Why We Play Golf

Its the age old question, isn't it? Why do we play golf? What is it about the game that attracts us?

Golf is many things to many people... an escape from the rigours of work, a pastime in retirement, a challenge, a chore, a vacation, a source of stress, a way to make a living... etc.



Though we usually focus our attention on the PGA and LPGA, I thought it might be fun to reflect on why WE - the average Joe's and rank amateurs - play the game of golf. I am hoping that some of you will take the time to share your opinions and leave a comment or two... Let us know: what is it about golf that makes you anything from a reluctant fan to an obsessed fanatic?

The idea for this piece came to me by accident, really. I happened to pick up a copy of Flagstick magazine in March. On the cover was a picture of my favorite hole on my favorite golf course. It triggered a great golf memory. More on that later...

Until I joined my club's Men's Night, I don't think I fully appreciated just how frustrating golf can be! Among the things I learned: there is nothing quite like having one of your peers counting on you to make a six- foot putt worth $5.!! Even a multi-millionaire will react as if you've just lost his kid's college fund if you miss a putt and cost him his $2.50 share! Call it pride, insanity, whatever...

Despite all the pressure, I admit that I will often rush to the course as early as mid-morning, even for a 1pm tee time. I will spend an hour warming up on the range, another 20 minutes chipping and working on bunker play and then 30 minutes putting. Then I join the group for a bite in the clubhouse (best golf course food around), before I head out for my round.

From the very first tee, I proceed to drive myself crazy, pull my hair out and struggle to maintain a semblance of sanity. For the next four hours or so, I struggle to remain composed and to get through the round without doing or saying something that will truly embarrass. Even writing this makes me feel ridiculous.

Of course, by the time its all over and the gang is sitting at our regular dinning room table, we are trading stories, listening to Roger's exploits and sorting through everyone's excuses (while Mario tallies up the score and pays out the winnings). Good humour returns quickly and everybody has a few good natured comments, especially as money is passed around according to results. The usual calls of "shark" and "sand-bagger" get tossed around, as everyone questions each other's handicap.

If I admit to being a bit manic about my game, I must admit that I have won much more than I've lost over the years. I also enjoy the camaraderie of the tour and the sense of belonging that comes with membership.

So, is that why I play golf? I thought it might be when I first asked myself the question, but it isn't...

You see, I secretly dream of playing golf just about all the time. If I could pull it off, I would play every day. I am however (sadly) a VERY busy guy, with a number of important commitments. That, and because it snows were I live during the winter, makes it impossible for me to get out to the course more than once or twice every week on average. I spend some time in Florida during the winter, but that isn't as often as I would like. As a result, my game isn't as sharp as it could be... as if it ever is!

I recently pondered the question as I left Myrtle Beach, where I played yet another fabulous golf course poorly, I think I've figured it out why I love golf. It has everything to do with the photo on the cover of Flagstick Magazine.

Gary Player once said that we should consider ourselves fortunate for every hole on every course we get to play. Though I have not always agreed with that sentiment of gratitude, I am starting to understand it better.

Let me get to the point. To understand why I love golf, let your mind's eye follow me back to Myrtle Beach. Specifically, to Caledonia Golf & Fish Club. With its mossy trees, classic layout and lush landscape, it may be one of the most beautiful golf courses of its kind anywhere. I absolutely LOVE that place with all my heart, even if it doesn't always love me back.

And so it was, on a wet October day in 2007, that I played a very poor front nine holes of golf at Caledonia. I was at once in awe of the course and disgusted by my lack of game. Despite driving the ball well, I was struggling badly with my short game and making bogeys and double bogeys with frightening consistency. As I am prone to do, I started getting angry, which usually just makes matters worse.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, I told my playing partners that I would rather they not keep my score for the back nine. I just wanted to play... I wanted to just take-in the course without the anxiety of trying to score.

The par 5 10th hole was the first I played without counting strokes (or at least without writing my score on paper). I made my first birdie of the day - of course. Incredible! I instantly started enjoying the course more and, despite still having my share of trouble on a few more holes, I would have scored very well on that back nine.

Which brings us to that gorgeous 18th hole!

A solid drive from the back tees will take you to the end of the fairway, leaving 120 to 150 yards (depending where you end up) across water. On any given day, there are hundreds of fish jumping... The view from the fairway takes you back in time, to a simpler era. The green is tucked against the plantation-style clubhouse, as you can see in the picture above.

Anyway, Richard is a regular in our usual Myrtle Beach three or foursome. He has prodigious length off the tee, consistently driving the ball over 300 yards (I've seen him drive a 400+ yard hole uphill during a tournament - its something to behold). On that day, he played a perfect drive with a slight draw to 120 yards. Picture perfect, really. To be safe, I followed up by aiming down the left side of the fairway, away from the water but trying to move the ball left to right. Unfortunately, my ball did not budge - it went straight as an arrow, which put me in the rough on the left of the fairway and 175 yards from the pin.

As mentioned, the second shot is over water to a narrow green, tucked in tightly beside the clubhouse. On that day, a large group of people were on the veranda facing the green that you see in the picture. I guess there was some sort of function being held there. My Dad went first. From the center of the fairway, he hit a solid second shot into the bunker to the left of the green. A smart miss away from the water that surrounds the rest of it. I was up next, but I was having trouble getting the correct yardage, so I yelled to Richard that he could go ahead. As I paced the yardage from the marker to my ball, I saw Richard's ball fly toward the pin. I watched as it landed ten or so feet past the pin, then spin back to about four feet. The crowd on the porch erupted in hoots and hollers. It sounded like Sunday at the US Open or a tame version of the Phoenix Open - at least it did to us. Now it was my turn. In the rough at 170-something yards, with a hundred or more onlookers. Good grief!

And here is why, despite all the heartache and frustration, despite being reminded on an almost constant basis that I am a flawed golfer and human being, that I go back time and again to tee it up. I stepped to the ball. Took one practise swing and... hit it. The sound that came off the face of my PING six iron was sweet and pure. I looked up and saw the ball heading perfectly toward the target. High and accurate. As I had asked it to do, the ball moved left to right, just enough. With a thud, the Titleist ProV1x hit the green, bounced once, checked and came to rest less than three feet from the pin. Finally and maybe for the first time that day, the ball did exactly what I had asked of it. With that single stroke of the club, all the bad holes, the frustration of scoring poorly on the front nine... it was all gone. THAT, I remember thinking, is why I play golf.

The crowd on the porch went wild...

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