I liked this article in the Wall Street Journal today. The author definitely had me in the first half.
Itās an athletic(ish) game I can play outside without needing other people. Itās exceptionally fun WITH other people, but I lack many golf buddies.
Also itās exceedingly difficult but leaves just enough accessibility to keep you addicted.
Thank you for writing this
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I love golf because I will never be able to hit a Randy Johnson fastball, return a serve from Serena Williams, score a point against LeBron, execute a play like Brady or swim as fast as Phelps. However, every once in a while I draw a ball around the trees, sink a thirty footer, chip out to 3 feet, or maybe even get an ace (I have not done so, but one day!) just like the pros do. I was never athletic, Lord knows I never tried to be, but sometimes the magic is just right and I am the king of the course, even for ten seconds.
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I love golf because it was a sport that I played with my Dad from the time I was 12 until a few years ago when his arthritis took him away from the game. I love golf because how I play depends on me and the work Iām willing to put in to improve my game. Recently I have come to love golf because it is a peaceful escape from the everyday (this wasnāt so in my younger days when the game as a whole pissed me off).
I love golf because of groups like this where you can meet up with people youāve never met and spend 4 hours chasing a white ball around a field and love every minute, well most of them. Ok thatās enough. Crack on
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Yes. Very well said - and those 10 seconds can make an entire round of duffers and shanks worth the whole afternoon. Or morning, if youāre into dewy balls.
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You could play the same track every single day and it will never ever be the same. Variety and the feeling that nobody will ever perfect the game makes it home to a load of people just trying to be as good as they can, but never perfect. That is why I love golf.
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So many reasons.
Its a perfect escape from the real world for 4h.
Huge feeling of accomplishment when you achieve a goal. Huge pit of despair when you just canāt overcome a weakness. So many skills required to be any good.
Golf can be whatever you need. Venue to hang with friends, or field of combat.
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I canāt think about the outside world while hitting the ball or I play poorly. The anxiety of the outside world just slips away.
Hi all, first time long time.
Hard to put in words. All I know is Iāll happily get up before dawn to walk 4 hours for the feeling of watching a ball hit right for its entire ~3 second flight.
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Right now, with emotions and anxiety high as the election nears, Iāve been having trouble believing that most people are driven by the good inside of them. I realize that some of this is my own difficulty, not othersā faults, but it can make certain aspects of life feel like a serious uphill battle.
Then I get to the golf course.
Many of these times playing as a solo or with my fiancƩe as a twosome has given me the chance to be paired up with another single, pairing, or trio. And when that happens, it gives me a chance to see the better side of strangers. It starts with a simple introduction on the first tee and often an exchange of questions heading down the first fairway. I know, simply from a probability standpoint, that about half or more of the players at my home muni will vote differently than me, think differently than me, and have different priorities than me. But on the golf course, this is not the driving force in my first impression. A first impression here stems from a quick conversation in which I find out that his unique swing comes from being a family man who only gets out on the course for the occasional evening nine a few times a year or that they are a couple, one of them new to the game and learning, both the good and the bad habits of the game, from the other.
Sure, thereās something to the chase for improvement, the idea that it is a game with a culture so much greater than the chasing around of a little white ball, and the innately satisfying feeling of knocking a ball into a target that has been the objective of so many sports over the span of human civilization. But for me, right now at least, golf gives me a window into the human side, the goodness, of others. And right now, thatās exactly what I need from the game.
And maybe thatās what golf can be: the game that will provide you with whatever you most need in a given moment.
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Golf changed (and may have saved) my life.
Maybe will share more later as I find my way/place in this community.
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It has showed me more about myself and what is important than anything else ever has. Plastic clubs were in my hand by the time I could stand, imitating Dad on the driving range. Except I hit pine cones in the back yard. Later, I was brought out on the course to learn the game, learn how to interact with adults and how to play a game that was equal parts humbling as it is exciting. The learning curve was strong, but so were the feelings of mastering which ever shot you saw Tiger pull off this week. The nights of putting through the clubhouse with your pals while the adults tapped off a keg in the bar, the cross country golf with the head pro and 15 others that were lucky enough to join in, the junior golf trips with Mom, the stories, my God the stories, they donāt end.
