How Has Golf Affected Your life?

[Pepperturbo]

@PappyVanWinkle53 - Nice story.  Though I am a single malt man, need to replenish my Pappy...

 

Take care.

[LeoLeo99]

7 hours ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

Menwith Hill? The giant golf balls on the moor! I'm not sure if the golf balls are still there, but they were a landmark in the area when I was growing up. I think they featured--or were copied--in a James Bond film. Did you spend some time in North Yorkshire as a child, then? That's a beautiful part of Britain. There is--or was-- a pretty decent pub near the golf balls, if I remember right.

 

I've been past it twice.  Last time I stayed at Rudding Park.  The first time, my driver who was former operator, informed me of its secrecy.  Said if were to break down on the roadway, we wouldn't be alone for long.  After a red eye flight into Manchester and a ride from there and barely keeping my eyes open, a cow pasture with giant golf balls was not something I was expecting to see.  

 

 

[Divot License]

Golf hasn't affected my round in any majorly significant way like others have stated but it has provided me the opportunity to meet a lot of great and interesting people and to make some of my very best friends. 

[lefthack]

Wow, I seem to be the solo weirdo. It's not that I don't like playing with others, I just prefer to be by myself with my game and my thoughts.

 

I love playing with my son and grandson, but I also like the quiet reflection. Especially when there is little to nobody else out.

 

Just me trying to get this little ball into that cup way over there.

[Soloman1]

There's nothing wrong with wanting to play by yourself. It's pretty hard to do if you're not a member of a private club, though.

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

1 hour ago, lefthack said:

Wow, I seem to be the solo weirdo. It's not that I don't like playing with others, I just prefer to be by myself with my game and my thoughts.

 

I love playing with my son and grandson, but I also like the quiet reflection. Especially when there is little to nobody else out.

 

Just me trying to get this little ball into that cup way over there.

Like @Soloman1 said, there's nothing wrong with enjoying a solo round of golf. When I was a junior, I used to love whipping round the course by me sen on a summer evening, occasionally dropping an extra ball here or there to practise different shots. More than anything else, I just enjoyed the time to myself in an open space. 

I miss that now, as playing by oneself in Japan is pretty much impossible. At least, for regular golfers.

[Divot License]

16 minutes ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

Like @Soloman1 said, there's nothing wrong with enjoying a solo round of golf. When I was a junior, I used to love whipping round the course by me sen on a summer evening, occasionally dropping an extra ball here or there to practise different shots. More than anything else, I just enjoyed the time to myself in an open space. 

I miss that now, as playing by oneself in Japan is pretty much impossible. At least, for regular golfers.

Slightly random question but @No_Catchy_Nickname have you had the chance to play Golden Valley in Hyogo. I played there as a 16 year old and really didn't fully appreciate at the time how special a trip it was. 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

1 hour ago, Jedaigeki said:

Slightly random question but @No_Catchy_Nickname have you had the chance to play Golden Valley in Hyogo. I played there as a 16 year old and really didn't fully appreciate at the time how special a trip it was. 

 

No, I haven't. I've played some golf in Shikoku, and now I play most of my golf in Northern Kyushu and Yamaguchi prefecture. If you were in Hyogo, did you ever play the Mt Rokko golf course? I think it's the oldest course in Japan, or one of the very oldest. A Japanese bloke described it to me thus: The British turned up at the newly opened port of Kobe, and promptly rushed up the mountain to build a golf course.

I think he was exaggerating just a wee bit, but I still love the imagery.

[lefthack]

4 hours ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

Like @Soloman1 said, there's nothing wrong with enjoying a solo round of golf. When I was a junior, I used to love whipping round the course by me sen on a summer evening, occasionally dropping an extra ball here or there to practise different shots. More than anything else, I just enjoyed the time to myself in an open space. 

I miss that now, as playing by oneself in Japan is pretty much impossible. At least, for regular golfers.

 

It's easy to take the lack of traffic for granted for sure. I played 7 holes with 3 balls this morning and there was one guy ahead of me and the usual foursome was teeing off as I cleared 7. That was it.

