Has golf ever lost it's charm to you?

[Gsea]

On 11/28/2021 at 9:41 PM, Soloman1 said:

I played in some pretty hefty money games for a couple of years in Ft. Lauderdale in the early 80’s with some pretty famous people - Tour pros, soon to be tour pros, musicians, Hollywood movie stars, NFL quarterbacks, hustlers and mobsters. It was a time that I look back on with great nostalgia and one of the best times of my life. It was actually a job. We played weekdays at noon.

 

I was +3 and didn’t touch a club for about 14 years when life took me on different path. Good enough to make money, but not good enough to play anything but mini-tours and Monday qualifying once in a while. I got bored with it. I always made money in PGA sectional events, but I just couldn’t get over the hump to the next level. I was a lousy putter.

 

I guess I didn’t have the right nutritionist, mental coach, trainer, caddie and swing guru. 🙂

 

Eventually I picked up a club again, but golf doesn’t have the same pizzaz or motivation anymore. I thrived on pressure, but now playing for “fun” doesn’t cut it.

 

So yes, golf did lose its charm. I guess it depends on your definition of charm

seriously write a book man

[Medson]

Golf essentially is like life. It is not meant to be all charms and fun. 

 

Take a few days/weeks/months off and recharge. Reset expectations. 

 

One perspective I adopted is to make sure golf enhances my life. On the course, I stopped and appreciated the hills/water/grass. I met a new golfer during COVID at my home course. He was taking pictures and commented the views were so pretty. I have been playing at the course for years and never bothered to even look up to appreciate the surroundings. 

[golfwb]

Absolutely it does. 

Half the time i don't even want to be playing I just want to be outside with friends for a extended amount of time  

[Dr.Zevia]

Short term, Yes.  Long term, No.  I'll get a little tired of it if I play 2 or 3 times a week or I get a little too sore.  But if I put it away for a few weeks I get the urge.

[MM321-W]

I lost my passion for golf when I moved to Seattle for a few years. Now that I'm back in AZ I'm in love with the game more than I've ever been.

[Metro-PA]

I've never tired of the game itself.... but have lamented over minor details, which inevitably lead to frustration.  Short siding oneself, wrong side of fairway on a dogleg, leaving downhill putts, etc.... this seemed to be at the root of my disdain, trying to chase "perfection"... which we all know doesn't exist.

 

Until I accepted.... there's things that we can control and many we can't, did I finally enjoy the entirety of the round.  Am's get to caught up in the "here and now".... move on, play the next shot.... etc.

 

[golfortennis]

Took a few years off, moved to a new city,got into triathlons.  Met my now wife.  When her sister and her family were visiting from out of town, my wife(fiancee at the time) suggested I take the brother in law to play golf.  Well, needless to say I hit a couple good shots and got the bug back.  Best part is she can't complain because she put me on to it!!  

 

But yeah, I want to be able to play every day, weather wise, but I don't think I could play every day.  

[wjdpar1]

If one is serious about golf and attains a certain skill level (let's say) reaching the top 3%, golf will not be fun 80% of the time.  The other 20% is extremely addictive though.

 

Understanding that is a real mental task IMO.  Being really intelligent (not me) won't help.

 

[tacklingdummy]

Never lost my interest in golf as an adult, but the golf environment has been greatly eroding my interest in golf.  Now, the golf courses are slammed even on weekdays. Weekdays are like weekends now. Before pandemic, easy 4 hour round and that is not rushing, but steady moderate pace on weekdays. Now, 5+ hour rounds on weekdays. Play is excruciatingly slow. Today, there was 4 groups on one par 3 on a Wednesday. Also, saw a 6-some. Marshall was there, but not really doing anything. Never seen it worse since last couple of years. End the darn pandemic already. 😜

Edited December 9, 2021 by tacklingdummy

[dvq9654]

Absolutely. I basically quit golf from 16 - 28 and really didn't enjoy it when I did play (mainly because I was terrible, haha). But, once I got back into the game, I was quickly hooked, and it hasn't lost its appeal since then. There have been periods of frustration due to swing changes and rough patches, but that frustration wanes quickly after a good round or two. 

