The Golf Scene

[MVP]

What does golf mean to you?

Are you someone that just loves the challenge of the golf game itself? . You wanna practice and be the best, you like to play on your own as much as possible?

Or the other side of the game......do you prefer the golf scene as opposed to the game itself... the societies with the big lunches and drinks after..trips to spain etc joining a club and getting involved...pretty much the whole 'social' side of things.

 

[Imurg]

I want to be the best player I can be, but I want to enjoy the social side of things too. I do play on my own quite a lot through choice (work and time constraints) but I like to get out with the rest of the lads too.

 

[CarpeDiem]

I am always striving to be the best player I can, the social scene is just a great bonus. However I don't want to become obsessed with the game because after a while it become a little bit boring and you need a break, so its nice to have friends that don't play golf.

 

[Canfordhacker]

I just love the challenge of making that little white ball do what I want it to. Enjoying that challenge with mates is a bonus. And I get to do it in the fresh air, often with fabulous views.

It's a constant reminder of how lucky I am, and it is my retreat from the trials, tribulations, pace and worries of modern life.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

To be the best golfer I can be on any given day and to get my handicap and game down to a more consistant level. I love the solitude of the practice ground and the reward I get when the hard work pays off.

I love to play in competitions but enjoy the banter with a round with my mates or the joys of a solo round as the sun rises to greet a new morning or as it sets and puts the seal on another day.

I love the atmosphere in the clubhouse where success and failure are met with equality and where a warm welcome is guarenteed for the seasoned club member and first time visitor alike

 

[viscount17]

Me against the ball (the ball is winning)

I play a lot on my own but enjoy playing with others and society matches.
I don't need to know playing partners beforehand, we have a common denominator, golf.
I love the buzz of a medal (that's winning too).

 

[Ken_A]

I like the social side, I like the challenge and I want to be better than now.

I am addicted to the game. I really love a nice 4 ball stroll in the summer evenings while playing, I love a 'cricket' round, where I just go out and try to play as fast as possible playing 18 in 1 3/4 hrs without putting. I love playing in comps and the self challenge. I love the handicap challenge, I love the mental and physical side to the game.
I like to meet new playing partners and I like when I go into the clubhouse and it feels like home.
I like the etiquette, I playing with people who are really poorly but when they hit a good shot it makes their day.

Hard to explain my addiction but if the wife made me choose...................................

To be honest, golf gives you a challange on lots of levels, I think this is why it is so addictive.

 

[dangermouse]

Is there a more difficult and wonderful game? I love the challenge of it.

A game where there's no-one else to take the blame or credit, where one shot can ruin 4 hours of work, where there is no such thing as perfection (theres always one putt left out on the course, one approach you didn't catch right...)

It is a noble pursuit - a sport that can never be mastered, only tamed, so therefore you can never be bored of it, this for me is the beauty of golf.

The bonus is the sense of comradeship with all the other idiots who like you strive for the impossible and means a mutual respect not applicable to any other sport. Where failure is not derided, it is applauded and respected, because everyone all golfers know that they never compete with each other, only themselves, and the line between victory and defeat is a slim one indeed.

Just wish I was a bit better at it!

 

[ricardodaintino]

I play the game alone most of the time as my golfing buddies are now spread out across the UK. I love challenging myself and watching the improvement. I like that no-one else can affect my game other than me!

Its the only game I know where you are so honest to the point of counting your scuffs and mishits even when playing solo. Can't see a footballer calling a foul on themselves!

 

[Herbie]

Now I just play golf for just a few reasons, main one being the help golf gives to my condition, in coordination, physical activity (a way of mentally beating the bug) Secondly... for the pleasure of play itself, the challenge, the skills.
Third... for the pleasure of the enviroment(in most cases)
Fourth...Meeting people.

The rest of my reasons are numerous and not in any particular order, but the club house scene can be as fantastic as it can be horrific(Ive experienced both)so this would be on my list and welcome, but pretty low down.

 

[Range_Ball]

I am happy either on my own or playing with others i just enjoy being outside wind, rain or sun and getting way from it all for a while.

It gives me the solitude i want when i am my own and the competiveness and fun when playing with others i want to be the best player i can but not take it to seriously you would't have throught that if you had see me on the range today absolutely shocking.

RB

 

[andiritchie]

I do like playing on my own,there is nothing better than having a game at 8pm on a summers evening with the course to myself.

