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What do you get out of Golf?

It is a stress reliever for me. Partially because I can get totally immersed in playing and put everything else behind me, and partially because of the people I play with. Also, there are some people that I consider to be very good friends that I only see at the golf course. Maybe we don't live in the same state, or far across it, but we can get together for golf (usually a THP sponsored event) and it is like no time has passed and fall right back into old routines. Do I want to be a better golfer, sure I do, but it won't kill me if I don't get better and I know it does not matter when I put the tee in the ground with the guys on and off this forum that have become my friends/family.
 
Golf is one of the only competitive sports where you really get to enjoy a walk through nature, even if it is controlled nature. Most other sports you are confined to a highly man made playing area, court, or field, whereas golf is much more fluid in this regard. I also relish the challenges that golf provides for the mind and body. It also allows me to spend quality time with friends and family. It drains my wallet from time to time, sure, but I really think it's worth it to get to connect with nature and your fellow man a little bit more than you do with most other sports.

And with my philosophical musings aside...I really like shiny new stuff!! :banana:
 
As many have said before, golf is my happy place, my escape, my place to think about nothing and clear my mind. I get relaxation, calm, clarity, and some exercise (i normally walk) out of golf.
 
Played team sports my whole life and always picked up every sport relatively quickly. This is the first sport that I havent excelled at almost immediately, so its a big challenge. Also, with my team sports career behind me (29 years old), this is the only competition left in my life. Also its a sport that requires precision. Growing up I was accustomed to being good at sports because I was athletic (big, strong, fast, etc..) however I regularly get beat by smaller, weaker, slower, and less athletic people in golf...I love it, it really motivates me to get better.

Absolutely smashing a FW off the deck and hitting the prettiest little draw is the best feeling in the world. Also, watching a perfectly struck approach shot...as it starts its descent you watch the ball, then the green, then the ball and hold your breathe at the moment you expect impact to occur.
 
I play for the challenge of me against the course and for the camaraderie of being around close friends & family. Being outdoors is a bonus.
 
ShanksaloT said:
Enjoyment - also I get to spend time with my Dad who taught me how to play the game. Outside of that, I enjoy spending time playing with friends, randoms, and at times not really talking to anyone and just enjoying my time outside on a course....its nice to have some "quiet"/alone time when working in sales....95% of the time at work I am on the phone....
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Agreed 100%. Its a connection I feel to my Dad and my Grandad who is no longer with us. I grew up riding in the cart with them every summer when I would visit and I sometimes get that same feeling today. Looking forward to teaching my son the same way!
 
Thanks for all the responses, it is great to hear what makes other golfers love the game.
 
An escape from "real-life", something to work at, something that you can never get perfect at yet always get better, something that instills morals and integrity, something that can apply to everyday life, something to release stress and anger, something that gives the satisfaction of success, something to get a free Coke at the half-way house because you totally destroyed your friend on the front 9.
 
I get to collect my thoughts and recharge. I get to spend time with friends and family, strengthening my bonds. I challenge myself physically and mentally. But most of all I get to enrich my life as my closet friends in the world were met on or around this great game.
 
blugold said:
Me time.

Even if I am golfing with somebody, the time I grab a club, address the ball, am complete my swing I am all by myself and in my own space. I love that.
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This! I enjoy playing a round with friends but there is that little window of time when you're setting up that nothing else really matters, no work or family issues just hitting the ball as perfect as you can and watching it take the flight you pictured in your head. The feeling when you hit a ball pure and you don't even have to look at where its going is what keeps me coming back for more.
 
Playing golf provides me with several cathartic benefits. Perhaps the biggest is the fact that I get out of the house, away from work, arguing kids, etc. and get into nature. I love simply being on a golf course. With 3 kids 6th grade and under, it gives me some very valuable buddy time with guys I've known for years as well as new friends. The camaraderie, trash talk and general joking around is exactly what I need on the weekend. Soon my kids will be playing full rounds with me, but I'll always schedule rounds with my buds. Finally, golf is a never ending challenge. I'll never master it and it always changes. New equipment is always moving the game forward. I'm a pathological researcher and gear geek, so this sport fits my personality like a glove.
 
To me golf is my escape,..my stress relief, I enjoy the challenge and the friendships that it builds. A bad day on the golf course is still a good day with the right people.
 
For me, it is the chance to get away from the stresses of everyday life and unwind. I would love to play more but I have to be realistic and balance home life and finances, so whenever I do make it out onto a course I appreciate it even more. Even when I can't make it to the course, time spent on the range is just as relaxing and I have even discussed THP to try and help spread the word over here as well and grow the family on this side of the water
 
I get time with my wife and other friends. Golf is my wife and my entertainment and recreation and something we enjoy doing together. It's what we'll be doing until we get too old to get out, whenever that will be.
 
So much.

It's such a combination of things that I couldn't even list them by significance. Competition, escape, camaraderie, meeting new people, personal challenge.

I still don't know what I like best about the game. The game itself, equipment, the environment and great visuals?... I do know that I really appreciate the time with my friends. Used to love playing with my Dad but he doesn't play anymore.

Although my son never did take up the game, he went the way of baseball and MMA, some of our best memories are together on the golf course. He'll be heading off to college this fall but I can remember when he was little, his first day driving the cart and his absolute joy, as if it were yesterday. Or when I'd pretend to take off in the cart and he'd laugh hysterically as he chased me down.

After I hung up the cleats and stopped playing football, I needed a competitive outlet. Although I'd played for years, I only became serious about the game at about 32 years old. Having something to replace football means a lot to me. Knowing I can possibly play this game for the rest of my life, means even more.

As for therapy, my wife knows that it's a release for me. Whenever I get stressed, she's the first one to point me toward my golf bag. :smile:

The game is indeed great but it still comes down to people for me, those closest and those I've yet to meet.
 
Like most on here, I have always been a competitor and golf allows me to keep competing against others, the course, par, mother nature, and my own demons; both physical and mental.

I like the camaraderie of old friends.

I like meeting folks (potential old friends) from all over and spending a few hours with them.

The quest of playing different courses has taken me to parts of the country that I would never have seen otherwise and that is good.

Ya meet the nicest people on golf courses.
 
I play for that sense of satisfaction when I hit the perfect shot,thus perfection is the reason why I play the game...but I would not be able to list all the pleasures I get from playing golf! from walking down the fairway on a perfect spring day to spending alone time on the course enjoying the peace and quiet...also I've enjoyed learning applicable life advice and perspectives from older senior golfers that I have played with and hit range balls with... Gotta love the Sages that play golf! :comp:
 
I enjoy the outdoors and the escape, it is the best stress relief. When I am in a round my worries are my next shot not work or other things.
 
High Blood Pressure. That is all.
 
It's an escape, it's a release from stress, it's a way that I get "me" time. And in the last couple years, it's truely where I feel close to God, in a wide open piece of land.
 
its the only real sport that i can play, im not very athletic, and im not into having a ton of crazy restrictions on weight, height or stuff like that, it makes it seem like a "designer" sport that isn't any fun to participate in, but golf gives me that and a n outlet to just get away for a while, and maybe even meet some thper's out on the course someday.
 
I get to make social connections with people that I work with that I probably wouldn't have made otherwise.

I get to strive to make myself better at something, and laugh at myself in the process.

Best of all, I get THP.
 
Golf let's me forgot about everything else for a few hours. It offers unrelenting challenges and good exercise.
 
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