Why did you choose to play golf & what do you get out of it most?

[G1BB0]

as per title, someone asked me this at work yesterday.

for me it was the challenge after giving up football and cricket a few years ago and missing a challenge, competition and banter

It gives me exercise, something to push me to do better and also meeting new people and forging friendships outside of my normal circles

what about you?

 

[john0]

For some reason the thought of 4 hours away from our lass appealed to me geatly

 

[StrangelyBrown]

Dunno why I chose to play it, but it does give me a nice walk and some banter that I'd otherwise not get.

Edit: - I guess I play because my Dad and Grandad played.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

I first got into it as a kid as my Grandad worked for Faldo, however, football was always my first love until my knees became too knackered to play anymore so I started playing more golf.

I've always played to get better, knowing I'll never master it is a fascination to me. It also gives me some exercise, gets me out in the fresh air, allows me to meet new people and have a laugh and most importantly gives me something to look forward to while I'm at work

 

[TobyRich1928]

A few of my friends played it so I thought I would try it and turned out to love it

 

[Alex1975]

I started playing to hang out with the lads but I stayed playing as it is something I will never master. I have a habit of taking hobbys up, doing them to death and then dropping them. That can not happen with golf, I dont have the tallent.

What I get out of it.... Everything. I dearly love the game and it is a big part of my life.

 

[MashieNiblick]

My dad got me playing aged about 9 and I just got hooked. Don't really know why. I wasn't much good at other sports but I showed some aptitude and being able to hit a ball over 100 yards seemed cool at that age (I gather 300 is now the benchmark for grown ups! )

As for what I get out of it.
It's always a challenge.
The huge variety of shots required make it endlessly interesting.
There are always new skills to learn.
Hitting a great shot is always a great feeling.
You aren't dependent on others when you play.
Golf courses generally are lovely places to be.
It's highly sociable.
Lots of shiny gear to buy

That'll probably do!

 

[pendodave]

Too old for footy,
Body gave up the ghost playing squash.

Gotta have something to do apart from work/child rearing.

The most unexpected benefit from playing is that every few weeks I pop down to the parents and play a round with the old man.

 

[patricks148]

When we moved to Inverness I knew my cricketing days were over and was getting too old and the body suffering too much so needed something else competitive to do. Needed something that I can gain a sense of achievement from and golf gives me that some of the time anyway.

 

[Aztecs27]

My dad and my friend's dad got us going down the range as kids as they played, we both enjoyed doing it and it's grown from there. Never really had a thought of "what do I get out of it". I play because I enjoy the challenge I suppose and I always wanted to be a scratch golfer. I now know this isn't going to happen, so I'd be happy with 9.4

 

[G1BB0]

I also enjoy the preparation side of things, buying new gear, sorting my bag, cleaning clubs, donning my golfing attire etc, sad but for me its all part of the process.

the worst bit is the final putt on 18 as I think 'damn, is it over already'

 

[funkyfred]

I sometimes used to go with my father and pull his trolley around his course, that is very nearly 50 years ago. He said it was the greatest game in the world.

As I grew up I got heavily into football and played up until I was 40, I then got involved with the running of a semi professional club. All the time only playing golf occasionally, say a dozen times a year.

Its a game I love with a passion and just over two years ago I joined my first club. i said at the time ''I wished I had done it 20 years ago''
I'm never going to be good at it, but that doesn't stop me from trying to get better. Presently I'm at 24.4 with a best of 24.1. My pairs partner says I should/could get down to 18/20. But I just love it, i have meet some very nice people and I enjoy the whole experience. Very rarely do i walk off the course without enjoying myself, yes I get fraustrated with certain bad shots but for me its enjoyment to the max.

 

[znuffzz]

i started missing out on stuff at work due to not being a golfer, so took it up for that reason...then got hooked

 

[PPE]

Personal acheivement, you always strive to better yourself and I started at 18 handicap and am now down to 11 and would like to make it to single figures.

 

[Swinger]

My Dad brought me a set when I was fairly young then started going up with my Dad and grandad from about 10 onwards.

I mostly get from golf a feeling of emptyness and wasted youth.

 

[Region3]

I started off hitting a ball on the playing fields as a kid just because my dad had a few old clubs and it was something to do.

3 years ago when I started again it was because I wanted something different to do so picked one of my old sports. Most of the others would have killed me off through lack of fitness so I chose golf.

The motivation is to see how good I can be, in spite of my laziness towards practising.

 

[richy]

My dad bought an apartment in Spain on a golf course as an investment, with the purpose of renting it out to golfers. He said I could use it whenever it was free so I thought why not try it. Glad I did too!

 

[HogansAlley]

I watched Faldo win the 1987 Open on TV as a kid and was sold from that moment. That probably says a lot about the sort of golfer I've always wanted to be - 18 pars, no thrills please. I then saw the 1987 Ryder Cup, what a great period to take an interest in the game.

I can't really say what I get out of it. I just want to play all the time.

 

[Whereditgo]

The body was protesting at rugby and motox, so needed something new to replace them. Went down the range one afternoon when visiting my brother and never looked back since.

I love the competitions and the challenge of trying to improve the handicap, just started playing for the club in league matches, so yet another way to satisfy the competitor in me. Have made a load of new mates through golf and spend hours reading posts on some dodgy forum!

 

[19thagain]

Being Highland country stock and with only a very 'far back' private club in the area, we made a green in four corners of a field and one in the middle which afforded us six holes (we played the middle one twice!)

A public course opened some years later and we, my Dad, brother and I, all took up the challenge and it offered us the most rewarding fun over many, many, years. (Dad's mid week fourball aged 290 years!!) Not many active sports offer that!

I have been fortunate to have played far and wide and have met a bucket full of life's nice people on the fairways and only one or two of Smiffy's KNOBS.