 

I just started playing here a couple months back, so not sure what busy will look like. But I will take what I can get.

 

I play from tee box to green, but it's more practice than golf. It's like taking a ball down to the park to shoot hoops. Not playing a game, just shooting around on a course and not in my driveway.

[Divot License]

14 hours ago, No_Catchy_Nickname said:

 

No, I haven't. I've played some golf in Shikoku, and now I play most of my golf in Northern Kyushu and Yamaguchi prefecture. If you were in Hyogo, did you ever play the Mt Rokko golf course? I think it's the oldest course in Japan, or one of the very oldest. A Japanese bloke described it to me thus: The British turned up at the newly opened port of Kobe, and promptly rushed up the mountain to build a golf course.

I think he was exaggerating just a wee bit, but I still love the imagery.

Sadly not, I was staying with a family as part of a 3 month student exchange program. 

The husband of the family I stayed with played golf and we would go to the driving range regularly but we only played the one round of golf and that was at  Golden Valley. I remember him being excited to take me as it was a highly rated course and also being very grateful and I knew it was a fairly expensive outing for his family to fund. 

[No_Catchy_Nickname]

13 minutes ago, Jedaigeki said:

Sadly not, I was staying with a family as part of a 3 month student exchange program. 

The husband of the family I stayed with played golf and we would go to the driving range regularly but we only played the one round of golf and that was at  Golden Valley. I remember him being excited to take me as it was a highly rated course and also being very grateful and I knew it was a fairly expensive outing for his family to fund. 

 

I just looked that course up. What a gem! But, yeah, pricey. Golf's a lot cheaper here than it used to be, especially away from the major urban areas, but a round at the weekend on even a public or semi-private course will run to 100 pounds or so where I am.

[PappyVanWinkle53]

On 1/6/2021 at 6:36 PM, Pepperturbo said:

@PappyVanWinkle53 - Nice story.  Though I am a single malt man, need to replenish my Pappy...

 

Take care.

It's getting harder and harder to find a bottle these days....unless you're willing to pay 10x secondary prices.  I'm def getting much more into scotch, although bourbon remains my go-to.  Cheers.

[Hogan9]

I think golf is the greatest game ever invented. You are outside in the fresh air with grass, trees and occasionally wildlife around you. You can play well into your senior years. You can still compete with your peers long after you have lost the ability to play other sports. It teaches you  both patience and humility. Also, golf requires integrity. It's the only sport where you are primarily your own referee. I'm 71 and obviously on the "back nine" of life, When I go, I want to go like Bing Crosby: having a drink after a good round. 

[Esox]

I was a scratch or better golfer till I was in my early 40's, and broke my left wrist for the 5th time, right around the time my youngest son was born. Quickly ballooned to a 16 or so after the cast came off. I quit, concentrating instead on fishing and hunting with my kids.. Kids grow, young one went away to school, Covid strikes. He came home with and interest in golf. ( He had been playing while he was away, but his grades were still very good LOL). He dragged me out there. We had a ball. I ended up giving him my old Yonex ADX, not to be confused with the Super ADX forgings,the shaft was too stiff for me, and I picked up some old Mizunos with a regular shaft off EBay. Started playing with the young guys at my new "retirement" job. (I guess in 2018 at 59 I wasn't really ready to fish, hunt, and nap every day so I took on a job with cool toys, I'll quit when it's time), Discovered I was still much better than the average hack. Not good, just good enough. Now two of my sons. the kid next door I have known his whole life and I play or hit a range or sim at least once a week. Golf has kept us together through these weird times.

Edited January 9, 2021 by Esox

[Esox]

On 1/7/2021 at 10:20 AM, lefthack said:

Wow, I seem to be the solo weirdo. It's not that I don't like playing with others, I just prefer to be by myself with my game and my thoughts.

 

I love playing with my son and grandson, but I also like the quiet reflection. Especially when there is little to nobody else out.

 

Just me trying to get this little ball into that cup way over there.

