FAQ
ForumWhy we really play golf…
To leave your comments, just scroll to the bottom of the page!
I’ve got nothing to sell you today – and nothing to teach – no “PS”
line – no videos – I just wanted to share a personal story.
This is why I play golf… (Is it the same for you?)
I don’t play golf for the exercise.
I mean, it’s a nice side benefit, sure.
I don’t play for the challenge.
Sure, I love a good challenge, especially with myself (as golf
provides). But no challenge is ever undertaken simply because it is
difficult…
I don’t play golf simply for the social aspect…
I play golf for the “moments”.
Yes, some of the best “moments” of my life have been on a golf course.
… others have been with my wife. (none of your business)
… others have been on a mountain stream.
I have a perfect memory of golfing with my Dad (Papa Gig in the
forums), my brother, and my best friend. As follows…
It is fall, nearing sunset.
We all hit a nice approach shot into the 15th green – 4 balls on the
short stuff. So, even before approaching the green we all have a jolly
mood, like “jeez, this game is EASY!”
The green is guarded by big, old, cottonwood trees, with a stream
flowing behind them.
The trees are shedding their cotton enmasse, it is thick in the air,
almost as if you have to wade through it to get to the green.
But for some reason, the cotton is not falling on the ground. The
green is perfect.
It is just hanging in mid-air. Not moving – frozen in time. The sun is
almost down, so everything is orange, and it looks like everybody is
moving in slow motion.
Here I was, surrounded by a lush, perfectly manicured golf course,
with some of the people I love most, in a picture perfect setting -
putting for bird.
And I realized it couldn’t last forever…
So I took a mental snapshot. I locked the feeling in my soul.
It will be one of my most treasured memories forever.
(And then, I’m sure, I screwed up my birdie putt. But I don’t remember
that part…)
And that’s why we play golf…
We play golf because there are only so many perfect moments in this
life – and for some reason, being on the golf course provides many of
them.
With friends. With family. With perfect strangers would could soon be
friends.
With business partners. With children.
Golf is a sport to love. To treasure. To cherish.
Don’t let the significance of this sport we love so much pass you by.
After all, you only have so many rounds left until you pass out of
bounds forever…
What do you think?
Scroll to the bottom of this page and leave your thoughts.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for using Swing by Swing,
Travis Giggy
Free Golf GPS Rangefinder
Swing by Swing Golf
http://www.swingbyswing.com
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81 comments »
Trav,
Your right those are great moments but the absolute best is when you since the putt!!!!
Jim R
Really first class just all the right points and a real good ending.
After a poor day in the office it cheered me up a treat!
and to Jim R I assume he meant sink the put!!!
Well I actually hated and seen no point to the game. After a shoulder injury a good friend invited me to play. It made my shoulder feel so much better. I fell in love with the game at that point. You do have some great moments on the course.
Perfect!!! For me (started last September & LOVE it) its about my kids. Sometime they ride to just putt or play from 150 out. Either way its a blast w my children.
Well said , that really hit a nerve !!!!!
I hope golf will one day be as good to me as it is to you and provide me with these unique moments. For now I’m a beginning apprentice struggeling to keep going because the progress goes so slowly and golf mostly is a source of stress for me. Your column makes me hold on a little longer and I will remember it on one of those difficult moments.
Excellent comments. My thoughts to perfection. Thanks.
There is no doubt that golf provides some of the greatest moments in a persons life. My Father, (age 87), myself (age 59), most sons, ages 36 & 33) and my two grandsons (ages 10 & 9), play together on Fathers day and have for the past 4 years. To me, with 4 generations playing together, it has become the moments I will cherish forever. My grandsons are now beginning to see the beauty of not only the golf course, but of family. The greatest bond ever!
Great moment I love days like that I always bring a camera to capture those great moments!!
Oh man, I wish I had a camera that day!
It’s one reason I love my iPhone these days… any moment is just a few seconds away from being captured…
That is quite a story. I could not agree more. I too enjoyed many rounds with my father. Can’t get any better than that.
