Contrary to popular belief, “Happy Gilmore” is usually not the correct stereotype that comes with golfing competitively. Golf is one of the sports that everyone can play their whole life, whether it be sipping a Coors Light on hole six listening to Jimmy Buffet or simply taking the kids out for a family activity.

At Chapman University, the women’s golf team not only brings in successful scores, but also the growing passion for the lifelong sport. Players say it reminds them why they fell in love with playing the sport.

Emily Cho, a sophomore broadcast journalism and documentary major, is a standout member of the golf team whose love of golf doesn’t stop just at the competitive level, but also throughout her broadcast career. 

“I felt like I started competing really late and when I started growing a love for it, my high school season was almost over,” Cho said. “Coming from 10 years of soccer, I never thought in a million years I would be playing golf… especially in college. And now I can’t imagine college without it. It fills up a lot of my time and guided me towards my decision of wanting to work for the golf channel.”

Danielle DeKock, a junior strategic and corporate communication major, talked about the best aspects and bad bits to the sport as well.

“Golf is an extremely hard sport to master. You have to be dedicated to do well, and loyal to keep coming back after a bad round,” DeKock said. “People who think golf is boring just haven’t experienced the thrill you get after playing a fun round of golf. Almost everyone I’ve encouraged to play golf agrees that once you touch a golf club for the first time, you’ll have a really hard time putting it down.”

Cho also described how the pre-season for the team has been going so far. 

“We have some good freshmen that came in ,so I feel we’ll be competitive for this year,” Cho said. “The first tournament went well. The first day was a bit shaky for me, but then I ended up doing well the second day. I shot a 78 and 73, then this second tournament was rough for all of us… I shot 80 and 79 to get in fourth, but that’s still not great. But we had a solid first season.”

DeKock said golf can be a tricky sport, and the more someone attempts to correct their mistakes, the more mistakes can get worse. DeKock told The Panther about the joys golf brings, despite the struggles and amount of practice it takes to perfect the craft of the swing.

“Golf is a hard sport and requires a lot of patience and dedication,” DeKock said. “The competitiveness of golf has taught me patience not only on the golf course, but in other aspects of my life, too. It’s given me the ability to continue playing the game after high school. My teammates are what makes the golf team so special. I’ve truly found some of my best friends on this team.” 

Cho detailed the long-lasting effects of the sport, and the benefits it can bring for future opportunities.

“Golf is a sport you can play for the rest of your life. It doesn’t stop after high school or college,” Cho said. “It’s also what people do to get to know people or for business deals or related things. It’s a sport for anyone, you don’t have to be tall or built, your gender and age doesn’t matter.”