I reserve my preference for solitude for dawn on the Great Lakes or a northern MI trout stream. I am seldom disappointed.

Edited January 9, 2021 by Esox

[Hawkeye77]

My dad started taking me out when I was around 10 on our "club"'s 9 hole course, I had a little old white canvas bag and some cut off rag tag ancient clubs including a rusty 10 iron for a putter.  When we'd visit would play with each of my grandpas as well - old farmers, little 9 hole country course, got to ride in their carts!  Later, had friends that got into it and if we weren't catching rides with one of our moms (think early 70s) or mowing yards or teaching swimming lessons or playing baseball or fishing, lol, we'd go out and play golf mostly weekday afternoons. My only memory of the Watergate hearings is watching some of it on a color TV up on the wall in the clubhouse one afternoon while having some pop after we played. Some of my paper route and then my mowing/swimming instructor money (paper route was a screw job financially, I figured that out quickly) went to a check that I sent . . . . by mail . . . to Golf Digest every year (I was a Jack guy) and some of it went to various books - little paperback "tips" books, some golf history, I loved reading that stuff.  Had masking tape on my bedroom carpet for practicing putting (pretty much the last time I ever did, haha) and my faithful beagle would just watch me. An incident in the basement off the red shag and the new color tv squelched indoor short game aspirations.  Moved to a much larger town, a club with a nice 18 hole (!) course (nice muni just outside of town as well) and . . . . a golf pro, who I almost nailed one of the first times I played with a tee shot that went screaming low and right off the first tee and right between his legs as we was giving a putting lesson on the nearby practice green, maybe that's why he left.  Next guy was awesome - had grown up playing in Texas, played some pro golf, knew Lee Trevino and knew him well, and even got a nice writeup several years ago in GolfWorld - I think he may have gone into the Texas Golf HOF, I know he's in Iowa's.  Eventually had friends that played, some were really good, others like me got cut from the HS golf team every year, but we still kept playing. Summers eventually were golf and tennis and pickup basketball, same all through college when weather allowed and class or work allowed although all year at UI lunch almost every day was BB at one of the rec centers or in the evenings at the old Fieldhouse.  Wife is a tennis player, we played a lot of tennis in the early years, couples golf even when she was first pregnant (best golf she ever played and walked until about 4 weeks before the big day).  Kids grew up going along with us, playing from the hole backwards, golf "camp" at one of the local courses and one became a really good player and I starting getting a lot better when she and I both were taking lessons from the pro at our course and we were playing until dark every night after her golf practices.  State tourney player all four years of HS, but wanted to be on the straight A team in college and our motto with the kids was always "we like smart" and never really into the junior golf scene (probably would have been had there been decent opportunities, don't get me wrong, but there weren't and it just never really came up). Most of my friends the past three decades I've met and associated with through golf in one way or another.  Have always been a voracious golf reader, majors are sacrosanct and other Tour events I can't say I watch with the same interest or fervor (but Tiger got me watching a lot more than I had).  My oldest daughter/golfer was a die hard Tiger fan from the time she was 4 and he won her money on a bet she had with a friend of mine at the '97 Masters. She claims to remember the year before my agonizing over every televised moment of Norman's meltdown. And when you're a kid and this guy just wins almost every time, pretty easy to get hooked.  Sent in boxtops . . . by mail . . . for Wheaties Tiger Titileists, still have a dirty, little orange Tiger Nike hat in her bedroom, haha.  Playing the best golf of my life, improved dramatically after age 50, but getting older and it's harder to improve or sustain it since one way or another I've played hurt part of almost every season since 2013, with a couple exceptions. Never a golf trip kind of guy (that was for fishing and hunting) but we bit the bullet and took a family trip to Scotland in '18 and my wife and I went back in '19.  I wanted to get there while I could still walk and had a golf game.  Problem is scratching that itch has made it itch more, so we'll see.  Love this place, have met and also played with a few wrxers and to a person all have been fun, interesting, and love golf. '86 Masters will always be "it" for me as far as professional golf memories, nothing else close.  But first will always be all sorts of family memories including a trip to the '16 Masters with my oldest. Doubt if anyone got through all that, haha, don't blame you, but if you did that's my answer to the question!