[Port and Starboard]

On 11/22/2021 at 4:22 PM, SUPERG said:

Sup guys, I just wanted to vent a little and see how you feel about the current world of golf today and what you do when maybe the game is just not as fun as it used to be. 

 

I'll jot down a couple bullet points as I don't want to be to verbose in this since I am just having a hard time processing this, I've been golfing for a decade and have had a sudden disinterest on arguably something that is largely part of my personality and life. 

 

1. Being on WRX gets exhausting, I sometimes try and just get the perfect clubs without working the swing that matters the most. 

2. I'm a 3.6 HC (short game saves me)  but play with a flip, it sucks because I'm a bigger dude (tall, large) and see some of my smaller friends pound the ball efficiently and at times yard in front of me but because I can't turn properly I don't bomb it and my irons come up short. I usually club up twice just to hit the green. 

3. I've tried for months to shorten my swing and reduce wrist hinge so I can make the turn and not slide and throw my hands but to know avail, I've paid for countless lessons and nothing works

4. Perhaps the new culture of golf that I guess is more "cool guy" is really annoying, tee times hard to get and now all people want to do is bring their GF with them and have some sort of part instead of golf. 

 

With that said, I usually can't wait to golf on the weekend, and now with 2 tee times in my sights for thanksgiving I just can't seem to get excited for it. Have you ever taken a long break? What made you want to stop playing?

 

Lost it big time!

 

I got transferred to Little Creek Navy Base (Norfolk Va.)  in the mid 1980's and joined the men's golf association.  The guys were mostly in their 50's - 60's - 70's and many of them were real characters. Those old farts where like family to me.  Fast forward 20+ years and most of them had passed on and it got to the point where it was too depressing.  I stopped playing at Little creek altogether, only got out 2-3 a year for many years and usually just played alone.

 

My son recently rediscovered the game and has lit another fire in me. His goal this year is to "whoop Pop's a**" 🤨 and mine it to keep the young man in his place. 😉 

[kintap]

I played competitively as a junior and in HS.  When it came time for college, I had to choose between trying to walk on at a D2 level, or to take a full academic scholarship to study engineering at Pitt, which does not have a golf team and is an urban campus where the only course accessible without a car is a glorified pitch and putt.  Between my studies and living a college lifestyle, I didn’t pick up a club for 4 years, my game suffered, and I lost some of the thrill that I used to get out of competition.  I probably played 10 times over the next 15 years. 
 

Four years ago, I decided that 3 years into parenthood, I was beginning to lose my identity outside of being “dad”.  I love my kids, but needed something that was mine.  I played a round socially on a work trip to Las Vegas and played out of my mind.  I was on pace to break 80 at Bali Hai with borrowed clubs and sneakers.  (We only got in 15 holes due to time constraints.). At that point I remembered the thrill of hitting it where I wanted and really caring about my score.  From that moment I was hooked.  I’ve been obsessed ever since and have managed to improve to the point where I have surpassed my previous ability.

[RichieHunt]

Basically during college and after college.  Junior golf was a lot of fun.  Get to go to new places, play some great courses, become friends with new people.  

 

Junior golf back then wasn't like it is now where you have parents observing their child every time they go to the range, following them every time they play a casual round of golf.  Kids had more freedom from their parents back then.  

 

But at the same time, we didn't have the internet and social media either.  So where you lived was where you were 'stuck' being at.  Thus playing junior golf tournaments in different areas of the country was even more fun because it was more adventurous.  

 

Anyway, come college golf I ended up dealing with a coach that didn't like me because he didn't recruit me and we meshed together like oil and water.  To make matters worse, I went into college golf knowing very little about the golf swing other than tips in Golf Digest and GOLF Magazine and for the first time I really started to struggle with my golf swing.  Not only did I not know what was wrong, but I had no idea who to go to that could fix it.

 

Then the coach would want us to put in 2-3 hour range sessions, not letting you do anything but hit balls and maybe take 1-2 breaks to get water and so many people telling me so many different things to improve...I just became disillusioned with the game.

