In my 20's and 30's I thoroughly enjoyed the 6-8 rounds I played a year with very little expectation, treating it a bit like a cross between cricket and hockey whilst playing to a handicap of 15 which rarely altered much.
I was diagnosed with a medical condition when I turned 40 which the doctors thought competitive golf could help me with, so I dedicated most of my spare time to practice and gameplay and over the next 3 years reduced my handicap down to 2.8.
The result of this was that i absolutely hated the game. I was un-able to just have a hit around with my friends and anything over a 75 would result in entire weekends being wasted as I wallowed in my own misery.
Golf is a game of disappointment on the whole, as one rarely hits the shot that you know you can, at the time it is needed. When you hit it to 5 feet from 190 yards uphill into the wind, why didn't you hit it to 2 feet as you have done at some time in the past? Lip out from 40 feet and you are sure that you've holed from that distance at some stage. Other people cant understand it as to them you are playing like a God, so you spend the whole time in a constant state of not letting the beast from within bubble to the surface, for fear that you may actually drown your playing partners in the pond in front of the clubhouse!
One day I woke up and decided that I did not get one ounce of joy from golf so put my clubs in the barn and have not gone anywhere near them since. No more Golf Channel, no more Golf Monthly, nothing! Cold Turkey for me. I cut every thought and golf paraphernalia from my life entirely and that was just over 12 years ago!
Why am I sharing this with you after so many years?
Well, my two sons bought us a couple of hours on the indoor simulator which they thought would be great fun and something that we could all be competitive at. I might add that they are both International sportsmen in their own right but had never really tried golf apart from the odd thrash with beer at a TopGolf facility somewhere.
Having given me much abuse, they pushed me forward for 5 practice shots and then straight into combat. Looking down at what used to be irons that were quite large enough to get the job done, my tiny blades looked like a training aid and there seemed to be a large stomach where the ball used to be visible. Honestly having made a half swing with said 6 iron, I nearly had a wiff! Straight up I nearly missed the ball altogether. The boys howled with laughter. I didn't! After four more slightly better efforts, it was time to tee off. Out come the big dog as these boys needed to be silenced.....and the face was soooooo much bigger! Despite only putting half swings on both my drive and approach I some how birdied the 1st and the gallery was silent!
From then on it was all over the place with much barracking, probably more by me at my offspring than the other way around, but we had great fun and something that I would love to do again.
Within hours of getting home, all of my kit had been retrieved from the barn and what the mice hadn't eaten, was being hosed down and disinfected. I had started to read Golf Monthly and You Tube was showing all sorts of golf clips. I can feel it reeling me in.
This is where you come in.
Knowing my addictive personality, 5 stone weight gain and a swing speed which will be about half of what it used to be, do I let myself get sucked back into golf?
Clubs are different, balls are different, spin rates are the opposite to what we looked for. Can I accept that every shot will be a disappointment for some considerable time? Can I get my body to turn, my old clubs with poker shafts and bladed heads to work with a non spinning/low compression ball? Drivers used to be about controlling the spin from a high swing speed and balls were either hard or soft. You see the dilemma I'm sure, but I am genuinely torn. I am not one for doing anything half heartedly, and I don't enjoy doing things badly but then I do enjoy the peace and tranquility of trout fishing in the chalkstream's of southern England even when we don't catch anything. Go figure?
Damn these children. I suspect they the knew all along that they were opening Pandora's box!
I would really like to hear your views and maybe you may have even faced the same issue during your own golfing journey?
I was diagnosed with a medical condition when I turned 40 which the doctors thought competitive golf could help me with, so I dedicated most of my spare time to practice and gameplay and over the next 3 years reduced my handicap down to 2.8.
The result of this was that i absolutely hated the game. I was un-able to just have a hit around with my friends and anything over a 75 would result in entire weekends being wasted as I wallowed in my own misery.
Golf is a game of disappointment on the whole, as one rarely hits the shot that you know you can, at the time it is needed. When you hit it to 5 feet from 190 yards uphill into the wind, why didn't you hit it to 2 feet as you have done at some time in the past? Lip out from 40 feet and you are sure that you've holed from that distance at some stage. Other people cant understand it as to them you are playing like a God, so you spend the whole time in a constant state of not letting the beast from within bubble to the surface, for fear that you may actually drown your playing partners in the pond in front of the clubhouse!
One day I woke up and decided that I did not get one ounce of joy from golf so put my clubs in the barn and have not gone anywhere near them since. No more Golf Channel, no more Golf Monthly, nothing! Cold Turkey for me. I cut every thought and golf paraphernalia from my life entirely and that was just over 12 years ago!
Why am I sharing this with you after so many years?
Well, my two sons bought us a couple of hours on the indoor simulator which they thought would be great fun and something that we could all be competitive at. I might add that they are both International sportsmen in their own right but had never really tried golf apart from the odd thrash with beer at a TopGolf facility somewhere.
Having given me much abuse, they pushed me forward for 5 practice shots and then straight into combat. Looking down at what used to be irons that were quite large enough to get the job done, my tiny blades looked like a training aid and there seemed to be a large stomach where the ball used to be visible. Honestly having made a half swing with said 6 iron, I nearly had a wiff! Straight up I nearly missed the ball altogether. The boys howled with laughter. I didn't! After four more slightly better efforts, it was time to tee off. Out come the big dog as these boys needed to be silenced.....and the face was soooooo much bigger! Despite only putting half swings on both my drive and approach I some how birdied the 1st and the gallery was silent!
From then on it was all over the place with much barracking, probably more by me at my offspring than the other way around, but we had great fun and something that I would love to do again.
Within hours of getting home, all of my kit had been retrieved from the barn and what the mice hadn't eaten, was being hosed down and disinfected. I had started to read Golf Monthly and You Tube was showing all sorts of golf clips. I can feel it reeling me in.
This is where you come in.
Knowing my addictive personality, 5 stone weight gain and a swing speed which will be about half of what it used to be, do I let myself get sucked back into golf?
Clubs are different, balls are different, spin rates are the opposite to what we looked for. Can I accept that every shot will be a disappointment for some considerable time? Can I get my body to turn, my old clubs with poker shafts and bladed heads to work with a non spinning/low compression ball? Drivers used to be about controlling the spin from a high swing speed and balls were either hard or soft. You see the dilemma I'm sure, but I am genuinely torn. I am not one for doing anything half heartedly, and I don't enjoy doing things badly but then I do enjoy the peace and tranquility of trout fishing in the chalkstream's of southern England even when we don't catch anything. Go figure?
Damn these children. I suspect they the knew all along that they were opening Pandora's box!
I would really like to hear your views and maybe you may have even faced the same issue during your own golfing journey?
. People have added to it so it is serving its purpose 
.
