THE BEAUTIFUL GAME

Media attention to golf, whether it be the written word or televised professional tournaments, concentrates mainly on the performance of apparent supermen (and women these days) who play a game unfamiliar to most of us normal mortals. The reality for most of us is a series of scuffed shots and missed putts, punctuated by the occasional magical iron shot to within a few feet of the hole – the shot that brings us back to the golf course again and again. Or a run of rotten scores suddenly culminating in a wonderful round which seems to have come from nowhere. The truth is that golf is a sport which no-one ever masters completely, a fact which even Messrs. Nicklaus and Woods would concede. This makes every round a fresh adventure, eliminating any possibility of boredom. But even a long run of atrocious golf can have its advantages, opening one’s eyes to the fact that there are far worse things to be doing than playing bad golf. Enjoying fresh air in beautiful surroundings, taking much needed (but not too demanding) excercise while escaping for a few hours from the stresses and strains of modern life, are joys to be treasured, regardless of the quality of one’s golf. As someone once remarked, “My worst round of golf is still better than my best day in the office”! Never-the-less, all golfers will admit that good golf is far more enjoyable than bad golf. So if you’re having a bad run, remember, things could be far worse and that winning round of golf might be just round the corner.

Tags: tournaments