[deadsolid...shank]

I read it all. So many parts are so similar they bring back lots of memories. Thanks Hawk. 

[BigTerf]

The odd round when you join a random group or playing in our local semi-private course’s league has helped guide many relationships, both business and personal.
 

I have found that you really get to see who a person is while golfing with them.  If they are honest in life, they will be honest in golf.  If they are fun in life, they will be fun during a round of golf.  So, whether it is building friendships or business relationships, I have really enjoyed what golf has shown me.

 

Some of my best friends today, I would never have met without golf.  Same for business, I have built some great business relationships by golfing with some potential clients or just with random business contacts.  It is amazing the trust and friendship that you can build while spending 4 hours with somebody!

[Sean2]

I did play golf with a gentleman who was in his 50s. We started talking about when we took up golf, and like me he started at the age of 50. I asked why he took up the game and he said he has such a great life he needed an activity that would aggravate him, lol. 

[RRFireblade]

Well...it was my whole life for a while, 100% and it's always been a constant.

 

When I was very young, the eldest brother of a close friend was fanatical about golf, went on to play college and then as a respected teaching Pro. At that time he was very influential and spurred my interest in the game from that young age. My family life was tough, to put it mildly, golf got me away from that all through middle and high school. Played Varsity golf since around 8th grade.

 

Left home around 16 years old and went on the road to play golf, which I did into my 20's and early30's. Over 20 years later, it's still my rock even though now, I've finally finished school, college and now working in the career of my education. I think it's something that will always stay with me whether it's playing or teaching or just living and passing on the virtues it has taught me over all these years. 

[BallerNate]

On 1/8/2021 at 7:25 PM, Esox said:

I was a scratch or better golfer till I was in my early 40's, and broke my left wrist for the 5th time, right around the time my youngest son was born. Quickly ballooned to a 16 or so after the cast came off. I quit, concentrating instead on fishing and hunting with my kids.. Kids grow, young one went away to school, Covid strikes. He came home with and interest in golf. ( He had been playing while he was away, but his grades were still very good LOL). He dragged me out there. We had a ball. I ended up giving him my old Yonex ADX, not to be confused with the Super ADX forgings,the shaft was too stiff for me, and I picked up some old Mizunos with a regular shaft off EBay. Started playing with the young guys at my new "retirement" job. (I guess in 2018 at 59 I wasn't really ready to fish, hunt, and nap every day so I took on a job with cool toys, I'll quit when it's time), Discovered I was still much better than the average hack. Not good, just good enough. Now two of my sons. the kid next door I have known his whole life and I play or hit a range or sim at least once a week. Golf has kept us together through these weird times.

Love it...awesome story and thanks for sharing!! Family is so precious, glad you’re able to spend that special time with your son!

[BlackDiamondPar5]

20 hours ago, Sean2 said:

I did play golf with a gentleman who was in his 50s. We started talking about when we took up golf, and like me he started at the age of 50. I asked why he took up the game and he said he has such a great life he needed an activity that would aggravate him, lol. 

LOL... Golf can definitely be a great sport to cure low blood pressure 🙂

[Roody]

I actually picked up a golf club for the first time shortly after I met the young woman who would become my wife. I was looking for a way to schmooze up to her father, so I asked "what kinds of things does he like". The answer was "golf". 

For my very first round I remember asking a friend if I could tag along with him when they went to play 9 at an executive course. I didn't even have my own set that day. I used clubs from his set, and each time I had to ask him "what do I hit here?". I remember he eventually had me use the 7-iron for most of the shots because I "seemed to hit the 7-iron decent". 

 

For my 2nd round of golf ever, I "stole" my brother's garage sale set, and played 18 with my future FiL. It was a mish-mash of various brands of clubs, most of the grips were slick and worn. The driver was a "Knight" brand driver he bought at K-Mart.  I don't remember what I scored (I'm sure it was at least 120), and I remember getting a lot of pointers and tips that day. I also remember the tremendous feeling when I was able to "smash" a drive down the middle, probably all of twice that whole day. I think that was the day I learned what a slice and a hook was. 

