Are We Having Any FUN Yet?

[Doug Wright]

When I asked you all on the "Ask the Pros" thread what questions to ask the Tour pros, more than one of you suggested that I ask them if they are having any fun playing golf. Unfortunately, neither I nor others in the Q&A asked that question this weekend.

So let me ask you: are YOU having more fun playing golf than you were say four/five years ago? If so, why; if not, why not?

I have a view on this, and a view on what the pros I encountered this weekend would say, but I'll reserve that till later.

[Mike Boehm]

I enjoy the game more now than I ever have for a few different reasons.  One, I realized that I am the only one who really cares what I shoot, so I shouldn't beat myself up too bad about a bad round.  Two, five years ago I was in college, had other priorities, and more importantly, was not yet out in the working world.  I appreciate the game much more now for the escape from the every day work grind it provides.  And three, I've taken up an interest in architecture and have the means to travel to see/play courses I could not while in college.

Mike

[Adam Clayman]

Fun?

You Betcha!

Wild Horse today, was once again a lesson in the John Kirk theory of FUN. Namely the more time it takes for ones ball to come to rest, after it returns to the earth, is directly proportional to the fun.

Hitting 80 yard six irons and 150 yard nine irons seems fun to me.

What do you all hit from 80 yards?

[Daryl David]

Adam,

You hit the nail on the head!  What do I hit from 80 yards?  Whatever it takes at the time.  

Golf is the most fun when it is multi-dimensional.  When it requires thinking about wind as well as the ground and there are many possible avenues to consider.  Having two to three options to an approach shot, picking one, executing and then finding out if you judged correctly is what it is all about.  Golf courses that facilitate that kind experience are special.



 

[APBernstein]

Honestly, no, I'm not having any fun.

Its both a weird and disturbing thing to read, the same as it is to say/type.

There are a couple factors working against me:

1) I tore a muscle in my back in May and have tried to come back too early.  Well, I didn't know it was too early until I aggravated it again.  Now it just lingers, which is awful.

2) I'm not any good.  I haven't played enough, which is sad because its summer.  But point #1 could have made this alright...no matter how bad I am, if you put me on the right track, I will manage to have fun.  Unfortunately, see #3.

3) I'm not playing interesting courses.  I am stuck in Morgantown for another year and as far as selection goes, Hell has us dormie.  There are two somewhat decent private courses (and Pete Dye 30 miles away), but as far as the public scene goes, it is absolutely abysmal.

So, I imagine, I will be the poor soul who answers the question in the negative.  Golf hates me right now, and I am not too fond of golf either.  The passion is still there, but I figure everyone goes through the Dark Ages once in their life.

Hopefully I can find the magic next season.

[Mark Pearce]

Yes, for a number of reasons.

Having not picked up a golf club until I was 30 I'm a far better player now, at 42 than I was 5 years ago, and still improving, hopefully.

I know many more golfers and get the opportunity to play courses around the UK and am better equipped to appreciate them.

My kids are older so I get the chance to play more often.

The club I belong to now is a nicer club, with a better course, than  the one I was a member of 5 years ago.

[John Goodman]

Five years ago:

I had never heard of a redan, eden or punchbowl.  I had heard of no golden age designers apart from MacKenzie and Ross (I hadn't heard of the golden age, for that matter).  I hadn't joined a club.  I hadn't been to Scotland, Ireland, or England.  My handicap was not quite double what it is now.

I have always greatly enjoyed the game but that enjoyment has grown immensely over the past five years.

[wsmorrison]

Oh, yeah!  My shoulders, elbows and writst injuries are, for now, a thing of the past.  I joined a new home club and dropped my former and the entire family is pleased with the change.  I continue to meet wonderful new friends in golf and enjoy the company of my old friends.  My golf life is great fun these days.  Once in a while I even play well.  I had the most fun in golf just the other day when my 15 year old son and I won the father-junior championship.  Victory is fleeting so while we savored the win, we simply enjoyed competing.

