One of my golfing buddies, Clarence, struggled with sobriety. His life, once filled with social gatherings and late nights at the bar, was a cycle of relapses. He felt stuck, and every attempt to stay sober seemed to lead him back to square one.

One summer, I invited him to play golf with me. He wasn’t much of a golfer, interested in having fun more than the score, but one day, something was different because he talked about how he wanted to clean up his life. As we played, I explained how golf was great for my sobriety - being outside, alone with my thoughts, something about it was meditative. Intrigued, Clarence decided to explore it as well. He started taking lessons and learning about the game. He found joy in incremental improvements. Golf became a therapeutic escape; it required concentration and skill, which kept his mind occupied and away from the temptations of his old lifestyle.

More importantly, the sport opened a new social world for Clarence. He joined my local club and began participating in tournaments. The friends he made were supportive and shared a common interest that didn’t revolve around drinking.

As Clarence spent more time around me, his commitment to sobriety strengthened. He replaced evenings at the bar with evenings at the driving range. Weekends were no longer for nursing hangovers but for friendly rounds. His health improved, his mind was more precise, and he felt genuinely fulfilled for the first time in a long while.

 Clarence discovered that hobbies could offer much more than just a pastime. They can provide a sense of purpose, a community of support, and a healthy outlet for stress. Golf didn’t just help Clarence stay sober; it transformed his life, giving him new goals to strive for and new joys to experience.