Some of the best moments in life are on the course. Hitting a ball on the sweet spot, reaching a green and watching the ball back up, chipping the ball in, and on and on. Of course there are a few bad moments, but they quickly fade away-Only the good moments, forever etched in our memory banks.
Great sentiments there. I’ve only started playing and gotta say it was love at first strike. It’s worth going out for the few good shots I hit. No birdies or better yet but I’ll get there. Can’t beat the serenity of a good course.
Never thought of it that way. It is so true, and, the beer is not bad either.
I have the 18th hole in Waterville Co. Kerry Ireland a par 5 on in 2, no easy task to be honest, walking down the fairway with the Atlantis Ocean, pounding waves on the the beach not a soul on the beach, the sun going down over the mountain, putting this orange glow over the course and ballinskellis bay.
Well said.
Last week we started our round in the early morning mist. The second hole is a par 3 over a small lake and I went forward to see if anyone was on the green (and to see where exactly the flag was!). All was quiet and still, there was a four-ball on the green and while they putted out I watched 3 ducks gliding quietly across the almost perfect still water. The sun was trying to break through the mist and there were three perfect reflections of the ducks and the mist in the water. My camera was, of course, at home. A memory I will treasure for a long time.
There is nothing like playing a round with your son on Fathers day. He’s paying and you beat him by 2 strokes. Perfect day.
I remember standing on the 10th tee box at the Polson Bay Golf Club in Polson, Montanna. The hole plays downhill to a green positioned at the south end of Flathead Lake (27 mile long freshwater lake in the Rock Mountains) To the right the sun is about to rise over the snow capped Sierra Range and the wind up there is whipping the snow into a whisp like smoke out of a chimney. Beautiful! That’s a great memory for an Alabama boy! Who knows what the score was?
You nailed why I play. It’s for the moments. Some of them scenic like a post card view over the ocean when playing at Morro Bay. Some of them exciting like sinking a long putt to save par.
You are right on, I’m going to make a Plaque out of part of that. I’ve been
playing a long time. And at this stage of my life I don’t care if I ever have a eagle or a hole in one. But I do enjoy walking riding through the medow with friends. Every now and then hit a ball. and move on.
Everytime I play there is always a drive or putt that went right where you wanted, it always brings you back.
You hit a hole in one with this story.
Just read your story and it made me smile and think of some amazing views I get on some of the courses of scotland but what makes it even more special is when your sharing the moment with family or great friends and a cold beer in your hand.
I have always told people about the 2 MAIN reasons I play golf, and neither reason is golf. The first one is the comraderie. If I am playing with people whose company I enjoy, I always enjoy my round regardless of how I play. Of course if I play well, it is a better day. The second reason is the beauty of a golf course. There are some golf courses where you have to just stop and look around at the scenery (mountains, oceans, lakes and forests). Needless to say, I have hit shots in all these areas at one time or another. Sometimes at the end of the day when the sun is setting, there is nothing more beautiful. If someone takes up golf just to be good at it, they will probably end up a very frustrated person.
You did it again. There is no other sport that can claim to have such “contemplative” element into it (except maybe fishing – if you could call that a sport) that golf can gives us at any moment that we play. It could be raining, muddy, nice and smooth perfect, or simply average but the moments will be unforgettable due to the beauty of the golf grounds and the sharing (as you mentioned) with the buddies or ourselves and nature with maybe God peeking from above as He enjoys watching His children have some fun and some self inflicted trouble and pain.
I LOVE IT! you started my day on the right foot. Golf is one of the most serene, graceful, validating experiences one can choose to enrich themselves with. On the other side of the pendulum its exciting, challenging, and intelligent. I find that golf identifies character strengths as well as weaknesses, if you choose to look closely. I love my job, Im a sales and marketing director and I am blessed enough to get paid to play golf with our clients, when the occasions arise. Here here to all the comments above. Peace and Grace to all.
