[Ted Sturges]

Why I love golf…
 
I love golf.  To me, golf is not only the greatest game in the world, it is also a source of a myriad of delightful sensations of sight, smell, camaraderie, friendship and competition.  I fell in love with the game early on, with my father serving as my gatekeeper to the game.  Caddying for my father, going to the range to shag balls for him as he practiced, and watching golf on TV with him are all fond childhood memories.  Golf penetrated my heart and soul from the start.
 
Golf has introduced me to friends I would likely have never known otherwise.  With golf being such an important part of my life for the last 50 years, many of my friendships were formed around the game.  I’ve made friends on both coasts of this great nation, a significant number of friends from the heartland, as well as friends from other countries through golf.  The gents I play with in my regular Saturday game at my club are among my closest friends today.  I happen to believe that friendships are life’s greatest treasure, so the friendships that have come my way through golf are treasures indeed.
 
Golf has taken me to amazing places and allowed me to visit some of the greatest parcels of real estate that God has bestowed upon us.  Visits to the Monterey Peninsula, Long Island, New York,  the coasts of Scotland and Ireland, and remembering the splendor of those spectacular sceneries are memories I will carry with me always.
 
Golf has helped me learn to handle failure.  We all fail in life.  My father always told me that failure doesn’t define us, what we do after we fail is the true measure of a man.  We fail often in life.  We fail more often in golf.  Learning to giggle at one’s bad shots and learning to easily dismiss one's golf failures is something that generally comes to someone over time.  Golf has been a great teacher of this important lesson to me.
 
Golf has helped me learn how to handle success.  My golf successes are few, but I’ve witnessed others have golf success over and over.  Watching opponents I have encountered over the years gloat in victory helped shaped my views on how I would react if I were the victor.  Watching the countless good examples of gracious champions by following professional golf has also served as an example to follow.  As I have grown older,  the few times I have been fortunate enough to be the victor, I have tried to be a gracious winner.  This lesson has also carried over into other areas of my life with regard to handling success.

Golf has given me one of my most passionate hobbies.  When I went to the Ryder Cup at Kiawah in 1991 with my father and uncle, we stopped along the way to play a round at a place called Yeamans Hall Club, which was designed by someone named Seth Raynor.  At the time, I had not heard of either one.  Standing on the 6^th tee at Yeamans that first time I played there, looking down at what I was told was a “redan”…I can honestly say I had never seen anything like it.  That day changed my life and sparked a three decade study of golf course architecture.  Fifty plus books on that topic now reside on the shelves of my bookcase, and this passion for study has also introduced me to an additional group of friends. 
 
Golf has served me well as the perfect pastime during crucial moments in my life.  I have played golf the morning of wedding celebrations (including my own)…this took away stress and brought loved ones together.  I have played golf after work during especially challenging times at work…this allowed me to escape to a place where I have always been comfortable.  I have played golf following a friend’s funeral…this allowed me to find peace in a situation where my emotions were frayed.  I have played golf after enduring personal tragedy…this allowed me to reconnect with friends who supported me, playing a game that took my mind off of the hard times (at least for a little while). 
 
Golf gave me the most enjoyable job I ever had.  From the age of 16 until I graduated from college at age 22, I spent every summer working on a golf course.  I raked bunkers, I changed the cup locations, I mowed the grass in the roughs, I mowed the tees, I mowed the greens…and I loved every minute of it.  Those “work” days did not feel like work to me.  I had the privilege of working at a place where nearly everyone was happy to be there.  I got to watch people enjoy the game I loved while I worked.  To this day, I consider that the best and most fun job I ever had.
 
Golf has given me a common bond with two of the most important people in my life…my father, and my son.  My father introduced the game to me, and though at age 87 he can no longer play, some of my most memorable rounds were played with him.  Taking my father to places he could not gain access to himself was a source of joy for me.  Trips to Camargo, Fishers Island, Seminole, Baltusrol, Crystal Downs and Merion with my dad are cherished memories for me.  Our bond was made stronger due to our shared love of golf.  My son is 28 now and we play together often.  My son loves golf as I do, and I know golf will take us to amazing places together during the next 25 years.
 
I owe the game of golf so much. 
 
I truly love golf.
 
Why do you love golf?

[Tom_Doak]

Mostly, I love being outdoors and being able to roam beautiful, wide open spaces.


And being able to do it by myself, or with others.


That's not to dismiss any of the reasons you cited, or any of those that others will bring up, but that was always the hook for me.

[Jeff Schley]

Deep Thoughts..... with Ted Sturges.   

Great insights Ted. Can't disagree with much, only will add my love has changed over the years and I assume it will continue to do so as I age.  I really see it as the glue to spending time with my dad and brother. When I get home we take a golf trip each summer and some of my fondest memories are those trips playing golf together.

[Ian Mackenzie]

Two reasons:


1. It has taught me how to envision, control and execute.


2. It has also taught me how to let go.




and, of course, I can play with my wife and son but, sadly, not my daughter.


Last time she (26) played was maybe 10 years ago. Would hit a drive about 225 yards (at least), be maybe  100 yards from the hole and then reach for a 5 iron.


"Grace...honey, that's probably too much club. How about your wedge or 9 iron?", I'd offer.


"No! I want to hit this one." 


She'd then blast the ball at least 40 yards over the green and then yell, "Ugh...This is such an annoying game!"

