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Have you ever just stop playing?

There are a lot of things that are more important than golf. If your wife discovers your 14 mistresses. Or if it's work (I've walked off of the course on a Memorial Day because a customer needed me). My daughters health. My wife's health. My unborn child's health.

There are just a lot of things that are more important. Sometimes you have to step away from the 1st tee in order to take care of your business.
 
I've had some major "distractions" lately that are both good but unexpected. If I stopped playing I wouldn't have played golf for the last couple months. I've done my best to keep playing but it's been obvious my game has been affected though. Mental distractions and finding it difficult to practice will do that but I still get out. It's a good place to get away from it all even if there's a struggle.
 
Wonton - Your distraction sounds serious and I hope you get some resolution soon. To answer your question about golf vs. life's pressures, I think everything just depends on what's going on. Me personally, there are a number of changes with family right now that I find challenging, so being out on the golf course, where I can have some peace, focus on something I enjoy, and gain satisfaction from my own performance and improvement has all been terrific. So I do go out to golf, and find that it brings a sense of fun and accomplishment that settles some of the other things I don't have control over.

But it's all a matter of degree. When I'm pressured with deadlines at work, or if there is some fairly serious health or relationship stuff going on, then I don't really go out to the course because the time and energy it takes can be a really poor choice vs. other responsibilities. Five hours on the golf course vs. five hours at work during a busy time, or five hours caring for a spouse after surgery; then I'd probably put golf off until I felt better about being out on the course and could enjoy myself more.

That sort of rambled, but I hope it helps.
 
TC said:
Dude, the golf course is the one place where life distractions don't bother me. You must have some heavy stuff going on.
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I will agree with that...once I hit the first tee box, all my troubles seem to disappear for a few hours! Now that I am single you better watch out...got nothing to keep me off the course now!
 
Golf is my outlet in life, it allows me to escape the things that are bothering me rather than focusing on them.
 
If heavy stuff is going on in my life I either practice a lot or I go to the mountains for a few days and go fishing, but sometimes even that doesn't work. At that point I turn it over, it's out of my control.
 
The course is where I try and get away from it all. Some days I do bring my problems to the course but I am getting better about just enjoying the game.
 
For me, it really depends on the distraction. If it is an obligation or responsibility that requires me to accomplish a set goal (e.g., I have a stack of papers that need to be graded, or I have a deadline that needs to be met at work), then clearly those things have to come before golf. However, if I'm just struggling with something in my life (such as relationship issues, family struggles, etc.), I find that playing golf helps me get away from it for a couple of hours and focus on something I enjoy doing. And in fact, that time usually helps me think of something that I didn't before, or see things from a different angle, and that sometimes helps. Of course, as others have suggested, it's all a matter of severity and the individual situation.

Whatever it is, I hope you find some resolution and still manage to spend some time enjoying the game you love.
 
There are distractions, and there are DISTRACTIONS. Sounds like you have the latter. Like most people have said, the golf course is usually a place to settle our nerves, concentrate on something besides life, and escape a bit. But depending on what is eating at us, it isn't always that simple.

I hope whatever is bothering you clears up soon, and you get to enjoy a round of golf again. Hang in there!
 
If the distractions take the fun right out of playing, chill at the house, hit a bar for a couple of beers or whatever gets you some relief.
I've found since I took the game back up, I can actually relax a little & with a potential move looming I need that. It helps me clear my mind & see things in a new light later.
 
Distractions are just life. I try to deal with them promptly and to the best of my ability at the time. Golf isn't my #1priority although I do love it. Good luck.
 
Being on the course is where I forget about the job that I'm not happy with, and the home life that is not perfect.I can breathe a little when I get out in the fresh air and just have a little "me " time.That said,there are times and things that happen that make golf seem trivial.It is important to be able to know what is truly important and to act accordingly.Golf sometimes must take the "back seat" to other things.
 
Wonton said:
Is it just me or when you have something on your mind, you play poorly because it's distracting? Do you stop playing because it's not even worth it?
Playing golf, talking about golf with you guys, reading/studying up on golf are the most fun/important things in my life but I can't seem to grasp around it these days because of this distraction.
Or do you even play more golf to get that feeling back?
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Dude, I don't know what is going on in your life, but if you need to talk hit me up. Maybe a new or different perspective would help. Whatever you want to talk about I am game if you want to chat.

Sent from my Kindle Fire using Tapatalk 2
 
Thanks guys. I appreciate it.
 
I leave life in the car when I hit the course. Only once has life gotten in the way of a round of golf. The year my uncle died and I was the first call from the LA police. I tried to power through the round with friends but was visibly shaken. First and only time I was distracted by life.
 
Playing golf helps me forget about everything else for 4 hours.its my serenity
 
I had to or decided to take a break from the game 6 yrs. ago when i was going thru a divorce and custody battle for my son who was 3 at the time. And to be honest it was the best thing i did . Sometimes life forces you to do things you don't want to do, but in my case I had to my son was more important. Now 6 years later I have had complete custody of my son who is 10 now and have done it by myself. I started playing golf again 2 years ago and went from shooting high 90's low 100's before the break to shooting in the low to mid 80's every time out . I'm chalking up the better golf play from taking a break, clearing my head, and putting more important things in life before my love for golf . But now that i'm back on course every week my love for golf is even more intense than it has ever been and the relationship with my son could not be better .If your troubles are along the line of the big D or anything else please feel free to use me as someone to talk with .

Bobby !
 
I feel your pain, buddy. It's been tough for me to really focus a ton on golf as well. It's cyclical for me. I love the game and am very passionate about it but also have to recognize it as a hobby at times.
 
When I'm stressed I love to golf. Once I get on the course the phone goes off and for a few hours I forget about everything else going on. My scores are never affected by what's going on in my life. It's a great getaway for me.
 
For me, golf is my escape from the stresses of life, so when something is bothering me, I grab my clubs and head to the course or the range.
 
Like others I usually consider golf my escape and source of stress relief. Or as I tell my yoga-obsessed wife "golf is my yoga".

Did have a period after I had recovered from an injury where I felt like I couldn't be asked to get back into it. Just the thought of the work I would have to do to get back to where I was...but once I got going I remembered why I love it.
 
TC said:
Dude, the golf course is the one place where life distractions don't bother me. You must have some heavy stuff going on.
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+1 with all the stuff i see at work and stuff that i keep inside although i know i prob shouldn't, Golf has always been my escape and a place i can release everything and destress. really i think the only times i have ever taken time from the game is when i was playing really really bad and i took 3 weeks off to reset and started my preseason routine again to get my swing fixed. and that was a painful 3 weeks.
 
Here's how it works for me. On Wednesdays, I play horrible. I'm typically rushed just to get out of the office and get to the golf course on time, and I'm usually ticked off about one thing or another that happened at work. So I'm distracted, can't focus, and then I keep asking myself why I even bother playing during the week.

Weekends, I'm relaxed, I sleep in a hair, no work distractions, and I play much better.

So I guess I just keep playing, and I've accepted the fact that I won't play well on Wednesdays.

~Rock
 
I don't know about you guys, but I can't focus on my game when something stressful happens. I think it would depend on the event that caused the stress and severity of it. I was faced with a possible life changing decision earlier this season and I hit the course thinking it would help. Nope, didn't focus on my game at all and just hacked my way through. I could have cared less about the round.
 
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