It’s those special moments as you said: I was playing and on the 7th hole a golfer tees off to a short par 3 from the back teebox. His shot hits a tree on the left on a fly crosses the front tee box hits the tree on the right bounces on the short tee box rolls straight back around 15 yards to the back tee box the golfer bends down without moving from his original position and the ball rolls into his hand.
NOW THAT WAS SOMETHING TO SEE:)
I thought you were going all girly on me there for a while but I guess its ok to be in touch with the emotional side……………well I have to say you are right, moments on the golf course are held in my memory bank and used to help me get off to sleep or feel better in times of need………….love your mails, keep them comming, some of your more controversial ones keep me chuckling………
Hi I have just returned from Celtic Manor to watch a great Ryder Cup. As a European I was very happy but thought what a great job the American team were in defeat and the moments I spent watching the battle will always stay with me. The mist coming off the river on the Monday singles and the sunlight masking the silouetts of the players was a great image. Although this is not a direct reply to actually playing golf, the people I met from Europe and especially a guy I met from Arizona who having spent a day walking the course became friends and an invite to come to play in Arizona was accepted. To me that is what golf brings that no other sports can, the friendship, meeting a complete stranger and sharing a common interest and a love of the greatest game in the world. Where competition,wonderful views,magic moments and where for a few hours time stands still with little interference from the outside world disturbs your enjoyment.
My father and I play every week and it’s those days and memories that will remain with me for the rest of my life. I love the challenge of the game and the fact that you can play on so many golf courses that are located on such beautiful parts of the world. It’s a strange game, it can be stressful at times, it can be frustrating, you can be having the worst round of your life but then suddenly you may hit a fantastic shot and that’s the reason why you keep coming back for more. It’s so addictive and I love it!
It’s kind of amazing that you put into words what I was thinking this past Saturday. I had a match with 3 of my best friends on a “Picture Perfect” cloudless, sunny, no wind day. We all played well, and my partner and I won. We always have an intense rivalry, but somehow that didn’t matter. We have been playing together for over 30 years, and this was the first time that we have played in over a year. We all have our own lives, but for that 4 and a half hour stretch, we were suspended in time. I can still see all four balls surrounding the hole on the green and saying to myself, it can’t get any better than this!
I was in Suffolk recently playing in a fourball. Me and my brother were taking on two friends. Having strolled the front 9, both our games fell apart and we were two down on the 15th. All three were putting for 5s at around 10 feet and under. I had been discarded at the back of the green, over 30 feet away. But I said, don’t be so hasty, I also had the chance to make a 5 and tie the hole. I putted, the ball went left, it went right, I followed it, marching after it. And it dropped. It was amazing. High fives all around, the group behind staring to see what all the noise was about. It kept the game alive, especially when our opponents missed, bringing the gap back to one. That’s why we play golf.
Wow – incredible comments!
Bob Toomey – thanks – I don’t think I’ve ever had anybody tell me they were going to make a plaque out of something I said. Very flattering.
DG – Don’t worry! I’ll probably piss somebody off with my next email…
Ross – I’m jealous.
Memories are great, the day I had a hole in one, never to be forgotten.
That is a great story just lost my Dad a while back and I have alot of those great SOUL shots you were talking about with him and I. There is nothing better then hitting the tee’s with my friends and my mind fades back to years ago when my Dad and I were playing and building the bond that we had there is nothing better, other than holding on to the ones that are still with me.
Reading some of these stories has brought it home to me why I enjoy golf so much. I recently played the 2010 course at Celtic Manor, the whole resort was incredible and needless to say it was a remarkable experience to play the Ryder cup course only 6 weeks before the tournament, but it’s looking back at the photos and remembering the banter i was having with the 3 friends j was playing with and the spectacular scenery that made it so special. Can’t be replicated in any other sport.
I love golf for the Ryder Cup. Congratulations Europe and why no mention on swing by golf for the greatest golf competition on earth?!
