First of all, for me personally, I enjoy it all - playing a few holes solo and enjoying nature and the meditative qualities of quietly interacting with a beautiful golf course, hole by hole and shot by shot; spending time with my wife while playing a little never-ending match; getting a bit more competitive with a few buddies in a four-ball; and playing in a more serious tournament atmosphere under real pressure. I've also met a lot of great people playing golf and those relationships (and making new ones) continue to be fostered by the golf course. Professionally I also enjoy my little role as a part of the game for others by (hopefully) making it a little more fun for them.
I've learned to love and appreciate all of the above - and more - and since the game is what provides me the platform to do all these things, and is what I first fell in love with, for me it always comes down to a love for the game. It's already given me more than I could have asked for, and while the competition is an enjoyable part of it, I'd say it's just one piece of the bigger puzzle.
Nicklaus may say he's never inclined to just go play a few holes "for the fun of it," but I'd bet the love of the game is what drove him initially and slowly waned as the pursuit of greater tournament achievements overtook it. It makes me wonder if his golf architecture business is due to a love for the game and the venues at which its played or is that also motivated by a competitive spirit, ie to build the best/most courses in his eyes?
Speaking to the point of the best players being most susceptible to becoming bored by golf, I'd say it's due to an early focus on the competitive nature of it and treating it like work. Grace Park once told me while she was in college that she frequently got burned out by it all, and that pursuit of becoming the best competitive golfer she could be was what dictated so much of her life from an early age.
Golf is a diversion for many of us from the labors of life, but when it becomes the labor itself, people in that situation often naturally seek out other avenues for pure enjoyment and relaxation. In Jack's case, he always seemed to have a million other hobbies. It's got to be hard to have golf as a hobby when it's also one's primary labor, but it no doubt works for a lot of us who are also employed in some aspect of the industry. Why does it work for some of us and not others? That's my question.
Club professionals often get burned out on it simply by working so many hours, so that when they do get some free time, the golf course seems to be the least attractive place at which to spend it. It can snowball from there since one's game typically goes way downhill from lack of playing and practicing, and eventually a lot of them lose interest and get to the point of hardly ever playing at all. Other hobbies pop up in its old place.
Touring professionals spend so much time on the practice range and competing that I think a similar thing happens, and they devote all of their leisure time to other hobbies as well. I think in Arnie's case, he's come full circle to the point where he doesn't compete much any more, and so he's fallen in love with leisure golf all over again. I'd be interested in knowing how much he played "for the fun of it" back in his heyday.
I'm not sure how it works for golf course architects, but since a lot of time is spent on courses under construction and/or in the office, actually playing golf I'd assume is easier to keep as a hobby than it is for superintendents, club professionals, and touring professionals. I'd be interested to know if Tom or any of the other architects here know of architects who become similarly burned out and as a result rarely play for fun.
For me, I know I was slowly heading in the direction of being burned out on playing because I was simply working too much to keep playing appealing, but a few things changed that: first of all the "burnout factor" had an uphill battle, as I was crazy obsessed with the game to begin with; secondly I met my wife on the course and it's something we can do together - if she didn't play, I'd play much less myself; thirdly I became more and more interested in architecture, so it was easier for me to just go out and explore the course from a different perspective than someone always trying to better their score. Of those three, I think the fact that my wife plays is the main thing that keeps me on the course so much, and a negative impact on family time is what pulls so many club professionals away from playing.
Sorry to Huck to rant on and on and bring up other points, but he posed a thought-provoking question and so that's what he gets!