[Tim Taylor]

Absolutely. My handicap is nearing an all time low, my game is much more consistent, I shot a new career low of 76 a few weeks ago. I belong to a club that is convenient to home and work, is family friendly, and has an active tournament schedule. The course is nothing extraordinary but the club is ideal for the current stage of my life.

Technology has also made the game more fun for me. I'm longer and straighter. I've moved back a set of tees - I typically look for the 65xx-69xx yard tees now rather than the 62xx-64xx yard tees. It got to the point where I was hitting wedge into every hole. Now my iron game is consistent enough that I can step back a set of tees and be challenged more with out being beaten up.

I've learned a lot from this site that has helped me enjoy all manner of golf courses. I've found that there is something to like on almost any course. Sometimes this site can seem very elitist and "how could you play that dog track?" or  "that course sucks!". I've had fun and met cool people on some of those dog tracks.

My eyes have gotten much better at picking up the nuances of a hole - where to hit it and why, what the risk/reward factor is, how to use the features of the course to advance the ball.

Once I stopped worrying about how green and plush a course was I was much more able to identify fun ways to play.

Finally, my 7 year old daughter likes to tag along with me. She has clubs and hits some shots and putts while we're out. I don't know if this will blossom into a love for the game but just having her there with me is a joy in itself.

Tim

[Ed_Baker]

Several years ago Mike Cirba said something like GCA.com has made us better golfers but worse players... or words to that effect.

That's what has happened to my game, I get to day dreaming and looking at the features of the course and just kind of slap it around forgetting the task at hand, but... I don't care, I'm having a blast. I love my old friends, I'm still making new friends through the game, and I'm fat,drunk and 55, not like I'm goin' on tour. Yes, I'm having fun.

[Mike Hendren]

I dunno.

I used to think life was great down on the farm.   Then I had to go and see the Pari' of the east coast, west coast and middle of nowhere.  

Now I just click my heels and keep telling myself:

There's no place like a Doak 5.
There's no place like a Doak 5.
There's no place like a Doak 5.

Mike

[Kirk Gill]

Golf is more fun for me now than it has been in a long time, due to two main factors. First of all, I have kids that are now old enough to play, and their enthusiasm and the fun they have is infectious.

Secondly, and without being too much of a suck-up, being allowed to participate on this site has me thinking about golf a lot more than I used to, both on and off the course. I'm listening, and learning, and hopefully not making too much of an ass of myself. New courses are being built nearby, and I'm looking for new courses, and I'm examining them, and how I play, and what the ball does, and I like it all.

[PThomas]

Now I just click my heels and keep telling myself:

There's no place like a Doak 5.
There's no place like a Doak 5.
There's no place like a Doak 5.

Mike

very good Bogey!

[Tom Huckaby]

The day I complain about any course I am on, wishing I was somewhere better, is the day I quit this game completely.

It's still all about playing the game.  I don't get to do so nearly enough.  Any golf is great time spent.

So is it better for me now than 4-5 years ago?  Well... quantity is way down, but quality is way up, because my son now plays... and I do get to play better courses... But in the end quantity is what it's all about, for me.  So no, it's not as fun as 4-5 years ago.  But hope does spring eternal.

 

[John_Cullum]

TH

Shouldn't there be a new arrival any day now?

[Eric Franzen]

The day I complain about any course I am on, wishing I was somewhere better, is the day I quit this game completely.

It's still all about playing the game.  I don't get to do so nearly enough.  Any golf is great time spent.

Amen, brother!

[Tom Huckaby]

TH

Shouldn't there be a new arrival any day now?

Indeed.  No news yet, though.
 

[Dan Herrmann]

Absolutely - golf is more fun, mostly because I'm just trying to enjoy every day to its fullest.  Sure - I'm human, and get frustrated at times, but generally speaking, it's a blast.

I lost a match on Saturday that was part of our club championship (I was in the hacker flight - 10-13 handicap).  Anyway, I lost 1 down, after having a 10' birdie putt do a 360 on me.  Best of all was the fun of hearing the "ooooh" from the gallery up on the clubhouse porch.  One of the things about being a member at a club that's tough to explain but completely wonderful.

