Golf must be enjoyable otherwise I would not want to get back onto the course again, having said that we must each decide how we define fun.
I am fist and foremost a Man of the Links. Be it my Scottish blood or is it the canny way we are regarded for over protecting our money (that translates into being careful verging on prudent). Well whatever, I find that a links course offers so much more. I could go as far as to say they are at least two separate courses in one subject to the local weather conditions. Yet the golfer must plays the course (not his natural game, but the course) keeping a close eye on the conditions which in itself dictates the type of game played upon the links.
I find it exhilarating to play when the wind is up, but I have learnt not to play too early in the morning. The total freedom of walking the course alone or if possible with friends can be close to breathtaking, allowing the mind to quickly de-cluttered ready for the task ahead.
I do not understand those who like carts, beer and a selection of aids and toys to accompany them around a course. I find it a total distraction, the mind starts to fill with facts and figures that in real terms are just adding stress and mind clutter. I believe the golfer needs to have his wits about him, his mind clear and open, his lungs pumping in the oxygen the brain and body need to perform at least on par. Once the body and mind are firing in the correct sequence, then and only then can the golfer start the whole point of the game which is to enjoy the experience.
Yes I always have enjoyed the game, even after a few bad rounds which I relive in the 19th, time and time again as the liquid of life flows freely.
To allow yourself to be become reliant on a cart for your mobility around a course when you are fully able bodied is at a stroke killing more than half the enjoyment of the game. Not to mention the ability to quickly distress and to appreciate the course, its contours and fairways. All achieved by walking the course (not riding on cart tracks/paths which are not always in the middle of the fairways). This loss of this sensation which again in part conveys the feeling of the course first hand through to the player is I believe a great loss and reflection upon the satisfaction and ultimately the fun factor of the course.
As for the other aids, I again feel that yardage/distance information has so infected the modern golfer that he is now so dependent upon, to the extent that if distance info was removed you see how quickly it affects his game and ultimately his score. To play golf needing to know yardage information is in my opinion a self inflicted burden that just clutters the mind, blocking out what the eyes observe naturally and the brain quickly interprets the info before passing it on to the body. Lets face it after your have acquired the exact yardage from the latest electronic aid the eyes, brain and body co-ordination start all over again and reassess the whole image. If not then why does the player look to the target, then ball then target before taking the shot. The problem is that the brain overrides all this outside information and re calculates again before you take your shot. So why my friend do you want to stress yourself and fill your mind up with irrelevant information which you know will automatically be rechecked. For me its just totally pointless and the modern golfer is a slave to this practice, just how can that help in the enjoyment factors, its can’t because unless you are one of the 0.5% of top world class golfers you will be luck to hit target let alone get close.
Golf is IMHO a really enjoyable game, its opens the mind while de-stressing at the same time, it encourages gentle exercise while the more rapid blood circulation aids in a detox. All must add to a feel good factor increasing the overall enjoyment of the game.
Nevertheless is all down to the individual and what alter they pray at – I am a normal golfer following the traits of the game as it was handed down to me. Is it better than others, well I would say yes but then I would, yet my game is not cluttered, I am not a slave to cart or yardage aids and have tried to remain honest to the original traditions of the game as its been handed down to me by my family. My enjoyment of golf is also further increased by knowing that my game does not need outside help and what I achieve is the result of my own work – the whole point I would have thought in participating in sport.
Golf is enjoyable and fun, don’t believe me, then throw away your toys and give it a try, your game may suffer for a short while but will again pick up – it’s the only way to play a Game called Golf.
As I said above "My enjoyment of golf is also further increased by knowing that my game does not need outside help and what I achieve is the result of my own work "
Melvyn
PS I get great amusement and enjoyment in watching players on cart, they remind me of birds of prey flocking after road kill. However the best and funniest is watching some use their electronic aids. There have been times that my friends and I have been in tears at some of their efforts, seeking distance/yardage fine but ignoring the wind and weather conditions is a receipt for disaster, but bloody funny.