Why Do You Play Golf If It Is So Embarrassing?

Too many golfers describe the game as a frustration visited upon a happy population, as "the best game in the world in which you can be bad" I absolutely deny those negatives and will provide some different insights into the golfing experience as an enlightenment, not a source of frustration.

Playing golf is one of the few life time opportunities to march to your own drummer. Can you imagine playing football, or basketball at age 75? The golf course is in fact your life long playground. We all need a playground of one kind or another! Whether in your mind or in your heart. When the opponent is yourself and a small grass area this lifelong competition can never be considered trivial or negative.

Most golfers are well aware of senior (meaning old) players who, (with a handicap) can destroy many younger competitor's egos. Old age and a short game will overcome many flaws of the young. The small skills of putting, chipping and wedge play create respect and sometimes awe for the least talented. Hardly an embarrassment here for the individual who masters these techniques.

Certainly no one needs to be embarrassed about the camaraderie of a lifetime of bonding which makes our lives much richer. The father/son, mother/daughter, acquaintance or true friend is an experience not available in many other physical sports. This bonding is one of high individualism, private agonies and disappointments, moments of shared triumphs, and always a test of our compassion, as well as our skills.

A most notable reading of the father/son golf experience is that written by James Dodson, "Final Rounds a Father, a Son, The Golf Journey of a Lifetime" Our relationships and the stories of them are after all, what we live for and die with.

Ben Hogan claimed that his description of a perfectly struck golf shot "goes from the ball, up the shaft and right to your heart" I would offer that regardless of your skill level, ones age or infirmity, that golf is unique in providing these rare moments. Because you hit a tree on the way to making your hole in one does not diminish the enjoyment!

My wife holed a 75 yard sand wedge on a par three hole after playing only a year. We were at Pebble Beach no less. Should she have been embarrassed?

The drama of your "miracle shot" of 50 years ago for your friends and acquaintances who shared the event, are an integral part of the 19th hole even without the beer! Our competitive opportunities, still apparent decades after their conclusion, are the essence of this sport.

In golf these opportunities to compete are laced with overwhelming doses of sportsmanship, and humility for those who experience them . We can compete without malice, be tough and respectful, and most of all see the human condition in its best form.

Can any of this embarrass a golfer, when in reality it enlightens and elevates his life?

Lastly most of us never really get our 15 minutes of fame or glory. To some in the game of golf this comes early and easier (not easy). To some later and harder, but almost all seekers of the heart of the golf experience can recall their own personal 15 minutes of satisfaction. A hole in one is not a miracle, but carries bragging rights of accomplishment. Shooting one's age at 80 is a great athletic feat , and surely minimizes the aging process because of its rarity.

Golf is an experience of the mind and intellect and where but in our minds do we exist after the physical skills fade? In the last analysis, the humbling aspects of the game enlightens us to our human values of rational aggression , strength of character, honesty and respect to others struggles, and lastly a unique opportunity to see into our own heart and mind!