On the day that love is all around us, I thought it most apt to write our first blog of 2020 on why so many of us love (and hate) the wonderful sport that is golf.
It may only happen once in a round but there really is something special about that feeling when you hit the ball flush and see it soar into the sky. Looking at the ball in the air with the doughy eyes, that many of you will be looking at your partners tonight with, patiently following the flight of the ball and gently exhaling with a broad grin when it lands on the dance floor and you look round for the acclaim of your playing partners.
A Special relationship…
When you think about it, a round of golf is very much like a serious relationship, it contains all the emotions you feel… ecstasy when you nail a long putt and agony when another putt does a 180 round the hole. Loss when you don’t quite make it over that water and the opposite when you find the ball in the rough with a miraculously good lie. Anger when you duff that chip and joy when you concentrate and nail the recovery. The list could go on, but in my humble opinion it’s partly why we are all so drawn towards this unique sport. I’m sure every one of us who has played the game has looked at their clubs with affection as they would with their wives/ husbands or girlfriends/ boyfriends when you’re having a good round. Yet have also looked at them with complete scorn when it’s going badly akin to those occasions where your other half is driving you up the wall. Ultimately though there is love there and just like in a loving relationship you always end up going back for more.
Straighter than Cupid’s arrow…
As I said at the top of the piece it’s a great feeling when you connect to a shot so truly it’s arrowing towards the target, but there are many other great feelings in golf. A delicate chip, a 10 foot putt with 2 feet of break or a drive that bombs down the middle. Why do these things feel so good? I believe it’s because it’s always down to YOU. In other sports you can score goals or make a touch down but really you can just be finishing off someone else’s hard work, whether it be a great pass or throw or a mistake from an opposing team member. With golf that sense of pride is encapsulated because there is no one else but you who can make it happen on the course. You are the master of your own destiny and that sense of pride you feel, whether it be for one shot, one hole or a personal best round, is a powerful one. Yet it’s also what brings you back, because you know you can always do better. Hit a bad round, go out and beat it, hit a good round, go out and beat it it’s one of the only sports where you are constantly challenging yourself in ways that others can’t. Again, like a relationship people are always doing their best to be better people and do better in situations that life throws at us.
Happy Valentines…
Now it may seem a little far fetched to compare the love of a sport to any kind of relationship but when you break it down the same principles are there. You try your best to do your best and go through a range of emotions to get there. So on the day of love, have a think about why you love golf and more importantly the people in your life and remember why we are always striving to be better to make everything more enjoyable 😊
Happy Valentines from the Swingers