Have you given up other hobbies for golf?

[HackDaddy360]

I was just thinking… There’s a number of posts and comments that discuss how long golf takes/the time commitment/etc.   It’s all fair commentary as golf does take up a fair slug of time both for playing and practicing.  
 

I used to play USTA 4.0-4.5 singles and also restored cars for fun - and played golf.  Given the limited hours a week I can do hobbies of any sort after factoring in family and work the only way I was able to do it all is the fact I don’t sleep much (need to sleep more but refuse pharma alternatives).  
 

So, I basically stopped tennis, sold off a few of my project cars and freed up my calendar for golf.  I’m glad I did even though I’m going through a stage where I’m making the right changes but scoring like poo.   
 

it got me thinking… any of you give up anything to devote more time to/focus on golf?  If so, what?  
 

Maybe some of us could consolidate our energy into golf only and free up some more time for the game - and help overcome the “golf takes too long” issue? 🤷🏼‍♂️

Edited June 8, 2021 by HackDaddy360

[LimaSierra]

Gave up sex for golf

[Greenie]

1 minute ago, LimaSierra said:

Gave up sex for golf

 Not me. The only problem is when I get a new golf club I sleep with it along side my wife in the bed. If golf clubs could only talk. 

[HackDaddy360]

9 minutes ago, LimaSierra said:

Gave up sex for golf

#Commitment 

[ctonr]

My wife says I gave up doing things around the house...does that count?

[Greenie]

I've loved golf for a long time. I'm sort of OCD so whatever hobby I'm doing at the time I usually devote most of my time to it. I'm older so I have the time to do whatever. Right now I'm back into golf.

 

The one thing I hate about golf is slow play and right now it is trying on me. Many of my recent rounds have been 1 1/2 hrs - 2 hrs on the front nine. Make the turn and the back nine has been three hrs. I have the time but standing around and waiting to hit a shot drives me crazy. Sooner or later I'll go through "I've had enough" and give it a break and go back to something else.

 

Several yrs ago yrs. when this happened with golf and I had enough I went back to fishing for several yrs.  I played three rounds of golf each yr. and fished all the time.

 

Last yr. with Covid you couldn't fish for a while but you could play golf. So I went back to golf. I'm I a covid player now? LOL

 

Before that corn hole took all my time. Tournaments were on the weekends. When I wasn't playing on the weekends I did go and play golf but corn hole was what took over in priority. Playing several hrs. a night and tournaments on the weekends. Now corn hole is so big and the money is alot better I'm considering getting back into full swing with that. Now I can find a tournament almost every nght of the week. I used to average $1000 a yr with that but now my buddy averages that a month but it takes all your time.

 

I bought my fishing license the other day. Is the writing on the wall?

 

For me it is about what I am enjoying at the time when it comes to my hobbies. I'll devote most of my time to it and for what ever reason when the enjoyment isn't as fun as something else then I'll move onto something more enjoyable. I enjoy all my hobbies to some degeee but whatever I enjoy the most takes over my time. 

 

 

Edited June 8, 2021 by Greenie

[rp4golf]

I've often thought about all the things (hobbies, I guess, including: cars, city league level sports, clubbing, drinking, hanging out, etc.) that I used to do when I was a young person - when it seemed as if there was never enough time in the day, before I had any real responsibilities other than making sure to wake up in time to go to work ... and then life happened.

And over time, one by one, my hobbies fell by the wayside - as I either no longer had the time, or the money, to maintain them. And even for a time golf disappeared, as my ex hated it being as it seemingly took so much time and me away from home and the family.
Meanwhile my current wife has always overwhelming approved of me playing golf, and fairly regularly kicks me out of the house to go play, "You can do that (cut the grass or whatever) next week." And when I get back home, or call her on the way back from the course, she'll say, "You done already?"
Yeah, she's old enough I kinda doubt she has a guy on the side ... but maybe she has a poolboy.
But she's always said that I need to keep an activity I enjoy, to get out of the house, and a way to relieve stress after a long week at work. ... And it keeps me from driving her nuts watching golf, and other sports, on TV all day. So it's a win-win.

 

[Wolfhammer]

18 minutes ago, ctonr said:

My wife says I gave up doing things around the house...does that count?