 

After I graduated I wanted to become a golf instructor.  I actually got a job that was going to develop into a golf instructor position when I got back from Xmas break.  Then when I came back, the job fell thru.  By then I had worked the previous summer in a pro shop and saw it as nothing more than a glorified credit card swiper and I was just done with the business in general.

 

Then I considered turning pro anyway, but decided to play in some mini-tour events as an amateur.  My heart just wasn't in it and I was so disillusioned with the game that I quit for about 8 years.

 

The original plan was to quit for about 2-3 years as I developed my career.  I had moved to Atlanta by then and at the time I didn't know that was practically an impossibility.  The public courses in the area, at the time, were mostly garbage.  And the private courses were ridiculously expensive (even by today's standards).  

 

I remember going to work in an office building and smelling the fresh cut grass and it reminding me of playing golf or even early in the morning when the sun is just creeping out and the dew is on the ground (even though I hate playing that early in the morning).  

 

Eventually I got fed up with not being able to play golf and made it a mission to get back into the game...and I'm glad I did.  It has been immensely rewarding.

 

 

 

 

 

RH

[stephenmatt]

I think you are frustrated with not being able to nail down the swing changes you want to make and it makes the game frustrating. I know when I am playing in the middle of trying to make a change the game is just less enjoyable overall if I am not playing good. Do I blame it on an off day? Do I blame it on the swing change? I would recommend working with a good instructor who has the ability to show you live video footage.

Edited December 31, 2021 by stephenmatt

[braincramp52]

Nope. I'll be 70 next year and I love it more than ever. 

[Unibrow]

I really don't get this way. I live in a northern climate so I am forced to take time off every year, this just makes me more excited to get out and start sucking it up again. If I lived in a year around golf climate I would likely get a case of burnout. I guess winter is good for something.

[Haroputt]

I was never really good at golf growing up   Played casually in high school and developed more intense interest in it in my late 20s 
Read books and got lessons but really didn’t have the passion that some of the teaching pros describe in their competitive days   
I just wanted to get better with my swing and more consistent. I would have lousy days playing golf. But that one wonderful struck ball or chip in would stay in my memory despite not knowing how exactly I did it 

I was interested in other sports like hockey and tennis. So golf was just a summer sport 

Got married and had kids.  Golf become more of a excuse to get outside for enjoyment
I  joined a club in my 40s when there wasn’t  as many family commitments. Playing in Mens league I found that searching for a swing wasn’t that important to me as it was scoring well with consistent putting/short game and decent swing. Also that was the time the change in driver technology   Got new equipment. Also there was the WRX golf site to read to improve my own swing 

Learn so much past ten years   Im much older and still enjoy golf. I haven’t lost distance yet. My scoring is improving 

I like the free conversation about golf. I disillusioned by the golf industry now. There so many people selling their golf brand whether it through equipment/lessons/ to frustrated golfers 

just play have fun and if I don’t want to play anymore I will take a break and golf will find me again. 

[martinbns]

I have played golf since I was about 10, so almost 50 years.  Mostly due to money and family I didn't to play much more than 10-12 rounds a year until I was around 40 when my wife started to play.

 

I have fallen out of love with golf a number of times, mostly something new takes over.  6 years ago we bought a fishing boat and started fishing hard, about 20 years ago i took up hunting hard and come Sept 1st my clubs were away.  I always seem to come back to golf, this past year Covid brought me back, we couldn't cross the border into Ontario to fish and I had my best season ever at 58.  

[scruffynick]

Certainly the professional game has lost its charm, as the equipment is stupid and the players hit the ball so far that it's lost that....anyone can play and win. For me, the technology has to be rained in big time. When a player is hitting the ball 400 yards it's just not golf anymore. But like other sports the power it seems in golf is with the manufacturers.

