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When junior Justin Less hits the ball off the tee, he focuses more on what goes into the swing rather than the satisfaction of a successful swing.

According to Less, golf is more than just a leisure activity. It is a lifelong, individual and self-motivating sport.

“Golf is special because it’s completely self-reliant,” he said. “You can only blame yourself for mistakes, which makes you push yourself to be the best.”

Less said golf differs from any other sport because there are many factors that go into hitting the perfect shot, rather than simply aiming and shooting in a basketball hoop, running or catching a football.

“Many people think all you do is swing a club, when in reality, there are so many components to a swing that must be executed perfectly in order to hit the ball well,” Less said.

Coach Greg Goddard said part of what makes golf difficult is the effort put into hitting a shot.

“Being successful in golf means managing your errors,” Goddard said. “It is an error- prone sport but how you overcome your errors is what makes you successful.”

Golf is more a mental than physical sport, according to senior Riley Knudson. He said golf requires mental toughness that is different than most sports. When hitting a poor shot on the course, it follows the player through the rest of the round he said.

“You can be a great player but not play well because of what you’re thinking and what is in your head,” Knudson said.

Goddard said the misconception of golf being easy is because of the lack of physical contact.

“The physical exertion is perceived as less than other sports, but the mental toughness and execution is what makes golf a difficult sport,” Goddard said.

Junior golfer Mikey Segal said patience and precision make golf unique from other sports.

“It requires you to think and use your brain where most other sports involve solely the action of playing,” Segal said.