Hey guys, I’m only 17 but love golf also. My high school team won a state championship last year and that is one experience I will never forget. I look forward to many more of memories that I will cherish forever. My teammates and I are all close and look at each other as brothers. These moments are the ones that will be with me forever.
Spot on, I’m with you on that. I don’t get out on the course as much these days but when I do the ultimate highs that it can bring after a tragic previous shot it’s like nothing else. When I did play more regularly it was with my dad, we’ve never had a great deal in common except our love for the game but when I think back to the times we played, some of the best moments and some of the funniest and out right ridiculous things that could only happen to us on a golf course did, everyone with him on the golf course a real treasure.
What a great article. To me, as a photographer, golfing is the perfect recreational experience. The quality of the people you meet. The silence punctuated by those two words a never get tired of; “Nice shot”. The absolute beauty of late evening golf during the fall. The many opportunities for excellent photos on a golf course… and so it goes. But then, You know exactly what I mean.
I couldn’t agree more! i do get frustrated with my play at times, but i just keep thinking, i could be doing something much worse, like work! But it is about the moment, even if it isn’t me. just this year, i was playing in a doubles match tourny with my father in law, and we were up 5 after 8. on the 9th, (par 5) one of the guys we were playing hit his second shot into the long grass. i was on in two, but had a 40 footer for eagle. 99% of the times you do not find your ball in this grass, which is also on a hill. this day he found it. not only is it next to impossible to find your ball there, but to hit it out, good luck. but hey, its match play, we r up, so he goes for it. he’s about 60 yards out, and he gets it up, im baffled he gets it up, then i’m thinking this ball has a chance to get on. then bounce bounce, clunk! he jar’d it. i jumped up easily 10 ft in the air, run over and give this guy the biggest high five i almost knock him down into the grass he just hit his ball out of. then i realise, crap he gets a shot on this hole too……they take the hole. that was an amazing moment!!!!!! even if he wasnt on my team. but also, its not just golf, i do everything in life just waiting for those special 5-10 seconds to make the day worth while.
I have a picture of my father-in-law standing by my side in the 18th fairway on a clear, sunny, Sunday afternoon. He loved to play but that day he only rode in the cart. He chipped on a couple of holes. Putted on a few others. His health was failing. As it turned out, that was the last time he was ever on a golf course. That picture is a treasure and reminds me of the good times we shared on the course. And how much he meant to me. Memories of a very special man who I came to love in part because of the time we spent together chasing the little white ball.
At 68, I don’t play as much as would like to, but the best for me is guessing right on a drive down fairway where the destination is unknown. By that I mean within 60 yards out the fairway falls off. Your drive goes out over that drop, you have no idea where. Then you travel up to the drop off, and see the ball in the fairway. Success. It is always great feeling, but it doesn’t happen enough, anymore. Balls are cheap, the adventure priceless.
My best memories of golf, playing every Saturday in Reno/Sparks NV. With my best golf buddy Al.
We played one Sat. And had to use the bunker rakes to create a wide patch to the hole to putt, because of the snow!
We were two of four on the course all day. Rosewood Lakes, beautiful course!
This sport is awesome! I started playing when I was 8 years old on a 9 hole Muny in LA. Starting about 6 years old, I would caddy for my Dad on Sunday mornings. Using his pull cart, I would drag his bag all over the course. He was left handed and I was right. He would let me play the 18th hole using his two sided putter. He taught me the game and life on those Sunday mornings. I got my first set of Johnny Miller clubs with a lime green bag when I was 8. In the Summer, kids could play free on Tuesday and Thursday. My Dad would drop me off on his way to work at about 7:45am and pick me up on the way home 5:30pm. He would give me a dollar for the vending machine for lunch. This was also the course our High School team practiced on. I have no idea how many loops I made around that track but none were more special than the one I played recently with my Dad (80), myself (45) and my two teenage boys (16 & 14). It was all I could do, not to burst with emotion standing on the first tee with my Dad and sons. I have been fortunate in my career. I have played some great coursed like Pebble, Torrey Pines, TPC courses, etc. I have been to 3 US Opens, 3 Masters and several other PGA events. That weekend on the first tee with my Dad and Kids tops the list as best moment in golf for me.