 

Our wives must be friends.

[PJE]

Guitar...

[jordan2240]

I have not, but I've often thought about giving up golf for - well - anything else.  Unfortunately, sex isn't really an option.

Edited June 8, 2021 by jordan2240

[Blonde Line Lizard]

I am on/off with golf.  I will play for about a year or two, then quit for a while and then start again.

 

I believe I am on my fourth hiatus from the game.  Once the courses began to open from the flu lockdown, I began hitting balls again after a long break.

 

Being at the course on the range and putting green made me realize how much I like playing the game but HATE playing here where I live; too crowded, too long to play, etc.  Along with that, it's too hot to play here in the summer and I can't stand desert courses.  If you watched the NCAA tournament played in Arizona, that is what we have out here.

 

So I gave up golf once again, bought a mountain bike and a skateboard and really could not be happier.  (Mid 40's riding a skateboard; picture that.)

 

Perhaps one day I will be able to move to NC or SC and get to play golf courses that appeal to me.

[dugue4]

My hobby is finding more hobbies.  Each new one means less time for the previous.

[BIG STU]

Well it was kinda opposite for me. I quit playing golf regularly in the late 80s. I did play maybe one time a month. I had gotten into dirt track auto racing was also messing with Antique Harleys. Got out of control I ended up with 5 turn key dirt cars and a boat load of parts. Ended up with 3 Harleys. Got too expensive. Moved here to the beach in 00. Got back into golf and even invested in a golf shop. Now my golf hoeing has gotten out of control but I have a man coming by tomorrow to buy out a lot of my stuff. I have like 60 full sets of irons over 100 persimmon drivers and around 100 putters. I anm not quitting golf but I am thinning the heard. Everything I get into seems to escalate

[naval2006]

Same as @BIG STU I quit golf for two years in my late 20's to do triathlon.  I can't even remember how I  went back to golf but I never missed triathlon.  Golf, well, it's been around all my life so I often think in my case the game chases me.    

[munichop]

Like a lot of kids from my generation I played sports during their “season” and then moved on to the next sport. Golf was just there when a gap needed to be filled. 
I was never great enough at any sport to think i could make a living at it. So sports were always a compliment to the rest of my life. 
fast forward to my late 20’s and my body started to remember the previous night’s basketball or softball or racket ball and I began to turn to golf more and more. 
I joined leagues and men’s clubs mainly to get tee times easier.

slowly I started to schedule my leisure time around the game. Did fewer trips to the Grand Canyon relegated my leisure bicycling to commuting to work once a week on my recumbent. 
I won my first City am in ‘94 and got hooked on competing more at a higher level.  Nothing I ever did required as much attention to maintain my skills as golf. You have to decide how much that means because it does push other things aside. 
For me few things are as satisfying as a well struck golf shot. Now that I am older and fatter it is the last thing I can still do well.

[lefthack]

Skateboarding, only because I had to. Recovery time from injury and injuries in general have been adding up since I was 6. I turn 50 this year and I traded a club for the skate park.

[flip flappy]

My wife says that I will have a hobby for a few years then switch and she isn't entirely wrong. I played golf when I was just out of high school for a few years then got into bowhunting and 3D Archery tournaments. So It was shooting a bow all year long and I loved it. Shot for about 12 years. I then started quail hunting and training pointing dogs. Did that for about 6 years but that was a pretty expensive hobby. I gave that up and  got back into golf about 11 years ago and hope to stick with it for many years. 

[GolfTurkey]

saving for retirement

[GolfTurkey]

9 hours ago, LimaSierra said:

Gave up sex for golf

 

Recently married? Just curious if you are confusing correlation with causation

[tatertot]

Golf is a hobby? Maybe I've been doing this wrong for the last 40 years.

[LimaSierra]

6 minutes ago, GolfTurkey said:

 

Recently married? Just curious if you are confusing correlation with causation

Yes got married last in March. How did you know?

[Hawkeye77]

Gradually gave up fishing, which I’ve loved my whole life. Lost my little fishing buddies as my girls got older, quit going to Canada because of state golf meet conflicts for 4 years, finally sold my boat three years ago after realizing the only person in it the year before was the guy who put it in come spring and the same guy who took it out come fall, lol. Just made time to play more golf. Did hire a guide and caught some nice browns on vacation in the Black Hills last summer. It will hold me for awhile. 