 

At that point I was hooked. I remember saying to myself "even if this young lady dumps me tomorrow, I'm still gonna play golf".  26 years later, still happily married. We joined our first private club together in 2018, and she plays at least 40-50 rounds with me a season now. Golf is my favorite hobby by leaps and bounds. 

[Bronzed aussie]

At a fork in a road in life 10years ago , I joined a  local golf club, at the very least it saved my marriage and more. Met so many good people , my life would be a vacuum without it ,, oh and it’s a great game to play , health fitness , fun and the camaraderie from being a club member , Ive never looked back 

[FakeClubPro]

On 1/7/2021 at 10:20 AM, lefthack said:

Wow, I seem to be the solo weirdo. It's not that I don't like playing with others, I just prefer to be by myself with my game and my thoughts.

 

I love playing with my son and grandson, but I also like the quiet reflection. Especially when there is little to nobody else out.

 

Just me trying to get this little ball into that cup way over there.

 

I am with you.  I like to concentrate on what I am doing.  Test different balls (bad habit) and remember my round instead of what others were doing.  I also like enjoying nature on the course with birds, ducks and other animals.     I find helping others find their ball and possibly having to deal with their meltdowns to be tiring.   I play on munis so rubbing shoulders with CEOs and other types is not happening.

 

I am potentially working on a major project in semi retirement with someone in Europe who is pretty close to scratch.  I never met him face to face.  We do talk about golf.

Edited January 27, 2021 by FakeClubPro

[RmoorePE]

Golf is a great sport to connect with with people. I have a small consulting engineering outfit and I hired 2 of my young engineers in part because they both played collegiate golf. When a client or prospective client invites us to their charity scramble, or we invite one along for a golf round - these good golfers make an impact. Fascinating to watch a hardened businessman melt over a golf swing, but the game just does that to people. A couple rounds of drinks and winning a dumb scramble has gotten me  a few really good customers.

 

From a personal perspective golf is a big part of my family's life. I have 3 daughters and I made it my mission to make sure that they had the same interests as me so that we could go on family vacations to places where we can do those things. They being surfing, golfing and fishing. Luckily all 3 can be done in roughly the same vacation locales (Kapalua in June!). My youngest turned into a golf nut, so now I get to golf more than ever. I am taking a long lunch break today for a range session and on course practice. My wife loves that we are steering our retirement to the desert south because of golf.

 

From a social perspective, golf has been immensely fun. It combines competitive sports, gambling and drinking and is played in some of the most beautiful locations - pretty much unbeatable. I play badly in amateur events, a couple different clubs and in a bi-weekly money game. It took me some years to gain perspective on what it means to be a high handicap golfer, but now I can enjoy even my worst rounds. 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Obviously don't have anything similar to OP, although I met a guy in my industry who joined our threesome on Sunday and it inspired me to reach out to him via LinkedIn. He says to invite him any time I need a 4th lol.

 

Golf started my working life. In Illinois, it wasn't legal to work prior to the age of 14 when I was a kid (probably similar now) except for as a caddie, which could start at 13. So I started caddying at 13. So for a summer, I woke up pretty much pre-dawn, hopped on my bike and pedaled a couple miles to Chicago Golf Club, and waited to see if I could make a few bucks. Had a good time, learned a lot... Even got Mike Ditka's autograph. He wasn't a member, but was a guest--not even in my group--and we got stranded in the halfway house during a thunderstorm. I gathered up the courage to go approach him and he signed my yardage book. 

 

The next summer (possibly two, I don't recall) at 14 you could legally work as long as your school approved. At that point I was the starter at a little 9 hole executive course. Much longer bike ride, but much easier work. 

 

I think it taught me a lot about work, about work ethic, etc. Getting up in the morning for a job I didn't "need" by any stretch--it's not like I was supporting my parents. But I'd committed to be there, and so I showed up and did what I was asked to do. 

