in the sum of all its parts?
There have been studies that have dismissed integral parts of the game to that of having little if any affect upon the game. Their premise, I suspect is that the golfers just need to concentrate upon his game, by that I believe it to mean sinking the ball in each of the 18 Holes in the least number of strokes.
This certainly seems to be the new ideas of the early to mid 20thCentury, but by putting all the emphasize on the score. The idea it would appear (to this individual) is to concentrate wholly upon score. However golf is surely more than the sum of all its parts, while a good score is most welcome is it the sole reason for playing the game in the first place. I think not because I have been lead to believe that Golf was a Walking Thinking game that required the golfer to face the challenge (whatever that challenge may be to each individual golfer) from both Mother Nature and from the Hand (or Mind) of Man.
The challenge start, but not with carrying ones clubs but by facing each and every Hole with an open mind and body ready to commit to each and every task until the job in done. That takes into account trying to read the course, feel the movement through both legs and eyes as you navigate the course in pursuit of sinking that ball in each of the 18 Holes in the least number of strokes. The golfer working with all the sum of his parts to achieve that ultimate goal.
A course is very rarely defeated by the golfer at best he works with it for a while by understanding the eyes of the designer and the GCA. Nevertheless, a heavy lunch, a little too much refreshment, general fatigue be it from the office, family, wind, rain, a previous round or the inability to read the course due to the weather and the sunlight upon the contours of the course. All have claim to the make-up of a good, poor or indifferent round.
This is what for me constitutes golf, the combination of Man his mind and body working with the environment and course to achieve the enjoyment of bring together the sum of all the parts that has gone to make golf the game that was exported around the world.
I fear we have lost sight of the game - golf is after all a game but today the game is picked at as if by the cult of Anorexia leaving all the wholesome parts in the pursuit of perfection - well in the eyes of the Golfing Anorexia fraternity that is. To try and compensate in the drive for achieving their dreams the golfing Anorexia’s have turned to distance aids, perhaps due to their weaken condition and no longer have to ability to define distance by a simple glance or two.
The Game has been streamlined, the only commitment is to themselves to achieve their goals with whatever aid they can get their hands and backside upon. At a stroke the honesty of the game is left in the muddy tire tracks of a cart, stripped bare by the information gained from outside sources, yet these people feel no guilt in worshiping at the altar of outside aids and caring little for the once great game called golf.
So is golf to be taken seriously, are golfers going to play golf using their God given skills or are we going to get a real definition of what the game of golf actually means let alone represents from our governing body - a finally clarification of the matter. No I expect not.
So I turn to you, is golf just about scoring or is its quality as a game greater than the combination of all the sum of its parts.
Any thoughts – what your definition of the game of Golf?