Playing on one of the Legends Courses in Myrtle Beach, early morning, mist still in the air, tall Carolina pines lining the verdant fairway which had those beautiful sand traps all over the place, sun rising over the pines at the far end of the fairway – truly one of the most beautiful moments ever on a golf course. One of my partners was just bending down to place his ball on the tee when I exclaimed “What a beautiful hole!” His immediate response: “thank you Doctor”. I can’t see ANY beautiful golf hole since that time without CRACKING UP (no pun intended).
Amen.
Thank you.
Right you are!! I Live in St. George, UT with some of the most beautiful courses in the states. I love to go to all the courses because eachone takes you to a different environment, some red rock and cliffs, other trees and green everywhere, some sat right in the middle of the desert! I play nearly everyday and some how everyday presents a brand new beauty to the courses and the world:)
I LOVE GOLF!!!!
Great story ! I have never really thought about it that way, I love it when you are playing with people you really enjoy spending time with,
best friends, dad etc and there is a close game that comes down to the wire. You know – a great recovery shot from the rough over trees that that squares up the game. Now that is what does it for me when the golf is exiting and you are with your favourite people doing what
we love.Win lose or draw it is the moments that make the experience.
I used to play Bayonet and BlackHorse, in Seaside, CA, nearly every day while I was stationed in Monterey, CA. The weather was usually great and even on winter days with light rain you could still play in khakis and a polo. On one occasion when my parents were in town visiting, my father and I played Bayonet one day and then headed to the course to play BlackHorse the next morning. The day before had been absolutely beautiful, but that morning there were some heavy storm clouds moving in from off coast and the wind was starting to pickup, but it wasn’t raining yet. We decided to pay for the round, grab a bite of breakfast, practice a little and then go out at our leisure since there was no one on the course due to the weather forecast.
During breakfast, the storm clouds moved in, the wind picked up even more and it started raining, hard. It was so bad that my father asked if I wanted to call it and go home. Since I knew he just spent close to $100 on greens fees only minutes before, and the course would not refund him or give him a rain check for rough weather, I suggested we just wait for a cloud break. He insisted that he wouldn’t lose sleep over the waisted greens fees, but conceded that we could wait for a lull in the rain if I wanted. I wanted, so we waited.
Finally the break we were waiting for came. It lasted from the time we left the clubhouse until we had teed off. The rain poured down worse than before and the wind was blowing so hard that branches were falling out of trees all along the fairway, but we figured we had already started so we might as well keep playing. As we were looking for my errant tee shot, near the trees in the left rough, we started finding golf ball after golf ball (none of them mine) under the trees in both the rough and the fairway.
As we continued on, so did the rain and the wind and the golf balls falling out of the trees. Neither of us had rain gear in our bags, so by the time we hit the turn, we were completely drenched from-head-to-toe. We really didn’t care though, we were both having a great time laughing, joking and keeping count of how many balls we had found (together we found well over 100 balls.) So as we sat there in the rain and had lunch at one of the tables outside the snack shack at the turn, we decided to play out the rest of the round; even though we both agreed that we had received our money’s worth in golf played, balls found and rain collected.
This is one of my fondest golf memories. Thanks for letting me share it.
Hi Trent,
Apart of amazing tips how to improve (and enjoy more this perfect game) this article really brings light into reasons no one but a golfer can understand.
I have many fond memories of golfing with my Dad before he passed away 10 years ago. Now I am building more memories when I see my son and we play together, most recently in Cape Cod. I am visiting him in his new home in Fort Collins soon and hope we can find a great place to play there as well. As I travel I have visited courses in Hawaii, Canada and Mexico and each has been a wonderful experience that even my wife who doesn’t play has enjoyed with me. In South Florida I love to see all the birds that live on and around the courses. The occasional birdie makes it fun also.
