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When you reflect back...?

jpgolf

jpgolf

“JP”
Joined
Sep 28, 2011
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Location
NCarolina
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When you reflect back on your life with golf (from beginning to present)... what may be some memory, insight, or surprise that you see now...?
 
I never forsaw how “hooked” I would be on the game. I actually didn’t start playing until in my early 40’s... and now, for nearly 30 years, golf has been something I have loved, enjoyed, and looked forward to virtually every week. Way back in the ‘90’s I didn’t see it coming.
 
When I started I was 13. I could not wait till I got my drivers license and never had to walk the course again. At 42 walking the course is one my great joys in life.
 
I never foresaw scoring like I do. I’m not a highly skilled player by any means but I do manage plenty of rounds in the low 70’s - something that was unthinkable for me when I started because I had absolutely no natural aptitude or talent whatsoever. I struggled to break 120 and regularly shot in the 130’s. I would never in a million years have guessed I’d have a low handicap.
 
I thought I could become pretty good at the game when I first started. Believed if I put in the work and studied the game I would be better than average. I did not foresee remaining a high capper.
 
DataDude said:
When I started I was 13. I could not wait till I got my drivers license and never had to walk the course again. At 42 walking the course is one my great joys in life.
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Hah. I love how that went full circle for you. =)
 
Reflect back. This is something I do every time I grab a Club. If I hadn't blown my back out during flight to the most amazing/painful 2 rounds of golf in my life (Spyglass Hill and Spanish Bay) what would my game be like today. To feel those times over the ball knowing exactly where and how far it would go without thought. Instead I flounder, knowing my back cannot handle the practice that I so enjoyed and of course needed to have "game" at the level I did.
Oh well, it's still a fantastic game to play.
 
When I was a kid I grew up with an old 9 iron and plastic golf balls (I got a putter for Christmas one year.). I made a mini golf hole out of dirt in the back of our yard. I learned putting using the back of my 9 iron before getting my putter. Since golf wasn’t affordable I never got into it (My dad had clubs but it was too expensive to play much.). My dad would take me to the range and mini course though. Many years later after playing other sports it’s my biggest passion that I play regularly and invest the most in. Pretty funny.
 
The look on my kids face when he banged his first 300 yard drive.... in his first year of golf.
 
Probably how little interest I had in golf growing up and then where I am now. I think the thing that has had the biggest impact on my love for the game was working at a country club. That was the best decision I’ve ever made. Assuming no crazy life changes, I still have a lot years to make new golf memories
 
As much as the equipment/ball have changed I’m thankful that the elation I had heading to the course as a young teenager 45 years ago, has not waned. The smell of fresh mown grass, the satisfaction of a flushed shot, the beauty of being on the course as the sun is rising or setting, the camaraderie and humor of jabs back and forth between old friends. Those are the things that really matter and draw us to the game.
 
My best friends aren’t people I graduated high school or college with - they’re the folks I formed a bond with over golf. I’ve been in their weddings, was there the day some of their kids were born, etc. I’ve actually never thought of that before but it’s pretty awesome.
 
The beauty of the playing field. That's what sets golf apart from other sports. Some of the places I have traveled to to play golf are just breath taking.
 
My memories are the the bonds you make with the people you play with and how much closer it can make people that are already close before. I never really thought about it until my dad passed back in November. Golf was our thing and I have stories, some hilarious, that no one else will ever know. On the course, we were just two guys out there having fun and those memories are some of the best I had with him. The same goes for my best friends in life. People still roll their eyes when I get on a big golf talk, but my favorite people understand because "It's a golf thing."
 
That I still have not had a hole in one. Playing since I was 14 (now 58) and play about 100 rounds a year. Have holed out from 100+ yards at least 4 times, but never an ace. WTF
 
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Falling in love with golf again at Bandon…the wonders of Ireland…the insanely phenomenal Grandaddy experience, thanks to Callaway and THP
 
I saw golf as a time killer. It’s now an escape.
 
Golf was picked up far too late in my life, but I'm extremely thankful that I did. Some other folks have mentioned it, but it's now my escape and something that I thoroughly enjoy doing. From a memory perspective a lot of that is tied to this forum- I don't have a lot of golfing friends locally, so traveling to play is usually for a THP experience.
 
I hated it as a kid, never thought it would turn into my high school sport. Then hated it again in college, ten years off, and now its where I spend all of my free time and free mental space. I never thought I would come back to it and actually like it more now with a passion for the game and the engineering of clubs, courses etc. I have a love of the sport now more beyond playing, I like the concepts of it overall.
 
bull0120 said:
My memories are the the bonds you make with the people you play with and how much closer it can make people that are already close before. I never really thought about it until my dad passed back in November. Golf was our thing and I have stories, some hilarious, that no one else will ever know. On the course, we were just two guys out there having fun and those memories are some of the best I had with him. The same goes for my best friends in life. People still roll their eyes when I get on a big golf talk, but my favorite people understand because "It's a golf thing."
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Can't be truer. Playing with my Son's for 4 plus hours is a joy. No phones (except pics), no Computers, just us talking about anything, cheering when a shot is well hit and jabs at each other when shots don't work out.
 
I get a little sad looking back to when I started playing golf. There were so many more courses to play. It seems like all the courses I grew up playing are now a subdivision. I can think of 7 off the top of my head. I know how difficult it is to run a successful course, but me and my friends had a lot of options 25 years ago.

I don't live in that area anymore, but even in the places I've moved to, you can see old courses from the side of the road.

I know the game is growing, and we are getting lots of new players. Im all for it. I just wished we had more places to play that are affordable and still in decent shape.
 
odom730 said:
I get a little sad looking back to when I started playing golf. There were so many more courses to play. It seems like all the courses I grew up playing are now a subdivision.
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Same here. 4 of the 6 courses I played the most during my first 10 years in the game are now just memories; including the course 2 blocks from my childhood home where I learned to play.
 
That a lot of other sports, hobbies and diversions have come and gone, but golf has stuck with me.
 
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