Jets CB Sauce Gardner is trying to master the same thing you are this summer and neither of you are going to figure it out

New York Jets superstar cornerback Sauce Gardner, as it turns out, is one of us.

Well, away from the football field that is.

Gardner has spent the offseason getting acquainted with the game of golf.

The former Cincinnati Bearcats standout has frequently posted on social media this offseason about his golf adventures. And some of his posts have felt very familiar if you're a high handicapped amateur golfer like myself.

Gardner was asked about his golf "side quest" on Wednesday at Jets training camp.

"Every time I hear the word golf it's just, I don't know, it was just a blessing to be able to have that side quest, you know, part of my offseason," said Gardner. "One thing I can take [away from golf], just being in the moment. Because golf is kind of similar to football. Say you hit a bad shot, you got a decent amount of time to think about it. But it's gotta be one of those things where that play's over with -- just like golf, that shot's over with. It helped me with my mental a lot, just being able to go out there and with golf, you just hear nature. It's quiet. So it really helped slow my mental down and I try to make that apply to the football field -- especially if I have a bad play. Just tone it back down."

Gardner appeared to go all-in (when he wasn't training for the upcoming season) on figuring golf out this offseason. Just check out his list of golf notes that he posted on Twitter/X.com last week (we've all been there, taking notes, watching endless YouTube videos for tips).

But as all golfers know, you don't figure golf out in a summer. Or even two summers. It's a pursuit that never ends (just ask Rory McIlroy after the US Open). And there are setbacks. Lots of setbacks. Just when you think you've figured it out, you show up with a new glove, a new driver, a dozen fresh golf balls and then proceed to double-bogey every hole on the front nine. Then you leave the course at the turn (or maybe that's just me?).

Anyway, Gardner's foray into the world of golf is over for now. He bid adieu to the sport as training camp gets underway and preparations for the 2024 season ramp up.

Gardner might be saying goodbye to golf for now, but if he's anything like the rest of us, his Instagram feed is nothing but golf tutorials. And when those clips pop up on his phone late at night, he'll have the urge to run to his garage, pick up his pitching wedge and try out the new swing tip he just saw on Instagram. And like the rest of us, he'll be confident that he's finally "figured it out" and the next time he hits the course he'll break 80.

Only he won't. And neither will you. Because golf is maddening. And unless you're hitting on the range every day, you're not breaking 80.

Sorry, Sauce. Them's the rules.

Related: Sauce Gardner is the PERFECT cornerback: Film Breakdown