Golf is one of the most humbling sports an individual can ever partake in. I golfed a few times in 1991 as a 9-year-old, but didn’t pick up the sport consistently until the summer of 2008.

It was that summer I watched Tiger Woods and Rocco Mediate battle for the U.S. Open Championship. Woods, who sunk a difficult putt on the 18th hole to force a sudden-death playoff hole despite an ailing knee injury, defeated Mediate by one stroke to win his 14th major tournament of his career.

After watching Woods’ heroic performance, I decided to give the sport another try. Over the past seven years I have golfed with numerous friends at a wide array of different courses in Washington. My best score ever on a course was an 85, which on paper seems legit. In actuality though, it occurred on a course where the majority of the holes were par 3’s.  I had only hit the links a few times earlier this summer before tackling Port Orchard’s McCormick Woods golf course in July. It was the epitome of a humbling experience.

My score was atrocious as I finished in the triple digits under the sweltering heat of the summer sun. My friends didn’t fare too much better. We didn’t have one par among the three of us in 18 holes of golf. One aspect of golf that keeps not only me, but also countless players across the world coming back is the ability to hit a perfect drive, knock down a difficult putt or connect perfectly while chipping onto the green.

Golf is a microcosm of life. You can be dominating one moment and the next instance you can find yourself in the rough. I plan on continuing to golf for decades to come.