 

Would I be the same person today if I hadn't started working at that age? I don't know. But golf gave me jobs that early in my life, and I have to think that was a positive.

[llewol007]

Golf makes such a big impact on my life. From new friends, new business contacts and new golf buddies. This game introduces you to different things that you can apply to life. I can sit down by myself and watch the majors all day and be in my place. The impact is awesome on all levels and for me, I can wait till my kids can round out my foursome and build their love for the game as much as I do. 

[RobotDoctor]

I was a former baseball player who had hopes of playing in college or even professionally.  I had a freak eye injury (self inflicted) before my senior year of HS which all but ruined my after HS baseball hopes.  After a couple of years post HS I found I needed to have some kind of competitive outlet.  Softball was not even a consideration because of the differences in rules compared to baseball and I really didn't like it.  A co-worker (at a sporting goods store) introduced me to golf and I immediately fell in love with the game.  I found similarities between the baseball swing and golf but knew there were distinct differences.  A neighbor across the street found out I was starting to play and bought me a copy of "Golf My Way" written by Jack Nicklaus.  I read the book and started to incorporate Jack's methods in my swing.  I was quickly scoring in the 80s regularly then mid/low 80s about a year in.  After a few years I decided that I wanted to go to college and get a high technologies degree.  I went to a small college in southeast Iowa and golf was fairly cheap, especially for a college student (local muni had a discount season pass for college students).  My last semester I was fortunate to fill out the 10th spot on my college team (warm body walk-on) but that allowed me to become better.  I eventually became a single digit handicap after 4 years from my first round of golf. 

 

Fast forward a bit and I graduated with my robotics degree, got a job and moved to the Philadelphia area (lived in Delaware).  I searched for the local golf stores and found a couple.  I found one with a couple of pretty cool guys running it and that became my store.  Very quickly I found some guys to play golf with.  It helped that one was a Class A PGA Pro and the other was a mid single digit handicap golfer.  They played at a club about 20 miles south that had a gaggle of guys who were between low + to 12 handicap.  That became my go to group.  To this day I remain close with a couple of the guys from that group, one being in my wedding party.  I have met a lot of people on the course and a handful have become close friends (another I met on a public course in Wilmington, DE was also in my wedding party).  My best friend and I met pre-golf days about a year and a half after I graduated from HS.  When I started playing golf he was getting back into golf.  Over the past 34 years we have played hundreds of rounds together, even with both of us living apart from each other much of that time, often across the country.  Playing golf with him is simply one of the great pleasures I have in my life, something I don't experience with anyone else.  There is a lot of memories that come up, a lot of rounds, different eras in our lives, fun we have shared, pain we both shared. 

 

In the end it is the friendships that I have because of golf that I cherish.  Golf is such a social game yet it offers some of us who need a bit of competition an outlet.  I am thankful I learned to play golf and look forward to my 35th year playing this year and hope to lower the handicap a wee bit more.

Edited January 31, 2021 by RobotDoctor

[theorangeman]

On 1/7/2021 at 10:20 AM, lefthack said:

Wow, I seem to be the solo weirdo. It's not that I don't like playing with others, I just prefer to be by myself with my game and my thoughts.

 

I love playing with my son and grandson, but I also like the quiet reflection. Especially when there is little to nobody else out.

 

Just me trying to get this little ball into that cup way over there.

 

Yeah, that's what I was starting to think as well, not about you, but me 😉

 

I play solo mostly because we moved to a new town during the pandemic and haven't tried socializing much right now.  I also don't like planning things around my round but instead just like to jump on the course when I can.  I live across the street from #6 tee box on my course so I usually wait for an opening, and then jump on and play.  The other thing about playing solo is that I can get nine in at just 85-90 minutes (walking) which makes it easier to fit in right before dinner.  

 

I play probably 6x a week (mostly 9 holes).  Since August, I've lost 20 lbs which has largely come from so much walking on the course (and nixing the late night eating).  This has helped me immensely with my wife not getting on my case as much for how much I play.  I just point to my stomach  🙂