Thereās no other sport that lets the 14 year old kid play the same competition as his 40 year old father and uncles and 65 year old Pop. Thereās nothing else that has brought about as many belly fueled, tears-rolling-down-your-face laughs.
Itās a magical. It that makes memories and moments that you could not possibly forget. Ones that you could only experience with a club in your hands. Thereās just no words. If youāve been bit by it, itās never leaving.
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New to The Refuge and figured this would be as good a spot to start as any:
I love golf because it is it parallels the journey in life. As we age, we have milestones that we pass and markings along the way - the same for those that take up the game of golf.
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Getting a hacksawed 6-iron from your dad, subsequently getting in trouble for taking divots in the yard.
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Playing with your Grandpa at a course with barber-pole - and successfully curving your drive around it for the first time.
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Breaking 50, then 90, then 40, then 80 for the first times. All checks along the way, like birthdays as they pass.
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Every round is an adventure. And on the flipside, the adventure of playing somewhere new is just like every round - Weāre all just trying to enjoy getting a little ball in the hole in as few as possible.
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Meeting people that have become my best friends because of the common bond that you share across this awesome game.
Iām looking forward to continuing the journey and encountering new milestones.
Cheers to golf!
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For me I like getting outdoors and the physical benefits. Apart from that, golf has been a great way to stay connected to friends and family while weāre living with all sorts of restrictions on where we can meet other people. Itās a great connection to my dad and I enjoy seeing him involved with the seniors competitions at our local club and the camaraderie he has with the other members when Iāve been going along recently. Makes me appreciate the social side of golf and is something I want to get back to.
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Honestly because Iām kind of decent at it, in college I got down to a scratch for 6-8 months until graduation. But I was away from golf for a few years post college and now 10 years later Iām fighting my way back down.
The main joy is probably the continual pursuit of perfection, or albeit just trying to better myself on and off the course.
Golf is extremely humbling and certainly puts me in my place, yet every time I finish a round or practice session Iām pretty dang relaxed. I skanked it around in a benefit captains choice yesterday but I was super pumped to hit the few good shots/putts that I did.
There are few good books by Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilsson on the subject. If you struggle with frustration and getting down on yourself I highly encourage you to read them (@MerchCzar) they have certainly helped my mental game.
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This is my first time posting in this thread so let me start by saying I love golf for a multitude of reasons. But today I love golf and felt the need to share my love for golf due to the fact it takes me away from how bad my football teams are. (Nebraska and Texans fan here). I am too damn die hard for my football teams and they absolutely suck ass. Thank god golf gives me something to look forward to watching/playing after my favorite football teams inevitable let me down.
Nebraska got their teeth kicked in my Illinois today and I went straight to the range after the game and had an absolutely spiritual session.
Something tells me Iāll be back at the range again tomorrow evening after the Texans get blown out.
Thank god for golf.
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Excellent first post.
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Fellow cornhusker here. Very easy to turn the games off and go to the range right now. Not sure how much more I can take. Golf is a very good way to distract yourself from the current state of Nebraska football.
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This weekend really affirmed why I love golf.
I have a group of friends whom Iāve known mostly since elementary school. In fact, 3 of us were in the same kindergarten class and weāre all now in our early 30ās. Iāve been friends with these people for almost 3 decades and, while theyāre not my closest friends, theyāre still people I really enjoy spending time with. One of them is out of town for most of the year (he caddies on Tour) so whenever heās in town heāll have a get together and weāll all show up with our girlfriends/fiances/wives and just enjoy getting together.
This weekend we had our first Ryder Cup style golf tournament where there were 16 of us playing and it was the most fun Iāve had in a long, long time. No one in the group had any issues with any of the others, everyone had a blast, I played against the same 2 guys all day but my teammate rotated in and out and I was able to play well with all of them. Afterwards, we went back to my friendās house where our SOās joined us and everyone just gets along so well. Itās really nice being able to just drop in and have a good time with people even if theyāre not people I talk to every day. I canāt wait until next year.
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