[TheMagicStinger]

10 hours ago, LimaSierra said:

Yes got married last in March. How did you know?

So much to learn. 🙂

[kmay__]

For sure, barely ever take the boat out anymore after getting back into golf a few years back.

[Cwing]

Yes. 
 

In part, some free time did became more available as my kids came of age (35 & 26). That stated, grandkids are now starting to factor in. 
 

Only so much available time. I work 45 minutes from home (each way) and I’m there 55 hours or more each week. 

Many old hobbies/habits and other things just naturally faded away even before 2020’s lockdown.
 

To name a few, time spent attending and watching professional sports (other than golf) had drastically dropped. Sold off my motorcycle as the wife wasn’t into it any way.

[Mike_C]

Not so much hobbies, but when my kids were young I didn't play nearly as much back in the 1990s, it was work/family/commute.   Plus, I was living up north in Michigan, so golf was sort of not much of an option for 4-6 months out of the year.   Moving south and the kids growing up has increased my golf time a great deal.   I used to play video games with my son some, I also sort of messed around quite a bit with computer hardware and software about 25-30 years ago for fun, I don't mess with them anymore. I did play a little tennis for a while, but again that was when my daughter was on the tennis team.  I grew up where fishing and skiing were huge, but I never got into them.  As a kid I loved to ride snowmobiles, but that ended after high school. 

 

What I did "give up" was caring much at all about other sports, I used to be a big basketball fan, and NFL fan, baseball, even tennis, now I spend about zero time paying attention to any sport outside of golf except maybe for college football, and I have lost a lot of enthusiasm for that the past few years also.  

[HawkFan03]

Took golf way too serious, seemed to never fully enjoy the "game". Took a $600 lesson from a Top 50 teacher and my game went to pot. Shanks drove me away from the game.

 

Started fishing. I can go out and not catch a thing and at least enjoy the outdoors. Been several years since I golfed even 9 holes.

 

Now my son is in high school and he loves it. I really should start playing again, but I'm not even close to where I was 10 years ago.

 

I love golf yet I hate golf...

 

 

[ChristopherMcDonald]

55 minutes ago, HawkFan03 said:

Took golf way too serious, seemed to never fully enjoy the "game". Took a $600 lesson from a Top 50 teacher and my game went to pot. Shanks drove me away from the game.

 

Started fishing. I can go out and not catch a thing and at least enjoy the outdoors. Been several years since I golfed even 9 holes.

 

Now my son is in high school and he loves it. I really should start playing again, but I'm not even close to where I was 10 years ago.

 

I love golf yet I hate golf...

 

 

When I find myself taking the game too seriously I just remember there are lots of folks who would be dying to be in my shoes that day (whether they can't for health or financial reasons). ALSO I tend to just focus on hitting a couple pure shots. If I hit one that FEELS right, does what I want it to, that's enough to get me back out again. 

[phizzy30]

On 6/8/2021 at 9:10 AM, Greenie said:

 Not me. The only problem is when I get a new golf club I sleep with it along side my wife in the bed. If golf clubs could only talk. 

I talk to my clubs.  Like kids, they rarely listen.  As for the OP's question, I did give up golf for awhile in my mid 20's and started back up in 2008.  Liver transplant and my love of bodybuilding took over.  Did a few local shows and then I needed my transplant.  I started back after my surgery.  I vowed never to leave golf on the back burner again until I had to be on dialysis.  First 3 years I still played once a week but I could barely finish 9 holes because my health got so bad, I had to quit.  2 months after my kidney transplant after my doctors cleared me, I started playing again.  I will never take my health or golf for granted again. 

Edited June 9, 2021 by phizzy30

[MtlJeff]

I stopped playing in men's flag football and basketball leagues. But i wanted to do that anyway as the amount of nutjobs in those leagues is fairly remarkable. Half of the men's flag league games ended in either brawls or threats of brawls

 

I also stopped skiing eventually, just because i didn't want to wreck my knee and miss a golf season