First of all, I have met several players at the golf club through the tournaments they arrange and there is often someone I can play with when I get up to the driving range. I can also enjoy the game alone and try to improve on my best score so far. I have a certain competence that is expressed through my handicap, and my aim is to play the next hole better than I did last time.

A great advantage of golf is that the handicap system evens out the differences among players at different levels. There are not that many competitive sports where a bad player can enjoy playing with a good one. Take tennis, for example - I know I would not have any fun playing against a world champion and she would have to slow down her play to let me catch a ball or two. Playing golf against Tiger Woods, however, would be a lot of fun - for me at least. He would have to accept that I needed about 30-40 shots more than he did, and that I needed to search for the ball when it was in the bushes. But I could still beat him! He would have to beat his own handicap if we were playing according the Stableford rules, and even with my 30 strokes more, I could end up with more points. And I would get to watch him and learn all the way.

It does not have to be that extreme difference. Two partners at different levels can enjoy a game together.

The game is so addictive - and competitive - is because it looks so simple, but is not. The ball is lying still and I have (almost) all the time in the world to select the right club, position myself as close or far away as I want, take as many practice swings as needed - and then hit the ball. With all the preparations and odds on my side, I will still not hit that ball as perfectly as I had imagined. And it is entirely my fault. If I or the ball - or both of us - were moving, as in football or basketball or most all other ball sports, then I would have an excuse. Not so in golf. Of course I can blame it on the bad position of the ball, the unexpected piece of grass or the disturbance of someone talking or a fly that happened to fly by. And I will blame it on these things so that I can feel 100% sure that the next time I try to hit the ball I will see it fly in a perfect curve, bounce once on the green and roll into the cup. That is what I am expecting to see.

It happened to me once. I was 80 meters away from the green on hole number 3, it was early Saturday morning and the ball made a path on the dew. I was standing absolutely still after the stroke and just could not believe what had happened. I am still waiting for it to happen again, but I am not holding my breath.