Golf is not my 'main' sport. I like playing it and I'm good enough to call myself a mid-handicapper, but it hasn't been the central pivot around which my life has rotated since I was young. That particular honor belongs to soccer.
At the same time, golf has always been firmly on my radar. I started with lessons before the age of seven and would venture out onto the course now and again, even taking up a club membership one year while at college.
I've watched golf in fits and starts all my life, too, and it has remained in my top-three favorite sports no matter what, even when American Football, cricket or ice hockey made a brave play for the top-two.
But, until a lot more recently, I hadn't really dived too deeply into the intricacies of golf as my previous job centered very heavily around soccer and my boyhood weekends had largely been taken up by trying to put the ball in one goal and keep it out of the other.
Ex-pro soccer players Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville either side of Tyrrell Hatton and Rory McIlroy
Consequently, when I decided to turn the tables on my main passions almost five years ago - shortly before a switch in career which fast-tracked the process - there were a number of strange quirks and oddities about golf that I'd never really considered and - to be honest - didn't really make any sense to me.
If you've entered into the world of golf from the starting point of another sport, you may also feel the same. Newbies or long-time players, feel free to use the comments box below and let me know what other aspects of golf make very little sense to an outsider.
As you may have deduced from the headline, one of the main peculiarities I really started to question is why irons - despite taking up so much of a golf bag and costing such a lot of money - go unprotected in terms of headcovers while drivers, woods and putters are nicely wrapped up?
If I've ever asked the out-and-out golfers in my life why irons don't have covers on, there is often a pretty snide and baseless comment about people who use them being uncool or how they "just don't look good." Failing that, it's simply a case of "I don't really know."
To me, it feels like the issue ultimately boils down to a certain level of snobbery.
Practically, there doesn't seem to be a good reason for NOT having them. Covers stop that annoying 'clink, clink, clink' as you're walking along the fairway and they protect the actual heads from damage. They take a second to remove and put back on again and customizable versions would allow people to add a degree more personality to their bags.
As plenty of fans will be aware, two-time PGA Tour winner Aaron Rai is almost the poster boy for using iron headcovers. Explaining his unique bag set-up, Rai has stated he uses headcovers for his irons because he wants to "appreciate the value" of what he has and ensure he never forgets where he came from.
While this is undoubtedly a wholesome and highly respectable move, should we not be wondering why more players - both professionals and amateurs - don't do the same? It's not uncool to look after your belongings...
During The Masters Par 3 contest, Rai's wife holds a bag of irons (with headcovers on) and wedges
And I'm not the only one who holds this view, by the way. PGA Pro and Golf Monthly equipment writer Joe Ferguson said: "Until I was asked about this, I had always just aligned myself with the mass opinion that iron headcovers are the ultimate faux pas in terms of golf equipment, but the more I think about it, the more ridiculous that concept seems!
"What is cool about spending over a grand on a shiny new set of irons and not looking after them?! I have seen the light, and am now a reformed supporter of the iron headcover.
"Having looked online, options are somewhat limited in terms of style, so this could potentially be a real growth area for an accessories company..."
Ultimately, golfers should be allowed to treat their equipment how they wish, and I've seen many a snapped shaft in a tee-box bin to know that they do.
All I'd ask moving forward is that, as a community of players who enjoy the game either every day or once in a blue moon, we do better in relation to these archaic and unnecessary views. And ask yourself this, 'what IS so wrong about having iron headcovers?...'
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