As for me at my club, the game and people who play golf has changed. The characters have gone, play alot with people who never come into the clubhouse after for a drink. They just play and go home, which is fine but it's alien to me.....I need a drink and laugh afterwards, especially after a bad round. But then again I'm getting older and grumpier and maybe golf has just changed and left me behind

[phizzy30]

I've never lost my love for the game, but I did a 2 year year hiatus twice.  First time was when I was 20 because all I wanted to do was party and chase tail.  Second time was after my kidneys shut down and I was on dialysis for 6 years.  I just didn't have the stamina/energy to play 18 holes any more at one point and it drove me nuts and I was in a very dark place.  It's been a little over 2 years since my transplant and I'm in a very good place now with my life.  Don't take things for granted like being able to take a piss everyday for example and absolutely can't wait to go hit balls at the range and play twice week.    😁

[Hickory4ever]

I can understand getting a little disillusioned with the game, it is very easy to get obsessed and frustrated. For me, the most frustrating time was when age and injury started to affect my enjoyment of the game. I was too obsessed with scoring and it took a while to appreciate the journey. 
 

I would say that the never ending focus on technology had a large part to play in my disillusionment with golf. Although I still have modern equipment, I have got greater satisfaction playing with hickory and classic clubs because of the challenge they present. They require greater focus on skills and developing more creative shots. I have actually improved as a golfer, breaking eighty more frequently despite playing different sets on an almost daily basis. Golf is more fun than obsessing over the latest technology, a lot of which is hype.

 

It also gives me a good chuckle when this senior citizen grinds out a lower score than a guy with $3,000 worth of technology using clubs that are supposed to be impossible to hit.  
 

if you are getting disillusioned, pull out an old set of clubs, don’t take yourself too seriously, find that spark of enjoyment. 

[BIG STU]

On 11/28/2021 at 9:41 PM, Soloman1 said:

I played in some pretty hefty money games for a couple of years in Ft. Lauderdale in the early 80’s with some pretty famous people - Tour pros, soon to be tour pros, musicians, Hollywood movie stars, NFL quarterbacks, hustlers and mobsters. It was a time that I look back on with great nostalgia and one of the best times of my life. It was actually a job. We played weekdays at noon.

 

I was +3 and didn’t touch a club for about 14 years when life took me on different path. Good enough to make money, but not good enough to play anything but mini-tours and Monday qualifying once in a while. I got bored with it. I always made money in PGA sectional events, but I just couldn’t get over the hump to the next level. I was a lousy putter.

 

I guess I didn’t have the right nutritionist, mental coach, trainer, caddie and swing guru. 🙂

 

Eventually I picked up a club again, but golf doesn’t have the same pizzaz or motivation anymore. I thrived on pressure, but now playing for “fun” doesn’t cut it.

 

So yes, golf did lose its charm. I guess it depends on your definition of charm

As we have discussed several times you and I have similar backgrounds. I sorta quit golf for a while never really quit but slacked off a lot. Got into owning my own trucking business with 3 trucks and also got back into dirt track auto racing quite heavy. Would maybe 2 times a month on a Sunday go up the road and play with some buds in little $5 matches. When I moved down here I took it up some because of nothing else in this area appealed to me. I really do not have the patience to fish and the Motorcycle world of riding from bar to bar did not appeal to me either. I started back playing quite a bit. As most things I get involved with it escalated to co owning a golf shop and back playing the local mini tours. There were no big money games around here by then. But I did have fun playing on Wednesday afternoons in a 9 hole shootout and we had quite a group going from the golf shop on Sundays. Of course we closed the shop and the group split up due to what I call natural progression of life as in death and some getting too old to play, I played in a couple of informal groups around the beach but when my old course closed those groups split up. I also played in another informal group called the NY Boys now the main instigators of that group are in bad health now and no longer playing. I had also always messed with older equipment and liked playing it.

 

When my old course closed ( sigh more housing) I went basically across the road and found a whole new world and loved it. Love the weekly Saturday Shootouts still do. When I retired I was really loving it. Playing darn near everyday with what equipment I wanted to play and not giving two hoots. Then my accident happened. I pushed things too much on the rehab so it led to a longer recovery in my eyes. I was about to quit again this time for good because of the associated pain etc ( which you can relate) I switched my equipment and it made a difference. I am sorta relishing in the game again. I had to also refresh my attitude as to the fact after my life changing accident I will never be the player I once was before April 2020. One of my fellow members wife said ---- I was lucky not to be in a wheelchair much less trying to play golf---- That one thing put it all in perspective for me

 

One thing I do miss pre accident is playing my various vintage stuff---- Heck my biggest decision was what set or combinations I was going to play that day. I kept like 6 bags built up and stocked and it was basically grab and go. I do miss that a lot but I guess it is what it is. I am working slowly and I stress slowly now to maybe building myself back up to that perhaps maybe. 

