Every weekend, Benji S. drives to a nearby golf course and plays a round with his friends. Benji—like many other students—has joined the rising wave of students engrossed by golf.

This phenomenon, also known as the “Golf Bug,” has seen a national increase since the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2019, the National Golf Foundation has reported a 41% increase in golf participation among Americans.

For Nueva students, this increase in popularity has been used as a social outlet.

“I got into golf after my cousin introduced it to me,” Benji said. “[Eventually,] I found it was a great way to hang out with people I like.”

In the time since, Benji has taken his interest in golf further by joining the school’s JV golf team. The JV team has three practices a week, ranging from short-game work and hitting on the range at Mariners Point to 9-hole rounds.

“Joining the JV team has been one of the best decisions in my golf journey so far. The amount of practice that they require has allowed me to learn new types of techniques that I would have never discovered,” Benji said.

Through golf, Benji says that he’s also been able to has meet people he would have never previously interacted with. One of these people is Brayden D., a fellow member of the JV team.

Brayden began playing golf in freshman year as a way to meet new people, but has since continued to play regularly to test his resilience: “I’ve gotten just really into it, used it as a way to practice perseverance,” Brayden said. “I wanted to show myself that I can do it.”

These days, Benji plays with the same group of friends on the weekends: Roshan T., Brayden, and Callan C. The three bring different levels of experience to the game. Roshan has been playing golf the longest, having picked it up after suffering a sports injury, while Callan only started playing this year after being persuaded to by Benji.

Although Callan was hesitant at first, he, too, eventually succumbed to the Golf Bug. “I originally thought that it wouldn’t be fun, but after seeing my friends play, I was intrigued,” he said. “Now, I’m practicing and playing at least once a week.”

Golf has seized the attention of students as both a sport and a social outlet. For Benji and his weekly group, it’s celebrating birdies, persevering through a frustrating game, and socializing with friends that keep them coming back.