GOLF... AND HOW TO ENJOY IT

When times get hard, remember the joy of our game

“Golf,” quipped American scribe Jim Bishop, “is played by 20 million mature American men whose wives think they are out having fun.” It may have been tongue-in-cheek – and it may have been nearly half a century ago – but this commentary returned to haunt me recently when I attended a top amateur event. Here was an opportunity for some terrific golfers to display their skills on a stunning course, on a beautiful day… yet the contestants took to their task with all the joy and enchantment of a migraine. Fraught fellows scrutinised fairways and yardage books, frowning faces tackled swing-training exercises. Here, indeed, were Bobby Jones’ “dogged victims of inexorable fate”, apparently destined not to enjoy golf but to endure it, each one hilariously clad in bright, cheerful shirts.

And of course, the picture does not end at the elite level. Sad as it is to report, club golfers across the world also struggle with their relationship with the game, and their ability to enjoy it. Nobody expects to wander out and start hitting it like Scottie or Rory… but given how much of our time and money we put into the game, surely the very least we should be getting from it is some pleasure? So why can this apparently simple goal prove so elusive, so often? And what can we do about it? Whenever the game starts to lose its allure, consider these two ideas:

ARE YOU PUTTING YOUR SELF-WORTH ITSELF ON THE LINE?