Do You Love Golf?

[John Kavanaugh]

This means giving a shit and saying something when you see things that you think aren't right, even if they're not that big a deal.

Yuk

[Andrew Harvie]

Yes. I'm very lucky that it's both my hobby and my profession. At St. George's, as a golf professional, numerous older PGA members (across the continent) urged me to not get too comfortable liking the game because eventually, most people end up falling out of love with the game whilst working and participating in the sport (isn't that morbid!). I don't see that happening anytime soon, if it at all, and I'm probably more obsessed with the game now than I was five years ago, thankfully!

[Charlie Goerges]

This means giving a shit and saying something when you see things that you think aren't right, even if they're not that big a deal.

Yuk

Bullshit John. Many times you've called out negative typical golf behavior in the past for what it was yet now when someone purports to do the exact same thing you say Yuk?

[Erik J. Barzeski]

Yes. I wouldn't spend 80+ hours a week obsessively thinking and working and playing and teaching and writing about something I didn't love.

[John Kavanaugh]

This means giving a shit and saying something when you see things that you think aren't right, even if they're not that big a deal.

Yuk

Bullshit John. Many times you've called out negative typical golf behavior in the past for what it was yet now when someone purports to do the exact same thing you say Yuk?

99% of the time I was wrong.

[Ira Fishman]

This means giving a shit and saying something when you see things that you think aren't right, even if they're not that big a deal.

Yuk

Bullshit John. Many times you've called out negative typical golf behavior in the past for what it was yet now when someone purports to do the exact same thing you say Yuk?

99% of the time I was wrong.

JK,


I have known many incisive and quick minds in my time, but you are near the top of the list. Life is serious; golf not so much.


Ira

[John Kavanaugh]

I had a short stint with the tuck police. It’s embarrassing.

[Mike Wagner]

Do You Love Golf?

Yes, desperately.

That surprises me. I’ve never read the opinions of anyone who appears to dislike where they game is, compared to where they want it to be, as you.

The game is always there. On any weekend afternoon, you can go to any course and find people enjoying the game of golf. That is the game, and that is what I love. It's friends and family spending time together in the form of hitting a ball toward a hole and counting strokes. I love swinging the club, chatting along the way, and the thrill of a short putt that makes or breaks a match. It's a few hours well wasted.

This game is played at your local muni, resort, or exclusive club.

---

My concerns can seem strident, but they are with the culture... Who is allowed to play, and where, and why. Whether being a good neighbor is more important than being photogenic. How much of our resources should we dedicate to recreation, and when that becomes imprudent. Whether we should create equipment to change the game or to preserve it. Generally, what values do the influential members of our community prioritize. I am strident about our culture because I love the game.

And I very much worry that some folks aren't able to understand the difference between the game, itself, and the culture around it.

Golf has never been more accessible than it is today. Part of why I love the game is the variance in not only different courses, but there's something for everyone.

[John Kirk]

Good question.

I don't love golf as much as I used to.  The love affair with the game lasted about fifteen years, when everything was exciting and fun.  I gradually kept getting better for about twenty-five years, at which time I began an inevitable deterioration which is now twenty years in the making.  I still like it.  Every now and then I play well, and having a nice walk in the park is always a pleasure.

[Matt Schoolfield]

This means giving a shit and saying something when you see things that you think aren't right, even if they're not that big a deal.

Yuk

I shouldn’t have to point out that this deeply unproductive feedback.

[Mark Pearce]

Oh my God, yes.


At age 66 and a half I'm dreading the inevitable day where I can no longer play but even then I'd like to think I'll hang around somewhere off the 18th green watching the sun set.

You've a while to go yet.  My father in law plays twice a week and is 92.  Mostly foursomes, though.

[Mark Pearce]

The last few years I've played less golf than before and have really "got into" cycling.  This Winter, I've started to play more golf again, and am really enjoying playing more.  I guess, like all things, we fade in and out of love.  And that's fine.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Hitting a five iron in the sweet spot is one of life's great joys. Hitting a flop shot over a bunker and watching the ball nestle close to the hole is a thrill non-golfers could never understand. Yup, I love golf. My wife tells me that all my friends are playmates, running partners, Golf partners, or ski partners. She's right. All my closest and dearest friends have been playmates. Golf has helped make that possible.

Tommy,


Despite having never met I knew when I posted this exactly where you fell!

Wow. Fascinating. I didn't know I was so transparent.

[John Kirk]

Hitting a five iron in the sweet spot is one of life's great joys. Hitting a flop shot over a bunker and watching the ball nestle close to the hole is a thrill non-golfers could never understand. Yup, I love golf. My wife tells me that all my friends are playmates, running partners, Golf partners, or ski partners. She's right. All my closest and dearest friends have been playmates. Golf has helped make that possible.

I somehow missed this.  If you're going to put it that way, then yeah, I guess I still love it.  Imagining a shot and pulling it off is the best.

[Jeff_Brauer]

I've been asked that many times over the last 5 decades.  I consistently said that if I had to give up golf or golf course architecture, golf itself would be the first to go.


That attitude is just a reflection of my personality as I am not particularly competitive as a person (although to survive as a gca, I did need to be fairly competitive.


Perhaps the real question is whether golf loved me......

[archie_struthers]

 


You love the game sure , but think of all the people in your life that it has introduced you to!  Think of all the times it has humbled you , yet you survived the humiliation, and you grew from it.


Thanks to all who have done this for me and made my life more interesting while learning all you could about this game.  If you ever doubt if you could love a thing or game accept that you can. If you ever think it has diminished you in any way ,  think of Seve or better yet Arnie .  Their love affair with the game lives forever

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