The greatest game ever, for all ages! Just starting our 4yr old grandson in the back yard…. When he develops some, will “pop” for lessons. Then we’ll have 3 generations out there enjoying life as a family should.
No matter how my game goes I just remember that I am vertical and breathing for another day…and that alone is GOOD thing!!
I just played today on a course near Ann Arbor, Mi. Totally surrounded by trees changing color and it was fantastic even if my game suffered from my paying more attention to nature instead of the game. Then I read your post & just had the feeling of being back there all over again. Thanks for all you are doing.
Yep I so know what you mean. I hadn’t played the game in years after being taught by my Dad and playing through high school. I play now for those moments early in the morning as the sun is still coming up and every thing is so still. The smell of the grass and sound of the club meeting ball perfectly. Walking through the dew on the grass to finally get that try at a birdie. It doesn’t really matter if it goes in….just that I will remember it so vividly. Thanks for sharing and thanks to my Dad for teaching me such a great game.
very nice
Being on the course has a certain serenity regardless of the weather that allows me to forget the daily grind of worries…work, bills whatever. While some shots are memorable, and others not, the mind is always refreshed at the end.
I love golf because it calls me to be my best; it makes me accept tough breaks; but most importantly, the game of golf reminds me what life is all about: the struggle, the sharing with others and loved ones and the beauty of the earth we live on.
Trav you have hit the nail on the head.
I remember play at sunrise on a very very cold Scottish December morning, the ground was hard with a hint of white frost, we were playing off winter tee’s and to winter greens, but the pictures and images on every hole were amazing.
A round of golf I will never forget.
Love my Scotland. alba ga bra
This where life is all about. My perfect memories are of those early saturday mornings during wintertime when we always go out with 16+ friends (idiots) at 08.30 and the first tee shots just dissappear in the mist and we are all convinced that this was the best shot of the day, only to find our balls in the bunker, rough etc. But the thought about a hot coco and a couple of beers at +/- noon, a laugh , lots of jokes, discussions about who won all the skins AGAIN (7 skins pay for a round of Irish Coffee) . Those are my moments of good golf and enjoying friendship on the course
Well done Travis – conjured up some lovely images there.
You are indeed as big softy!
You know what after battling hard to become a good handicap golfer and failing so far!! It’s good to be reminded of the good reasons I’m out there for thanks!!!
I love golf and I love the people I play it with. Golf helps me relax, unwind and takes me into a mindset of sheer tranquillity. The sound of birds tweeting in the background as your on the green ready to put your green reading skills to the test. The faint noise of sirens in the background is all you can hear. You sink your putt and smile, inside and out. You look up to see your best mate smiling and saying ‘well played’ as he puts his hand in his pocket to give me my £1 he owes me for making a 2. These moments are ones that will stay with me forever. If it wasn’t for the game of golf my life would only be 40% complete.
Started golfing with my older brother who taught me the game. We would ride our bikes packed with five clubs and sneak on a muny and play all day, the ranger knew we snuck on and didn’t care – he was glad to see us. Golf is hard, life is hard but each give you moments that you described that last forever. Without it my life at 60yrs. old would be void of sports. I am thankful to my brother (he passed away) and I know he is in Heaven waiting for me on the first tee. Until that day I will play on and on that day God takes me to play through I want to bring my 20 yr old zebra putter!
Amen.
Although I remember all the great golf shots I made, I also wish I could remember all the great moments I had when my kids were younger.
Life is funny in that way….
I will never dunk a basketball over Dwight Howard, I will never hit a home run off a 95 mile an hour fastball. If I stepped foot on a NFL field I’d probably leave on a stretcher.
But… in the course of a normal round of golf I can hit 4 or 5 shots that a PGA tour pro would take. Those 40 foot putts, chip ins and wedges to 2 feet are my brief chance to every once in a while perform like a professional athlete.
That they can be done on some of the more beautiful settings of a golf course make them even more memorable.