[Thomas Dai]

Firstly, I like sports and whereas most sports require more than one player, golf doesn't.
Secondly, I like being outdoors in tranquil open surroundings.
That's the basics.
atb

[Peter Pallotta]

Wonderful post, Ted - and the follow-ups too.
Ian, I'm still chuckling at the image of your 16 year old 'putting her foot down'. Some things never change
I get asked that question often by my many non-golf-loving friends.
I'm not sure of the answer.
That it's a sport where I compete against 'the course', in the quiet outdoors, is a part of it.
But also, and with respect to Dr Bob Rotella, I think golf *is* a game of perfect.
Well, that's the *goal* anyway, perfection - on each shot, one shot at a time, time after time after time.
I haven't gotten there yet; but it's taught me that the only real failure would be to stop trying.   

[Sean_A]

To be honest, I am not sure I do love golf the game, certainly not in the way I love hockey anyway. What I do love is golf courses. These days I can happily walk along with a group and play various holes as and when really as an excuse to see the course and folks.

Ciao

[Tommy Williamsen]

I need to fall back in love with golf. I used to love just hitting a golf ball: making it turn the way I want or hit it low or high. I could spend hours on the practice tee. Now I’ll hit five balls then run to the first tee. I tend to race around the course and if I play well I am satisfied, if not I don’t seem to care. Now I seem to love golf courses. I have played over 1500 courses and have a long bucket list. When I was a kid hitting a ball squarely in the middle of the club was its own reward. Now not so much. I still love to practice my short game. I love to hit soft lobs and low spinners. I have pushed a reset button and hope to rediscover the kid within myself and search for the elusive perfect shot. 

[archie_struthers]

 


The solitary walks in the evening are so much fun. Perhaps not as fun though as the shoot out with friends. It is a sport that you can be proficient at far longer than my first love basketball.


Its great exercise without even feeling the effort.   Has made for some wonderful friendships over the years.

[Jim Sherma]

Why I love golf? My journey with golf is going on for 45 years and continues:

• My first round came in the summer after 6th grade.  from playing with my dad and the quest to become a good player. Even though my dad had stopped playing shortly after I was born he still had a subscription to Golf World all through my childhood. The architectural drawings of some of the major venues I still recall. I specifically remember the Atlanta Athletic Club issue. Not sure why, but I remember that one clearly out of many. I also had APBA golf - a dice game with different courses laid out on large cardboard playing boards (APBA baseball was also a great game).
• Once I got into 7 and 8th grade I fell in love with the quest to become a better player. My dad started playing again and got me lessons from Morry Holland at Saucon Valley. I had a season pass at Bethlehem Municipal and played 5 or 6 days a week. By the time I was in high school I was shooting in the low 80's with occasional rounds in the 70's. As there was little to no organized junior events at that time I started to play in regular adult tournaments and learned that match play was my preferred format.
• Played sparingly in college and the love cooled off until afterwards. Having a period of little traction after undergrad a friend got me back into playing regularly and the spark was lit and burns brightly to this day.
• In the '90's I spent time in graduate school and a lot of time on my game. I got my handicap into the 3's for the first time and became a reasonably competitive local-level golfer.
• With marriage and young kids my game suffered for a while but not my desire to get better. It was during this time that I discovered GCA.com and started to channel some of my love from how I shot that day to caring more about the architecture and history of the game.
• For the past 8 years I have been lucky enough to play at a wonderful club and work on my game and my hobby. I have fallen in with a great set of guys and as I got older I learned that being good company is much more important than being a good player. None of us are being paid to play.
• My son is now starting to play a little and I hope that he can find as much joy in the game as I have.
• I get intense pleasure from playing well, but probably more enjoyment from the camaraderie, surroundings and study of the architecture and history.

For most of my life the game has been a backdrop to the passing of time. When I have moved I built my social circle around who I have met and played with at whichever course I made mine. As my father ages we still talk about the game regularly. I still try to play the best that I can and try to play or practice any day that the weather permits, even if it is simply stopping at the club's putting green for 15 minutes in between other obligations.


I apologize for the ramble but the current situation is making me think how much I will miss the game if this persists for any length of time. Hopefully all of us can make it back to the course once the crisis ends.

[David Wuthrich]

The best people I have met and the prettiest places I have seen have been related to golf!

[Mark Smolens]

It's the only sport I've played where my brain is more important than my physical ability. Which is good since I'm a chubby (tho not as chubby lately since my wife put me on the System 20 diet) 5'8" white guy with very little athleticism. . . The feeling Tommy W described of hitting the ball squarely on the face of a club is something I was never able to duplicate in any other endeavor.

[JESII]

I have no idea...


But I do!


I have a lot in my life to be thankful for and appreciative of. The one thing that gets me out of bed with a smile and all the excitement in the world is knowing I'm playing golf that day.

[Gib_Papazian]

Ted,


Why do you like sex? Unless you're trying to increase your downstream child support payments (okay, that was not nice), there is no actual point to golf - and like sex, it sometimes involves some contortive, counterintuitive  machinations, depending on what the hole calls for.


And if you play a full round, you're likely pretty tired and need a shower.


So, why do you love golf better than sex, since it does not involve spending $400 on a driver and you don't have to leave home - unless you're playing an unfamiliar track?


I love golf because I don't have enough talent to play anything else without looking foolish.


That stated, chasing notches in my bedpost (read: adding to the personal Top 100 List) long ago lost its allure . . . . I play for the same reason I'm listening to a Grateful Dead concert right now, for the same reason I love tequila, but not much else . . . . . because the bug bit me and the virus is incurable.


Why do you like chocolate ice cream better than strawberry? For the same reason I like French Vanilla - because I do - and whether it harkens back to some mystical, visceral memory from the ether of my childhood or because it reminds me of a sorority girl who liked it licked off her tits, the answer is in the question.
     

[Tags:]

Tags:

[Tags:]

Tags:

Call to undefined function theme_linktree()