Why we keep coming back!
The Open is
almost here and by now even the casual golfer should have dusted off the clubs
and played at least nine holes. And at some moment in that round, perhaps after
a reasonably struck shot – perhaps the only one in your game - you smiled and
remembered why you love this game after all. It’s that shot. That one shot,
which keeps us coming back time and time again. Those who have never played
golf won’t understand, but who cares.
So why do we
love golf? There are many reasons I suppose – here’s a few of my own.
Freedom with few boundaries.
What other
game is played on 200 acres or more? Football, cricket, tennis (come on
Murray!) all have rigid lines that define/police the rules of play. Some sports
have walls, car racing has fences – bowling greens have gutters – get my point?
Golf is
played in big, open spaces (usually beautiful), long grass, trees, bunkers and
water all get in the way, but its liberating to know that the hole is where the
short grass is. Each person plays it their own way, a different way each time -
usually not by choice – but their own unique way. That’s the beauty of the
game, apart from the occasional white post, golf has few boundaries.
Golf is serendipitous
Sand in your
shoes, pond water on your shorts, ketchup on your shirt, sweat on your cap, mud
on your face, blisters on your hands, a farmer’s tan and a frog in your bag!
And all in good fun! Remember the shot into the seventh? You’ll tell everyone
how good it was – but not a word about the sand, water, mud, ketchup, sweat or
the stowaway frog. What else but golf eh?
You’re never alone
Deer, foxes,
rabbits, squirrels, bees, wasps, bugs and creepy crawlies – ducks, geese,
butterflies, lizards, spiders, robins, eagles, herons and even the odd alligator
(ok. Not at the West yet!) – they come with the course for free.
Golf has the best views
Golf doesn’t
really have an equal does it? If you fish, hike, bike or ski maybe you have an argument,
but compared with all the mainstream sports, golf is out there all on its own.
Oceans that cut into fairways, holes that wind their way through forests,
majestic mountain views and courses that flow through parkland valleys. Stand
on the 9th at West Essex – breath in the air, feel the wind on your
face and never again will you wish or want for anything better.
Arriving alone and joining
another group
What other
sport but golf? Akin to a blind date – you never really know what you’re
getting but it almost always ends up better since it doesn’t matter if you ever
see or play with your newfound partners again. You meet the most fascinating people
with this little leap of faith and you are witness to the most bizarre
approaches to playing the game. X-Factor? Who needs it? Turn up at the course,
stand on the first tee and announce your arrival. Reality TV alive and kicking
on the golf course.
Part of a tradition
Golf has tradition
that connects us to some distant past. It seems more ancient than it actually
is but we nurture it. We protect and defend it. The rules of the game have not
changed in ways that would not make the game unrecognizable in any way to a
time traveller, through the technological and physical developments would blow
surely blow his/her mind – golf is as it was hundreds of years ago. We are
taking part in a historical record, one that allows contemporaries to compete
against the greatest ever. A hole-in-one? Has the clubs best (even the world’s
best) achieved what you have done?
The chance
of, and quest for, perfection is what keeps us coming back.
Come on! You’ve
just got to love that. Does it really get any better?
S.
