Matt Summers has been golfing since his grandmother gave him a set of Mickey Mouse clubs as a toddler. In high school and college, Summers, now 36, also played baseball and basketball. Now head golf professional at Mountain Branch Golf Course in Joppa, Summers believes golf helped him progress in those other sports.
“I’ve always been good at every sport I did, and I think it was because of that early golf play with my grandmom,” he says.
Golf was a definite help with the hand-eye coordination needed in sports like baseball.
“It’s [also] a good way to foster sportsmanship in young people, without the dangers of a high-contact sport,” he adds.
Harford County resident Jesse Reeder agrees. He played soccer and football in high school. He still works out and runs regularly, but his real passion is golf.
“With golf, you can only concentrate on what you’re doing right now,” Reeder explains. “If you try to think of anything else, you might as well go home.”
It’s that Zen-like quality that appeals to many golfers.
“Playing golf gives me a few hours to take my mind off of other important matters,” says Dave Hackbarth.
An engineer at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Hackbarth golfs at the base’s Ruggles Golf Course, which is open to all Harford residents.
In addition to its obvious mental benefits, golf can be a good cardio workout.“I walked all 18 holes yesterday,” Summers says. “That totaled 18,459 steps. So in terms of exercise, you can get quite a lot.”
Reeder says the atmosphere at a course is important for playing consistently. A member at Mountain Branch, Reeder says the course is a “home away from home” for him.
“Golf is just a great release,” he adds. “You can be with your buddies, and it’s time spent outdoors.”
That’s also a benefit to Dave Hackbarth.
“Even if I play badly,” he says, “I’m always glad I went, just to be outside for a while.”
Lessons at Mountain Branch start at $45 for nonmembers or $40 for members for a half-hour of instruction. At Ruggles, lessons start at $40 for 30 minutes. A complete list of courses in Harford County can be found at the Harford County Office of Tourism’s golf website: harfordgolf.com.