can play for around $20. I live in one of the most expensive areas in the country and I can play my local course after 1pm on weekdays for $22. For over three hours of entertainment, its cheaper than bowling or indoor rock climbing. And save money by walking and not renting a cart — unless you need an electric cart at the grocery store you don’t need one on the golf course.

It’s true that golf equipment can be very expensive, but golf is a sport dominated by money wasting hacks who buy a new set of irons every year. Which means there are insane deals on almost-new golf clubs, but you don’t even need to go that far. I play regularly with a buddy who is a solid player, and he hits a set of old Ben Hogan irons he bought for practically nothing at Goodwill, and a generic driver from Big 5 Sporting Goods he’s had since high school. Please don’t go on some forum and write: “Hey, I’m thinking about getting into golf. What are some club recommendations for a beginner?” Waste of time. Buy some cheap sticks and start playing.

Golf is many things, but as the great 1956 Master’s champion Jackie Burke says about putting: “You’re rolling a ball into a hole with a stick.” That’s all we’re doing here — we’re not balancing on our toes whilst spinning and undulating, nor are we sprinting, hurdling, or climbing. It’s a simple act that requires a little physical ability, but it also requires mental toughness. And that’s one of the reasons it’s such a great sport for us normal people. Go ahead and get eight of your buddies together to form an adult wooden bat baseball league. And wake me up after the 12th run is walked in in the third inning. Baseball is not a good sport for nonprofessional adults, it’s a sport for springy youngsters with decent hand-eye coordination. If you’re too old for Big League Chew, yet not tough enough for actual chew, golf is a much better way to go.

Golf rewards patience, focus, and practice — just like many things in life. But these days, men in their 30s are into airsoft war reenactments and adult kickball leagues. Everyone is yearning for something “different,” which is just narcissistic and boring. And now the reality is that playing actual golf has become that something different. See how weird this has gotten? It’s seen as unusual if you’re a young hipster who likes to play nine holes on a Tuesday afternoon before your bartending shift. Yet nobody would bat an eye if you said you had to duck out of the office early for speed-knitting practice.

So after you finish reading this, go buy a cheap set of clubs, and take up golf. I’m selfishly asking that more people my age play, because I’m concerned that courses will continue falling apart and shutting down. But there is a bit of a learning curve — you’ll need to learn how to play. Here’s the part where most people get burned, and its a lesson I wish I had learned much earlier in life. Don’t get caught up in all the nonsense that floods the culture of golf I mentioned earlier — don’t read golf magazines, don’t watch The Golf Channel, don’t buy a rangefinder, and don’t start following the sport on TV. Just read one short book, “Five Lessons,” by Ben Hogan, and then practice as much as you can. That’s it.