Golf is the pastime of choice for many elite sportspeople, but there's a good reason for it...
Pictures of the England cricketers having a round of golf during team camps are common place, as are stories of footballers relaxing during the week between matches out on the green. It's a fun way to keep active and spend time with friends, but there's more to it than that, as Ben Stokes explained on a recent get together at Delta Hotels by Marriott Worsley Park Country Club.
"As a team, playing golf the day before a game starts or two days out, it's not only a great way to relax. It's also used as a method for us to actually [switch off]," he said. "That's four hours where you're not thinking about the stresses of playing international cricket."
The England Test captain is aware of the noise that comes with the squad's love of golf, but clarified that there's a bigger reason to their love of the game.
"There's a few people who take the **** out of us, or say, you only get picked if you've got a low handicap and all that kind of stuff, because we play so much golf," He said.
"But, it's just, you've got to understand that there's a bigger reason to why we do all this stuff as a team together, like we’re so close… because we're under enough pressure as it is, without having to think about it for longer than what we have to."
Watch the full video below!
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