I always told people that too. Compared to most other sports, a slight miss-hit results in extraordinary punishment. It's easy to imagine people giving it a try and thinking, "yeesh, why would I want to play such an unforgiving game?" This isn't what the author is talking about, but it's in the realm of "not fun."
I've not swung a club in probably 4mos due to a thumb injury, and I picked up pickleball in the interim. Vastly more fun. I'll probably play golf again, but it's a tough sell. Every time I could play golf, I could alternatively "pay myself" to play pball instead since it's basically free. Save myself the $30+ per person for the wife and I, and we go play a much more active, supremely fun game instead.
There are some aspects of golf that are uniquely beautiful, but the value proposition gets worse and worse the more genuinely fun, pleasant, inexpensive things we find to do.
Side note: pickleball is really great fun that is accessible to virtually everyone with ANY hand-eye coordination and mobility. Great for kids, seniors, anyone.