Why do you love/play golf?

[Paul Jones]

At my club, in the small town in Louisiana, I notice that so many people play golf for different reasons.


I play because I grew up around the game, fell in love at young age. Then I started learning about architecture, fell in love with playing a variety of courses. 


Others play for many different reasons:


Gambler: 3-5 different bets going at once
Exercise: Don't keep score and do not always play 18 holes
Competitor: Only really enjoys tournament golf
Nothing else: Goes to the club every day because retired and does not know what else to do
Friendship: Talk and visit entire time, do not even keep score
Business: Joined the club to meet potential clients


Why do you play golf?  Do you keep score?

[Tommy Williamsen]

I love hitting shots. I have an idea about what the next shot should look like. I enjoy trying to hit that shot.

[Tim_Weiman]

I love the environment, the golf courses themselves. I became fascinated at about three years old at Leewood Golf Club in Eastchester, NY.


Leewood has no claim to fame except the club made Babe Ruth an honorably member.


Tim

[John Kavanaugh]

It was always a perfect lead up to an afternoon poker game.

[Daryl David]

+1000

[Paul Rudovsky]

1.  the wonderful people youi meet


2.  the fantastic places you go to


with regard to #2...every course is different...tennis courst can vary in surface and wind conditions, but little else in comparison

[Rob Marshall]

Not really loving it for the past few weeks..................Sometimes it's just to freaking hard.

[Jim_Coleman]

    I very much enjoy and feel good about myself when I hit a good shot, which pretty much happens every time I play. I also hate golf when i hit a bad shot, which happens every time I play. I always appreciate being on a good golf course on a nice day.

[DFarron]

-Walking/excercise
-Being outdoors
-History/Tradition
-Diversity places to play
-Competition
-Improvement/challenge
-Usually in a warm climate
-Enjoy the culture
-Traveling to different places

[Jim Lipstate]

Paul knows me well and accordingly knows that I don’t play golf on anything approaching a scratch handicap. But that is okay. I revel in my good shots, quickly forget the bad ones and try to enjoy the overall experience. During a round I enjoy busting my friends chops, solving the world’s problems and discussing the matters of the day great and small.


Golf is played in God’s great outdoors. What an escape from working in an office and staring at computer screens. I have seen amazing sights on golf courses. Makes me realize that there are whole other worlds out there far removed from the human experience. I have shared golf courses with gators, bears, snakes, birds of all types and all manner of furry critters all (for the most part) happy to share their corner of the world with me.


I have braved the elements chasing my little ball around 18 holes. 100 degree heat, snow and sleet, sideways rain and 30 knot gales have at various times challenged my rationale for being in the great outdoors. Yet those days oftentimes become the source of my best golf stories.


What other game allows you to play in the mountains, at the seashore, in the desert, up and down sandhills or alongside marshes and swamps. Some of my best memories are of watching the sun rise promising a new day on the course or watching the sun set on the horizon signifying another round in the books.


I know for some it is all about shooting a score or winning the bet or downing brewskis and smoking cigars. That is okay just not for me. I am thankful for all the other things that golf brings to enhance my life.

[Ira Fishman]

Jim captures it so well.


All of us have “stuff” going on in our lives. For now more than 50 years, golf has always been for me the special place and space where nothing external to it matters.

[George Pazin]

1.  the wonderful people you meet


2.  the fantastic places you go to


with regard to #2...every course is different...tennis courts can vary in surface and wind conditions, but little else in comparison

These are the top 2 for me, but I do enjoy being presented with interesting shots, and attempting (& failing) to execute them.

[Matt Schoolfield]

I play golf for the good craic. It's why I play I almost exclusively play with friends, it's why I almost exclusively play match play, it's why I'm vastly prefer to play a regular course than a new one. It's a 7 mile walk, where I can chat with friends, and we always have something to talk about. That's good for the mind, body, and soul.

[Eric Zimmerer]

Been thinking about this a lot recently so I will opine the best I can here.


I started playing "seriously" since I was 10, didnt really get "good" until my early 20's and as I approach 30 I am realizing I hit my peak and will never get to a scratch golfer. Slightly depressing, yet slightly satisfying. Ive come to grips with that my 3-4 handicap will forever put me on the outside looking in and that extra gear I had when I was younger to win is no longer there. Far too many important things in life than chasing this white ball in a field.


Now I play because of the grass and the love of what makes this frustrating game so special. There is no other sport that allows everyone an even playing field. Doesnt matter if youre the best athlete in the world or a scrawny kid from New Jersey. You have to find a way to get it in the hole quicker than everyone else. Much as the way of life. Golf has taught me way to many life lessons that I can forever look back on professionally and keep a level head. Find me another sport truly like that.


As for the grass - who doesnt love seeing perfectly mowed fairways first thing in the morning, with the dew starting to evaporate during the stillness of an early morning.

[Chris Hughes]

1.  the wonderful people you meet

My Dad always said "you can count your very best friends on one hand"...


...to your point -- 2 of my best friends were met through games played at Bethpage.


