Ten Things I love about Golf
-Being Outside
I love the sunshine, I love the wind, I love the smell of the grass. Heck, I even love playing golf and walking 18
holes in the rain. It is so nice to simply be outside enjoying a nice walk and getting some physical and mental
stimulation.
-Being Challenged
As I touched on in my last point, I love mental stimulation. Therefore, I love strategic golf course design. Give me
a risk/reward decision on every hole. Shoot…give me two or more on one hole. That is what makes the game
fun. Think the second hole on the Kiawah Ocean course. On the tee ball, do you hit the long and hard draw and
challenge that cross bunker or lay up right in the fat part of the fairway. If you choose the draw, can you make the
next carry or do you lay up? Get me thinking and you’ve got me hooked.
-Fellowship
For sure, I love playing golf by myself. In fact, the after work nine might be my favorite “de-stresser” in the entire
world. But I truly enjoy getting a great foursome together for some golf. It is great to get the Old Gang together
again for our regular game and/or a road trip, but it is also pretty cool to get paired up with some random folks at
the first tee and see how things go with some strangers. Usually before the first hole is over we’ve already started
to bond and started making friends.
-The pure shot
I know you all know what I’m talking about; striking that ball right on the money and feeling that sensation of a pure
strike course through the club, up through your arms, and throughout your body. OH WHAT A FEELING!!!
-The Road trip
I love to play new courses. I find the discovery of something new on the golf course to be fascinating. But I also
like the actual trip to get there. Whether it is taking a road trip inside Georgia and seeing some new towns or
traveling to a new part of the country (or the world), I love it. Experiencing new cultures, new landscapes, and
meeting new people is always interesting and worthwhile to me.
-Giving back
I love that a lot of the foundation of the game of golf is built on giving. Back in the day the caddy was a
fundamental part of the game and this aspect of the game brought in income for the caddy. Nowadays, we have
caddy scholarships and younger kids can make money, contacts, and pave the way for an education and a great
life through golf. I love all the charitable programs that professional golf is involved in. I find these avenues of
approach to helping others to be fundamental to what the nature of the game is all about.
-Endless learning
I love that the game has endless ways to study it. You can study the golf swing…but it isn’t just one swing. You’ve
got the driver swing, the iron swing, the sand shot, the chip, the pitch, the putt. But you don’t just have one driver
swing, you’ve got the power fade, stinger, and draw just to name a few. But if you are tired from practicing and
playing too much, why not study the history of the game. Or the theories behind golf course architecture. You
could, literally, devote a lifetime of study to the game and never run out of things to learn.
-The frustration
I know it sounds stupid, but I love that the game is darn near impossible. Why? Because it gives me more to do,
namely practice. I remember when I first broke 80. Within the next 3 rounds I went from 79 to 108. I was (at the
time) at the peak of my game…I was playing the best I’d ever played…and within a few short rounds, I was playing
at my worst EVER!! Back to the drawing board and some more practice.
-The success
As much as I love the endless challenge of the game, I do like succeeding. Like I mentioned previously, I
remember breaking 80 for the first time. I hit a 25 foot big breaking putt for par on the last hole at St. Ives to seal
the deal. All the hard work and practice had finally paid off…79!!! That night my dreams were quite sweet!!
-The friends
Of all the things I’ve mentioned, the people I’ve met and the friends I’ve made are the most important thing to me
about the game of golf. I think when you play golf with someone you get crystal clear insight into what they are like
in life. How do they handle stress? How do they handle success? And when you know this about a person, you
know how they truly are deep down in the core of their being. Once you know this, you know who you can count on
in life. Find these people, embrace them, and build a foundation for a great life.