Why do YOU play golf?

It's a question every golfer should wrestle with in their career.

Why do I play golf?

The answer will probably help your game and your relationship with it. We've all had days on the golf course where we can't wait to come back tomorrow and other days where we've thought that it's time for a break. That break could be a week, a month, a year or a lifetime depending on your mood in the moment.

I've probably told myself I'm going to quit permanently at least 3 times where I really thought I meant it. Golf has a way of humbling you like no other sport. Once I came to grips about why I play, those negative messages stopped. I'm not here to win anything or pretend I'm better than I am or that I should beat this friend or that one. I'm not playing to compete. I'm playing to enjoy ... the scenery, the fresh air, the funny shots and conversations with my playing partners, life in the moment.

Why do you play golf? These are the five main reasons I believe most people play, but I'm sure there are others. Which ones do you prioritize? Do you play for one of these reasons or all of them? I'd like to know:

This is the golfer I can least relate to. I have friends and fellow golf writers who only want to play if there's "something" on the line. Some of them are good. Some of them think they're good. Maybe winning gives them a shot of confidence endorphins that they need to feel alive. I'm not that junkie. Maybe it's because I'm not good enough (as an 11-12 handicap) to really enjoy the grind. I don't practice. I don't take lessons. I'll happily play a two-man 18-hole match because winning or losing isn't all on my shoulders. I've won some decent competitions - a stableford media day at the 2013 Open Championship at Muirfield, a European vs. American golf Writers Cup before the 2006 Ryder Cup at the K Club and a sparkly green jacket at a Las Vegas Writers Cup - but I don't consider those my crowning achievements. It's the courses I've played, people I've met and memories of certain trips or rounds or shots that fill up my cup.

I think this category ranks no. 1 for me. I enjoy meeting new people on the golf course. If we met at a bar or a concert as strangers, I would probably exchange a few pleasantries and then turn my attention back to my family or friends. Nothing connects people like a round of golf. It's at least four hours. You get to see how other golfers react to the good, the bad and the ugly. We can talk about anything (except politics) and get to know one another. I've met people on the course who I've become fast friends with ... only golfers do that.

When I moved to California I started playing more buddy golf with a group of friends outside of work. It's my favorite golf. Sometimes I wonder if I would have more fun sticking to my local muni with my pals instead of flying around the world to play all the top courses, which actually add work and stress to my life. Then I realize how lucky I am that I get to do both. Most people can't.

Who doesn't? One of golf's greatest strengths is you need to go outside to play. Playing golf is a five-hour date with Mother Nature. She can flirt with you by providing soul-warming sunshine or she can punish you by unleashing rain and wind.

I think I do a really good job of staying off my phone while playing. I know one sour e-mail could ruin the whole round. I know a few guys who can't put down their phones between shots. It's a shame. They don't know what they're missing.

I'm definitely aiming to walk every golf course I can, but it's not because I want the exercise. I think it's the most engaging and purposeful way to play the game. You're connected to the earth. You've got more time to walk and talk with every member of your group. The burned calories and fitness benefits are just a happy bonus. It's too bad that so few Americans like walking and so few U.S. golf courses are set up to offer it. We need more walking golfers.

This is an interesting question. I don't think very many golfers play to have fun. Sure you can have fun on the course, but the reality that you only play to your potential roughly one-third of the time (according to a golfer's handicap) makes the game a generally frustrating experience. How often do you walk off the 18th hole feeling satisfied, let alone happy? Probably not much.

Golf can be a grind. In my heart of hearts, I wish rounds were three hours, not four, 13 holes, not 18. My most recent round of golf was played on a nine-hole short course with three clubs in my hand, two balls in my pocket, walking, four good buds and done in 75 minutes on a gloriously sunny California morning. At lunch after on the patio, every one in the foursome agreed it was perfect golf experience. Nobody kept score. Fun was had, although that's not why we were there.