GOLF X GYM
How Golf Accidentally Tricked Me Into Getting Back in the Gym
A little about me: I’ve was playing Basketball, Baseball, and Football since I was 4, which means I’ve basically spent my whole life running, jumping, sweating, or putting my hands on my head during conditioning drills. By 8 years old, I was already in speed and agility training, because nothing says “carefree childhood” like ladder drills and cone work at 7 a.m.
For years, I lived in that athlete mindset. Practice after school. Training on weekends. Always preparing for the next game, the next season, the next chance to prove I was faster, stronger, or at least slightly less winded than the guy next to me.
Then 2020 hit. Sports shut down. Seasons got canceled. And just like that, the “athlete lifestyle” became “so… now what?”
What I thought would be a quick break turned into a four-year hiatus from anything resembling consistent training. The gym went from being my second home to being that uncomfortable place where I’d walk in, see a bunch of muscle-heads who’ve never played a sport in their lives, which made me feel even more out of place, and think: I could also just leave. And sometimes, I did.
Every once in a while, I’d catch a glimpse in the mirror or see an old photo and think, The muscle I’d worked my whole life for had apparently packed up and moved out. Meanwhile, new fat decided it would sublet the space.
Without a coach yelling at me or teammates suffering alongside me, the motivation just wasn’t there. Turns out, accountability hits different when nobody’s timing your sprints or threatening to make you run gassers.
But then, completely by accident, golf entered the picture.
At first, I thought golf was just a fun, chill sport where you walk around, swing a little, and maybe yell at a ball every now and then. But the more I played, the more I realized:
This sport quietly demands you get your life together.
Time to strengthen my core, mobility work, & conditioning.
Slowly, golf started waking up that old athlete in me. Not the “squat 405 with the boys and scream like a smelling salts junkie” version that guy retired in 2020. But a healthier, wiser, still competitive but far less self-destructive version. Now I’m training for different milestones:
Outdriving my buddies
Walking a full round without feeling like I need medical attention
Hitting shots that make me whisper “Okay, maybe I am still him”
And honestly? It feels good.
Golf gave me a reason to care about training again. It brought back the joy of improvement, the satisfaction of progress, and the reminder that I will always be an athlete, just an athlete with new priorities, slightly tighter hamstrings, and a deeper appreciation for warm-ups.
For ex-athletes out there struggling to reconnect with the gym, golf might just be the bridge you’re looking for. It’s a sport that rewards strength, mobility, focus, and discipline the exact traits you built your whole life. And the best part? You get to compete again, even if the competition is just yourself.
