[Tommy Williamsen]

I realize that this topic has been explored before, but we have a number of new members that may not have commented.

Every once in a while I think about quitting golf.  Not because I am playing badly but for time and money concerns.  I could increase my income a great deal if I did quit.
That thought lasts about an hour.  I think of what I would miss:
1. Rounds with my son and best friends.
2. The beauty of being in beautiful places.
3. The smell of the new mown grass.
4.  Beating Arnold Palmer for the hundredth time at the Open on course I have played.
5.  The simple joy of hitting a pure shot or sinking a fifty foot putt.
6.  Sitting on the deck and just looking at the course and the guys coming in and betting if they will hit the green on their second shot.
7.  Making new friends.
8.  Sitting in the grill and groaning about the putt that didn't fall or the good luck of a playing partner when a tree spit his ball back into the fairway.
9.  Being able to play some of the shrines of the golfing world.  Golfers have it all over baseball fans who will never get to play  at Fenway or Yankee Stadium.
10. Looking at the nuances of new courses and playing new courses.

IfI quit, I'd have a lot more time on my hands and money in my checking account but will have lost part of my soul in the process.  It would not be a  fair trade.

[Peter Pallotta]

Tommy -

I think it's #5, the simple joy of hitting a pure shot. 

I say "I think" because I haven't hit one yet...but the beauty of the game is that it lets hope spring eternal.

Actually, I may have struck one pure shot in my life, a 4 iron on a Par 3. I've forgotten the other specifics, but the feel of that must be lodged inside someplace, feeding those hopes. (There was also a 3 iron from the fairway once...once.)

Peter   

PS - And "simple joy" is about the best thing around, I think - the pearl of great price.

[Peter Pallotta]

Ah, Shivas - I had you in the back of my mind when I was writing. I just knew that the lure of the pure shot would get you where you live. I say this will all respect, but I don't think you'll EVER QUIT THE GAME.  Egghead or barfly, you can't believe there isn't a few more pure shots left in you....

Peter

[Marty Bonnar]

Dave,
go on - just give up the game.

But, promise me just one thing. Promise me you'll wait until after you and I and maybe ten or twelve other kindred spirits have played 36 together at Machrihanish, shared a bottle or two of best Islay Malt, puffed on a couple of fine cuban stogies (or other ingestible drug of choice), had a brilliant dinner and generally had as stupendous a time as it's possible to have at a golf venue on this planet.

Go on - give it up. Just promise me that...please?

cheers,
MB.

[Bart Bradley]

You know this would take a whole book to answer...golf is so complex...

For me, it's the challenge...against myself and others..
             it's the friendships and family...some of the best times of my life have been with my family and friends on a golf course
             it's the beauty...from the mountains, to the links, to the parkland..golf courses are some of the prettiest places on the earth
             it's the joy...making a birdie or even a par can be such a thrill...
             it's the integrity...for most anyway.
             it's for a lifetime...in the past 4 months I've had shoulder surgery and ruptured my Achilles tendon..but I played 18 holes yesterday (couldn't play basketball today if I wanted)


Just a little opinion,

Bart

[Steve Lang]

  because i have as much fun at 56 as i had starting at 9 yrs old..

[K. Krahenbuhl]

Because my dad loved the game...

and now like him so do I.

[Tommy Williamsen]

Dammit, Tommy, will you please refrain from writing stuff like this?

I am fully intent on quitting this Godforsaken game, and you ain't making it any easier....

Sorry about that.  I'll do better next time.  In the meantime, I think I'll go hit some balls.

[John Mayhugh]

Although it's a great list, one of the things that Tommy didn't mention is the mental challenge of figuring out how to play a hole and then the physical challenge of executing the plan.  Isn't it a blast to play smart and then completely screw things up from there?

I'm sure Dave can appreciate this one.

[Dean Stokes]

I think my passion is waining. We're gonna have some time apart to see if we can rekindle our love.

[Carl Nichols]

I agree with all of these and would add a few others:

> the cold first beer after a round -- nothing tastes better;

> what you can learn about a person's character -- good and bad -- from playing golf with him/her;

> my kids' excitement when I take them to the range;

> just getting to be outside

[Jim Briggs]

> the cold first beer after a round -- nothing tastes better;

My wife took up golf a 3 years ago, and the first time we played 18 together was a warm June day.  We go up to the club bar after the round and order a couple of beers and the first words out of her mouth were virtually your statement about a cold beer.  We have since gone on to enjoy many hours together on the course both at home and on vacation (and just a few beers which have never tasted better).  She has since gone on to capture the most improved in the ladies group two years running and will soon be giving me strokes 

I love the game because on many late afternoons in the summer there is no where else my 11 year old son wants to be then getting some holes in with Dad

Jim

[Jamey Bryan]

Tommy and J Briggs

Two great posts.  Yes, it's a great game and I'll never give it up.

Jamey

[Tommy Williamsen]

Although it's a great list, one of the things that Tommy didn't mention is the mental challenge of figuring out how to play a hole and then the physical challenge of executing the plan.  Isn't it a blast to play smart and then completely screw things up from there?

I'm sure Dave can appreciate this one.

Good catch.  You are right.  I love to stand on the tee and figure out how I want to play the hole, or hit the shot into the green.

[Britt Rife]

1.  It gives me an excuse to wear red pants.
2.  Because it has what I would consider to be the ultimate attractive quality: a feeling that while playing it, I am participating in and carrying on a noble tradition. 
3.  It makes me laugh a lot.  Sometimes simply because my playing partners are amusing, but more often just because the game itself is filled with unintentional humor.
4.  And yes, the wonderful calming feeling you get when a shot is hit purely.

[Mark Bourgeois]

Cricket

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