From obsession to hobby...

[Tiger]

Three years ago I got really ill and was subsequently diagnosed with MS. It meant I had to give up playing football, which was really tough. The following year I turned 30 and got bought golf lessons. I joined this forum and was persuaded by Bogey to try and get to scratch. The blog began and with it the obsession. Two and a bit years later and the obsession has ended. I have no idea why it has happened now but it is just a hobby, something I do for fun rather than because I'm obsessed with getting my handicap down.

So does it go in fits and spurts? Am I likely to get obsessed again? Anyone else made the same transition or conversely gone from hobby to obsession? And how you you classify your current relationship with the game?

 

[Imurg]

I treat Golf as an obsessional hobby.
It is a hobby, nothing more, nothing less, unless you're playing Elite Amateur or Pro level.
I'd play every day if I could - that must make me obsessed.......
I probably think about golf more times per day than anything else.

 

[Midnight]

Hi mate,

like Imurg I would play every day if I could , I thnik for someone like me it would only become a obession if I was earning good money and playing at a high level.
Like you I played football to a high level, I also did boxing and was a 400 meter runner. The latter was something I was obsessed with, however as I got better I found I was not enjoying it as much and so now I only play football and run for fun.

With golf I do want to get my H/C down , but for me 18 is the level I have set , if I don't get there so be it , I will still enjoy the game and get out and hack around.

Hope everything else is going well mate. (Any news on Thetford dates ?)

 

[HRC99]

It definitely goes in fits and starts for me.

As my game drifts away for weeks on end, I lose interest; then one good round will reignite that interest once again and I'll be obsessed again all over.

 

[Aztecs27]

Fits and starts for me too. Partly due to other stuff meaning I can't play as much as I like and partly because my loopy swing demoralises me completely from time to time. I'd love to work on getting rid of it more often than I can and I still hope to get my h'cap down to low-teens at the very least.

I definitely still love it and would play every day if I had the chance.

 

[kid2]

Im kind of in the same frame of Murg....
For me its borderline obsession....I strive to get my handicap down as i know that its a measure of how well im improving...

Im someone that basically has to see myself getting better to gain confidence...
So for me i supposed im obsessed with getting better....

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I treat Golf as an obsessional hobby.
It is a hobby, nothing more, nothing less, unless you're playing Elite Amateur or Pro level.
I'd play every day if I could - that must make me obsessed.......
I probably think about golf more times per day than anything else.

This just about sums it up for me

 

[Khamelion]

Only started playing again this year and have just played for fun, I tend to average around 95-100 shots per round with a good round being 90, not got anywhere close to 85 yet.

Next year, becoming a member of a club is a possibilty and as such I'll put my cards in to get my handicap asw I've never had an official one before.

This year it has been a hobby, next year I may take each round a little more serious, in which case I guess I'll probably be a little more obessed.

 

[daymond]

It becomes an obsession until you reach a point when improvement practically ceases. At that point you can relax and enjoy the good rounds and forget the bad. But then,as a retired old git I would say that.

 

[johnboywalton]

I am still very new to Golf, but i absolutely bloody love it
I love playing, well hacking! and the same as many of us, I would play every day if I could.....I am a little obsessed...... but in a good way

 

[Yerman]

Just obsession, the compulsion has worn off, but fun......if only

 

[RichardC]

At times I am am obsessed enough to get on my wife's nerves, but I need to keep playing to maintain that level.

 

[Richie13]

obsessed for me, im addicted golf is my drug!!!

 

[G1BB0]

mildly obsessed, wouldnt play every day but deffo 5 rounds a week if possible.

I spend far too long on here, youtube and thinking about what went right & wrong in my last round, what drills should I work on and so forth. I am sure it will wear off a little but at the moment I absolutely must get my h.c down in the next couple of comps

 

[RGDave]

I'm neither compulsive or obsessive about golf these days. Thank goodness, it was bad when I was.

I go through short periods of being overly keen and/or working hard, but even those are mostly for fun.

 

[DaveM]

A hobby I will not allow it to go further. Use to be a match angler and was very good wound up with plenty of sponsorship deals. I was given £1000's of pounds worth of gear all expences paid. What I been fun slowly turned into a nightmare. Had to go fish where they wanted and expected to do well everytime out. So wound up giving it up. Dont get me wrong I will never reach that level in golf. I dont want to its for fun to relax, so far have never entered many comps because of that. I just want to enjoy and compeat against myself and the course.

Just reread it and it sounds abit obsessive Cant win can I.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I think I may have clinical levels of obsession. Is there anything else other than golf?

 

[Swinger]

Golf is what I do. I can enjoy parts of it but generally find it frustrating and depressing, but it's what I do.
Sometimes more i play more than other times but generally I'll play at least 50% of my days off, probably a lot more during the summer months.
I do often wonder what or where I would be if I had never picked up a club and I probably would be better off in a lot of areas but as I have picked one up that reality is only a dream. I do love the game and enjoy playing at the level I am. As much as I would like to wake up one morning with all the determination and spare time I would need to get really good I wonder if I would still enjoy it anywhere near as much.

Currently I'm a little bit distant from the game than normal but I doubt it'll last long and even if I play a bit less for a month or two I still think it'll come back and bite me harder than ever.

Everyone is different Tiger but I'd imagine that you'll get a hunger back bigger than before at some point. It is nice to just enjoy it for what it is at times too though.

I did enjoy reading the blog from time to time mate but stopping it may just help you get out there and hit the little white/yellow thing about without thinking about stats or what your going to report about later on.

 

[Achilles]

It's a hobby I obsess about. I tend to find myself thinking about the last round for days after, and thinking about the next at the same time. I'm probably a little less obsessed than I was this time last year, but think that's simply due to work and home stuff taking more of a priority. I'm absolutely determined to push on in the next 12 months as despite a few spells of frustration I can't help but think I could be SO much better. That's what drives me on. So to answer your question, young Tiger, I would say both. If allowed!

 

[Tiger]

Interesting reading gents. I guess a follow up question, along the lines Swinger was suggesting, is has obsessing actually helped you get better. I guess it will vary but it made little difference to my scoring. I'm sure it may end up being cyclical but in my case it might just have been part of my therapy following diagnosis. Time will tell.

The poll result surprises me a little though... I expected a few more obsessors