My love of golf developed at a very young age. Growing up in Birregurra – a small country town with a population of about 700 people – most of my friends lived out of town on farms, leaving me to create my own entertainment after school. I lived about 200 metres from the local golf course and would trek down there with my clubs and spend 2-3 hours navigating my way through the course.

Dad was a golfing enthusiast and taught me the art that had been passed down to him by his mum, who was an avid golfer.  Little did I know this sport would become a bonding experience for me and Dad – one we still share and bond over twenty years later when we play a round of the local course at Christmas time, with the course basically to ourselves.

Golf can be a frustrating game, but the key to enjoying the experience is often having a good partner to play with.

There are a few decent golfers at the Blues, and when I get the chance to get to the course – maybe once a week, or most realistically a fortnight – I’ll see if Andrew Carrazzo is available. He’s pretty handy with a 9 iron, so we often head down to Kingston Heath where I’m a member or the Heritage golf-course in the eastern suburbs.

The signature hole at Kingston Heath would have to be one of my favourites to play. It’s the 15^th and an uphill bunkered par 3. It’s definitely one of the tougher ones, so I really enjoy the challenge.

Coolum in Queensland and Barnbougle down in Tassie are two of my favourite courses; I love playing a round when I’m down in Tassie.

As far as professional players go, I love to watch the young, big-hitters. Adam Scott is obviously a home town favourite, but I also love watching guys like Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Bubba Watson hit the ball and Tiger, when he’s firing, is amazing to watch.

While golf can be an intense sport at times, it can also be a therapeutic one. There’s nothing better than having a day where you can just stand over the ball, drive it down the middle of the fairway and not have to worry about anything else.

It’s a tremendous sport to play and while it’s an individual sport it’s definitely more fun with a few great partners. The VicHealth TeamUp app is a new concept which allows you to find partners to team up with and for keen golfers looking to find someone to play a round with it’s definitely a cool new concept.

A good day on the course is a day where you walk off the course with a smile.

This article originally appeared on the website of the AFL Players Association.