[ProStryker]

I usually get kind of burned out at the end of the summer, when I’ve been playing a lot in the 105* heat.  Just too much golf during the heat of summer can do me in for a bit. Usually I end up taking a couple months off and then get the bug again.

[Barefoot_Golf]

I starting playing when I was 11. Went to a PGM school and was a club pro for a few years. Played so much golf that it started to feel like work just going out to the course. That’s when I knew it was time for a break. Took eight years off and just got back into the game this year and couldn’t be happier for it. I’ve met so many people during a time where that’s been difficult and have really started to enjoy myself on the course again.

[Kjboisen]

On 11/22/2021 at 8:04 PM, Phabs said:

Playing competitive golf and practicing 6 days a week in college absolutely made me hate the game by the time I graduated. After school didn’t touch clubs for over a year, I’ve finally got my love back for it and am thoroughly enjoying it.  

It is a lot of stress and a lot of things going on at the same time with classes, maintaining your social life, etc.

Once you took that time off I am sure you found more balance and grinded on your own terms, which is a benefit. All those years of structured practice didn't go to waste, and you can apply it with LOVE for it on your own time 

[donnygolf]

My personal disenchantment with the game came after I became a teaching pro. The business of the game takes over too many times. Even when I had great proposals for expanding lessons, they were either ignored or taken over by the head pro.

There is also this thought that someone like me-that went to a golf school and has spent thousands of hours poring over the study and data-knows less than the weekend player. I remember whispers that my skill level was junk because of politics! People thought that, if I did not agree with them politically, I must be incapable of showing how their grip, aim, or setup was wrong. Never mind I recorded it.

Today I give lessons to friends and neighbors. I regrip clubs and record swings in my garage. I play occasionally, but my zest for the game is not what it once was.

[SUPERG]

I have a bit of an update on this, this year I got married and it gave me a little perspective. I know it's cliche but I have played only 2 times this year so far and both times it was with my best friends rather than my golf group. We did not keep score (or at least pay attention to it) and we even played a 2 man scramble against each other and I had more fun playing than I ever have in any tournament or money game. I stopped caring about the latest and greatest gear, stopped recording a handicap and stopped worrying about my swing. Now I just play freely and without a care and it's been a blast. Dare I say I look forward to my rounds now, and I love walking them now too. 

[RainShadow]

It's never lost it's charm for me, but I'll go through patches where I lose my interest in being serious about my scores.

When that happens, I usually just go to the range instead of playing. 

Right now I'm kinda in that place with the overcrowding of our local courses and frost delays making for long rounds.

But after a couple of weeks, I'm usually over my lack of interest.

[dan360]

Golf is wonderful.   Being outdoors, walking/riding in the weather, be it nice or horrible.   Interacting with fellow golfers, watching the animals, some of which have clubs too.   It's great.

 

Internet golf forums are being to lose their charm.   On second thought, I gotta be honest, golf forums really suck lately.   Shills, trolls, paid thread starters, influencers, and general douchery has always been on the internet, but lately it seems the revenue > content.   It's not fun anymore. 

[dongodfrey]

The answer for me is play every so often,

I started to hate the game, wasn’t through playing bad, it was just a long waste of time, I am a equipment junkie,

love it, and always will, but the constant boring conversations about I hit it 5 yards further than you on the last, or if hadn’t dumped it in the water at 9 I would of beaten you just gets so boring,

I’d be out there, play 6 holes, hit it as good as could, then three putt a green and start doing a Phil mickelson and hit back and forth like a pin ball, so I found 

not playing wasn’t a issue, the guys would say there was a tee time booked and I found I just couldn’t be bothered,

so for the last 18 months or so I get out once a month, no negative thoughts,

all good fun, loving it again,  but buying equipment, daily, that’s another story!!!!!!