To answer the question, in no particular order:


1.  To compete.


2.  To enjoy the hang/company.

[jeffwarne]

I think we go through stages.
Initially, I think many become addicted to the challenge, and knowing that it's all on you to improve, and that no political decision(Coach's son in your position) or lack of size, is going to keep you from reaching your potential.
For most, you have the potential to get out of it what you put into it. Or at least you are seduced into believing this to be true.


There's certainly one category you left out, especially for newer golfers, the self improvement one gets over time, and the Quixotic dream that your best golf is ahead of you, regardless of age.


I'm fortunate enough to play for many of the reasons Paul lists, but probably the main reason I became a life long golfer was the ambition to improve, AND, the enjoyment of the process as there is ALWAYS something you can do better, and there simply aren't enough hours in the day to work on all the elements of golf.


Over time that morphed to competition, then gambling(many bets-but prefer small units so no one gets hurt)and eventually evolved to seeking out cool places to play where it is the setting, course, playing companions and/or game that matter, not the status of the membership or status of the course(Lately, many/most of those places are often over run with status seekers and/or people I simply would not choose to play with when "not working")


As someone "in the business", there are certainly times where I practice or play when I'm quite tired and I'd prefer not to, but that, like any other job, goes with the territory.


As I get older, I still really enjoy teaching golf to people from all walks of life who have a desire to discover and learn, but generally my mind  wanders to visiting even more remote regions of the UK, Ireland etc., so I think that's probably the way I'll wind my golf life down(Teaching a bit and travelling), if my body and finances allow.


I guess my point is we all go through stages, and play for many reasons during our life.
That and we don't know what else to do....

[Jeff_Brauer]

I asked Ben Crenshaw if he was still regularly playing golf.  His answer was, "Yes, it amuses me."


Good a reason as any, lol.

[Eric_Terhorst]

I love hitting shots. I have an idea about what the next shot should look like. I enjoy trying to hit that shot.

+1  Whether I'm playing at my home course, or on a course at a faraway destination, enjoyment for me comes down to this.   It's a source of infinite variety and at the heart of golf's appeal for me.


I also enjoy the physical exercise (an early-morning walk) and the mental exercise of visualizing and executing the shots. 


I don't care much about stroke play and competitions, but enjoy a match with a compatible opponent. 

[Peter Sayegh]

I guess my point is we all go through stages, and play for many reasons during our life.

My situation in a nutshell. I know my 18 year old self would not understand my current reasons for playing.

2024:
1. being outside
2. enoying four hours of comraderie-be it friends or strangers.
3. hitting the great shot when it's called for (especially to see if I will ever hit my Ping Zing 4 iron 220 yards again).
4. encountering the "self-anointed privileged" golfers and letting them know my money is as green as theirs.
5. sharing a beer/drink with all those mentioned above.

I keep score but it matters less each round.

[David_Tepper]

I played a lot of competitive tennis & squash in my younger days. Going against the grain of some of the comments here, one of the reasons I like golf is that it is a sport you can practice and play on your own, by yourself. I enjoy the aesthetics of swinging the club and feeling solid contact on the clubface, whether it is on the range or on the course.

One nice thing about golf is that you can play with people of varying abilities and still have a good time. In racket sports, if the person or people you play with are not of roughly the same ability, no one will have a good time.

[Craig Sweet]

Anger management.

[Michael Morandi]

I know of no other sport where, on a few occasions, I can hit a shot every bit as good as a professional. I can’t hit a 95mph fastball, nor return a 130mph serve, nor a layup over a 7 footer, nor complete a  pass over a 300 pound defensive lineman etc. But I can chip in from the fringe, knock in a bunker shot and stick an 8 iron to a few feet-SOMETIMES😇

[John Foley]

For the


Comradery
Competition
Places we visit
Experiences
Exercise


But in the end it's the unending joy all of these reasons bring.


Nothing like it!

[Ian Mackenzie]

No reason (for me) to look any farther than "Moe's Poem":


https://moenorman.org/2017/11/11/moes-poem/



Golf is happiness, for happiness is achievement.
The father is motivation.
The mother is encouragement.
The fine golf swing is truly achievement.
Man may lie, steal and cheat for gain, but that will never gain a golf swing.
To gain a golf swing, man must work.
Yet it is work without toil.
It is exercise without the boredom.
It is intoxication without the hangover.
It is stimulation without the pills.
It is failure, yet its success shines even more brightly.
It is frustration, yet it nourishes patience.
It irritates, yet its soothing is far greater.
It is futility, yet it nurtures hope.
It is defeating, yet it generates courage.
It is humbling, yet it ennobles the human spirit.
It is dignity, yet it rejects arrogance.
Its price is high, yet its rewards are richer.
Some day it is a boy’s pastime, yet it builds men.
It is a buffer for the stresses of today’s living.
It cleans the mind and rejuvenates the body.
It is these things and many more for those of us who know it and love it.
Golf is truly happiness.

[Kalen Braley]

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