I have not got into the 'social' side at my current club and prob wont as i leaving,its a bit old fashioned for me.

 

[big_russ]

Agree 100% with everything said by Range_Ball.
After working all day/week with a bunch of numpties, there is nothing better than getting away from it all and giving that little white ball a good thrashing.

 

[theeaglehunter]

I would say I definitely play more for the game than the social side. Never has a sport captivated me so much and whether alone or with others I love the immense challenge that is golf. Also my social life is mainly outside of golf so that is not what I play the game for.

That said there is something to be said for playing as a fourball in a competition and returning to a bustling clubhouse community. But without the game the majority wouldn't be there anyway.

 

[Basher]

I discovered this wonderful game approximately 2 years ago.

What a game!!!

I've had several lessons and have found improvement recently. I have to say that I enjoy my gold everytime I play, regardless of how my game goes. There's always something there to keep me geed up for my next game.

I'm a member of a club and use all the golf facilities such as course, practise area, putting green. I also use the clubhouse regularly after a round for a bite to eat and a nice gargle.
Not too struck on the social side though. I love my golf and like the course, but hanging around at a clubhouse with blokes who don't seem to want to go home simply doesn't appeal to me.

 

[mono217]

Golf isnt a matter of life or death its much more important than that.

 

[John_Findlay]

One of the many things I love about the game is that I enjoy it as much when I'm playing alone as when I'm in company. The course is good company when there isn't anyone to play with. There aren't many other games like it.

 

[level5s]

I am somewhere in the middle.

I dont put the hours in on the practice range or go out to play myself. I like the company on a round but i am out to beat the course and myself rather than my playing partners. I have a couple of drinks and chat in the clubhouse but not one to sign up for the society trips.

 

[Smiffy]

I tend to enjoy the "social" side of golf more nowadays...not Society golf as such, but playing with a group of friends that I have known, and played with, for the past 15 years or so. I guess there are a about 8 of us that have been through so many battles together, we know how the other thinks, we know what the other is capable of, we all enjoy each others company and get a "buzz" out of meeting up every now and then.
One of the guys in particular has been a friend of mine for over 30 years, plays off 9. A good golfer and he shares the same stupid sense of humour as me. When we get together on the golf course we are like a couple of 10 year old kids, and it's gloves off ready for a ding dong match. We have had so many good games over the years, on some gorgeous courses and it's always a pleasure to play with him. Neither of us wants to lose to the other, and if we pair up together to take anybody else on we both raise each others games and can guarantee a good scrap.
I've never been one for practice or "tinkering"....can't remember the last time I visited a driving range and I never step onto the practice putting green before a round. I just stand on the first tee and play with whatever the day gives me.
My attitude may change when I join a club again this year. I was fairly competitve throughout my years at Crowborough, but over the last 8 years that side of things had all but disappeared from my game now. The one thing I still get great enjoyment out of is playing new courses, especially older established ones. It's always been my weakness, and I don't think that will ever change.

 

[TonyN]

I thought this would be the easiest question I ever had to answer, but it's not that simple.

When I get to work the first thing I do is check the forums, the European tour site or search for something golf related on my phone/ laptop. Through out the day I am constantly trying to find somethin to do/ watch golf related to keep me entertained when I can't play.

When I get home I grab clubs out of the bag, grip grip and regrip for the sake of it, get balls out and putt at the corner of the door or the leg of a
chair. The laptop goes on the bed and GM is loaded faster than a tiger
woods swing.

On my days off if no one is off I am at the club playing or practicing, even after a day of golf I will keep clubs in the boot incase my old man fancies a knock at the range in the evening.

I guess I enjoy the social side alot because I prefers to play with people than on my own but on my own I enjoy golf as much as jiminez does his
cigars.

The forum has created a whole new dimension available for all of us to take advantage of. Meeting people for games, making new friends and picking up valuable tips and advice. I actually feel quite sorry for those who will
never be fortunate enough to come across us all here.

When I think long and hard about it, the bit I enjoy most about golf, is that feeling you get for just a split second when you take the perfect ball divot combination, then watch as the ball sores through the sky just how you imagined it and lands exactly where you wanted it to.

Didn't most of us agree it's better to play well and score poorly than play like a broken record and make ya handicap. To me that just shows that this game is definitly not about the winning, but the being involved.

On reflection, it is an easy question to answer...

Golf means everythin to me!