My fondest memories are playing with my oldest son. We have played many rounds and I can’t think of a better way to spend the day. Four hours of conversation, confession and golf. I praise God for the man who invented this game.
You forgot the beer and cigars!!!!! And gamesmanship jabs with your buddies…..
I love the game in general and look forward to playing anywhere around the globe,and cannot imagine my life without golf,and today a very interesting and constructive addition to my golf comes in the app., swing by swing, and the free advise from your fantastic blog,truly informative and amazing, please keep it going, many thanks. Thomas.
I have the many memmories on the course. I just wish I could write like you, for they are there. Thanks for bringing a tear to my eyes.
i live in Colorado and a joy for me every winter is to get up early to a ski area and ski the morning so I can get down to Denver and get in 9 holes before dark. One day my wife and I were up skiing and a nasty storm moved in. Since we both had season ski passes I suggested we head down the hill and see if it was nasty in Denver and, if not, play 9 holes. She agreed and off we went. Weather was great in Denver so we changed into golfing clothes and were on the course by 2:15 p.m. Finshed up at nearly 4:30 with a wonderful Colorado sunset over the clouds from the storm over the rockies. We both played well and had a drink to celbrate life in such a wonderful state.
I love to play with my brother. We are both in our 50′s and have families of our own. He has been married for about 34 years and I am divorced with 2 grown, married, kids. We were close growing up but since life happened, we are not as close as we were. The time that we spend on the golf course brings us as close as we once were. We are not great golfers, but we do have fun. We spend our time ribbing each other and goofing around, and getting in 18 holes in the meantime. We also have great memories for all of our exceptional shots, and amnesia for the terrible ones. We can always find something to praise in our game. I find that it is even better than holidays and family reunions for catching up and reconnecting.
As long as I am vertical I will play golf because there are a lot of people who are horizontal who would love to!
You have hit the nail on the head. Great times and golden memories. It truly makes this life enjoyable and truly worth living. It brings me peace, joy and happiness. I have not found anything about it that is not to be enjoyed. Not the wild slices, severe hooks, dips into the water hazards or wasted time looking for a lost ball. I have found nothing that detracts from the enjoyment that is to be gleened from the game. Thank God I found golf. I only wish I had done it before the age of 63.
I took up golf late in life. Recently, at age 60, I played for the first time ever with my father, a life-long golfer. He is 88. We had a truly wonderful afternoon. You’re right about the memories. Thanks.
Amen brother!! I’ve seen many susnsets on the green….all are beautiful…but none are as bright as with my little girl there to give me a high five when i sink a 15 footer fir birdie…sumthing about family, short grass, and birdies assures me the feelin that life has many sweet moments…u simply have to insert the right ingredients…warning!!! Dont bring when thes experiencing her monthly gift…it can make them birdies seem like double bogeys!!!!
And to think, there’s 4 seasons and 5 continents to experience moving memories from, either alone or with friends, family, other players, an eagle has just swooped down on a wandering blue crab, wayward golf ball in tow, a small island in view in the far east – on a par 3, the sun shine or it’s haze on your local practice course – rockclimbing for anyone? Chill and max out on a course.
it took me a few years to stop throwing the clubs and to start appreciating the smaller moments on a course, it truly makes all the difference in the world…ps i still shoot like 12 over par!
cough that’s just the front nine, needed to clarify
Well written! it’s all about the moments!
wow….no truer words were ever spoken…u have summed it up nicely….it is with out a doubt the most frustrating game in the world….BUT….when u have special moments on the course it makes u appreciate it and life all the more…FORE..
My father passed away in 1991. Though I miss him terribly, I think about the times we played golf together and I am thankful for those times.
I love the game for making me feel like a kid again. Every week it’s like my first Easter Egg hunt. I get laughed at with my tee shots. But for me it’s the pressure of beating them to the green, Usually leading to that awesome flop over a tree to the green beside the hole. When we lack in some areas, we can excel in others. That makes a great feeling. And leads to a good conversation back at the 19th hole. Great job Travis!