But I'm wondering if being on the board of directors is worth it.  It's a lot of work, and it certainly doesn't seem to pay a lot of dividends.  We're non-equity, so we're kinda like the US House of Representatives' Delegate from the Virgin Islands - we can talk all we want, but we can't vote.    It's funny, because I was a guest at one of the USA's great clubs, and was talking to an employee for about 20 minutes.  He thought I was nuts for wanting to be on the board  

[Glenn Spencer]

The game is a shell of its former self. More of my friends play and we travel by car to a couple more places, outside of that, I am not having any new types of fun. The pins are geniunely tougher though, I guess.

[Andy Doyle]

Yes ......... just not enough.

Due to heavy work comittments I have played very little this year - mostly on a couple of buddy trips.

I am truly in some type of twilight zone, though.  My handicap is at its all-time low and the last two rounds I've played include my lifetime low and by far the best round I've shot on one of my favorite courses.  Done with zero practice and very infrequent playing.

That's not what makes it really bizarre, though.  I preceeded last two times I've played with bouts of hideous shanking on the range.

Episode #1:

Buddy sets up a guys weekend to Reynolds Plantation in June.  I haven't played since March, so I take my boys to the range a couple of days before the trip.  I shank about a half a bucket of balls - not just mishits, but dead-right hosel rockets.

Go down to RP & I shoot 80, 85, 81, 86, and 75 - my lifetime low - (off an 11.3 Index).


Episode #2:

Bunch of guys from work get a great weekday twilight deal in late July at The Frog.  I haven't played since the RP trip.  Go to warm up on the range and once again hit nothing but shanks with every club I try except my driver.  I'm reduced to little half-swings with my wedge just to get the feel of the ball on the clubface.

I then shoot 80 on a course where I usually struggle to break 90.  Could have been much better as I tripled bogeyed the 17th.

What the hell is going on?

One common characteristic (besides the preround shanks) - I played mindless golf.  I left the yardage books in the car, quit logging every shot on my scorecard, didn't over analyze the course/hole strategy, didn't think about architecture, didn't take pictures, etc.  I didn't add up my scores until after the round was over - after each hole I just wrote down my score and moved on.

I got up on each tee, looked at the hole, picked a likely spot, and thought "OK, try to hit it there."

Very, very fun.

Andy

P.S.  Not a single shank during any of the rounds played.  Very strange.

[Mike_Cirba]

Andy,

The obvious lesson learned is simply to use up your day's quota of shanks on the driving range.  Why waste your time there hitting good shots that you can save for the course?

[PThomas]

would you two stop talking about sh***s!  you know you aren't supposed to!

[Adam Clayman]

Adam,

You hit the nail on the head!  What do I hit from 80 yards?  Whatever it takes at the time.  

Golf is the most fun when it is multi-dimensional.  When it requires thinking about wind as well as the ground and there are many possible avenues to consider.  Having two to three options to an approach shot, picking one, executing and then finding out if you judged correctly is what it is all about.  Golf courses that facilitate that kind experience are special.



 

I find this man's first post to be more insightful than just your average newbie. Not because he agrees, but his understanding is so sophisticated.

Daryl D.-
Welcome to the board!
Your input will hopefully be invaluable to the many.

[Andy Doyle]

What is this?  The shot that shall not be named?

I am like Harry Potter having no fear of saying Voldemort's name.  I do not fear shanking.  Shanking tried to kill me on the range and left nothing more than a scar on my hosel.

Mike - this was not a day's quota.  It was like a lifetime quota.  Easily 40 or 50 balls each time.  Tin Cup-like performance on the range.

Exactly opposite of the usual when you leave all your great shots on the range and play crappy.

Andy

[Daryl David]

 

Thanks Adam,

Glad to be aboard.  Have lurked for ages so it seems I know everyone already.  I have probably seen many of you in person and not known it as my golf course tastes align pretty well with the folks on the site.

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