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What hooked you on golf?

Discussion in 'Non-Vegas Chat' started by Slotchick, Aug 18, 2014.

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  1. Slotchick

    Slotchick High-Roller

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    I think it's been 17 yrs my DH has wanted to get me golfing, he would take me out now and then and I always thought of it as a "blah" day. He has always golfed and never gave up trying to get me golfing; what a golfer will do to get out more. I'll never forget the day he got me clubs in hopes that I would start golfing, it didn't work they sat in the closet for 8 yrs before I got them out on the course. He would take me to the driving range and we would hit balls, and I think I golfed maybe 5 times up until last year. Being an empty nester I think has something to do with my new found love, time is no longer an issue and maybe we have more patience? :evillaugh

    We went to Mexico for 2 weeks in 2013 and DH had booked 5 tee times; all of which I joined him for. I don't know what it was: was it the tequila? the course? the fabulous people we met? or a combination of everything? Talk about hook, line and sinker; I caught the bug! We weren't even home and I was itching to go out and golf, which in February in BC is a hit or miss pending on rain (possible snow) and crummy wet conditions. That June we joined a club and ever since then pending on weather we are out on the glorious course chasing the little white ball as much as possible.

    What got you hooked on golf?
     
    Last edited: Aug 18, 2014
  2. bubbakitty

    bubbakitty Doing retirement again and happily so....

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    My dad hooked me. He was left-handed but played righty and I am right-handed but play lefty. It was growing up caddying for the weekend and allowances. It was watching the growth of life-long friends and their interactions. It was also:

    1) you had no one to blame but yourself for the outcome

    2) you could always improve but you could never master the game

    3) you could play it when you were "old" (I thought that was into your 50's but that has passed already)

    4) you could thrill yourself with the joys and heartaches of others' game and your own

    5) there is a "system" that lets you play with the "big boys" if you get the proper strokes on the proper holes

    6) the game causes you to look inside yourself for the true fairness and honesty you possess; the game can be mean and the game can be satisfying; but if you ignore the rules for whatever reason you are just playing some other game......

    7) we all could use a little humbling......
     
  3. Snidely

    Snidely VIP Whale

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    There's just nothing like the feeling of a well struck shot that actually goes where you want it to go. Knocking one close from 150 yards out is a beautiful thing. Even making a 10' foot putt is a beautiful thing.

    I've been hoping my wife would take up the game. I see there's still hope.
     
  4. breanna61

    breanna61 Super Moderator

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    Stubbornness got me hooked.....I sucked so bad the first time I played, I just had to get better. To me, it is a game where you compete with yourself to improve. Love the sound of a perfectly hit shot. I also like that I can really stand a chance against my husband (yeah I'm competitive). True, he has more strength, but I'll take my shot straight down the middle over his longer shot into the woods any day. I always tease him when we play that I'm tap, tap, on while he's hunting for his ball. Now the bad days have taught me some very colourful language.
     
  5. Malibugolfer

    Malibugolfer High-Roller

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    When I was younger I played high level competitive sports but as I got older there were much fewer avenues to pursue.
    I have surfed my whole life, many years on Oahu North Shore, and golf came as a natural complement to my involvement with the ocean.
    Both are Zen pursuits, IMHO, wherein one needs to deal every bit as much with their own internal self as the outside elements.
    Like Snidely said, a pure golf shot is a thing of real addictive satisfaction. And challenge.
    I'll be at Bandon Dunes in a few days, 13th year in a row. It is to USA golf what Pipe is to surfing.
     
  6. makikiboy

    makikiboy VIP Whale

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    GOLF AND WHAT IT ALL MEANS


    Golf can best be defined as an endless series of tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle, followed by a good bottle of beer.

    Golf! You hit down to make the ball go up. You swing left and the ball goes right. The lowest score wins, on top of that, the winner buys the drinks.

    Golf is harder than baseball. In Golf, you have to play your foul balls.

    If you find you do not mind playing Golf in the rain, the snow, even during a hurricane, here's a valuable tip ....your life is in trouble.

    Golfers who try to make everything perfect before taking the shot rarely make a perfect shot.

    A 'gimme' can best be defined as an agreement between two golfers ...neither of whom can putt very well.

    An interesting thing about Golf is that no matter how badly you play, it is always possible to get worse.

    Golf's a hard game to figure. One day you'll go out and slice it and shank it, hit into all the traps and miss every green. The next day you go out and for no reason at all you really stink.

    If your best shots are the practice swing and the 'gimme putt', you might wish to reconsider this game.

    Golf is the only sport where the most feared opponent is you.

    Golf is like marriage, If you take yourself too seriously it won't work, and both are expensive.

    The best wood in most amateurs' bags is the pencil.

    SENIOR'S DAY AT THE COURSE

    David Letterman's Top Ten Reasons Why Golf Is Better Than Sex...

    #10... A below par performance is considered damn good.
    #09... You can stop in the middle and have a cheeseburger and a couple of beers.
    #08... It's much easier to find the sweet spot.
    #07... Foursomes are encouraged.
    #06... You can still make money doing it as a senior.
    #05... Three times a day is possible.
    #04... Your partner doesn't hire a lawyer if you play with someone else.
    #03... If you live in Florida , you can do it almost every day.
    #02... You don't have to cuddle with your partner when you're finished.
    And the NUMBER ONE reason why golf is better than sex.....
    #01... When your equipment gets old you can replace it!
     
  7. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    I guess, caddying got me hooked on golf.
    *
    Currently, I have chosen "No more Vegas Trips" until my son gets older.
    So, golf has filled in that gap..........nicely.
    (On weekends) and Vacation days..........instead of Vegas ?.........I go golf.
    And I don't have to travel 11 hours to reach my destination.
     
  8. Jerseyguy

    Jerseyguy MIA

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    I was a lousy bowler and got too old to play softball so golf seemed the way to go.
     
  9. Fafa2e

    Fafa2e High-Roller

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    I'm not sure what really has me hooked, but I enjoy the game and the challenges that it presents. I believe that much like gambling, golf provides those highs and lows. When you put together a few pure shots and sink the birdie put, it's like going on a hot streak at the tables or winning a big jackpot at the slots. When you have those blow-up holes, it's like a losing streak in gambling. Much like gambling, you know that your bad rounds/holes (losing gambling trips/sessions) can be followed by good rounds/holes (winning gambling trips/sessions). Also, I believe that golfers and gamblers both tend to forget about the bad experiences and remember the positive experiences, and it's those positive experiences that keep us coming back for more.
     
    My Longest Trip Ever
  10. Breeze147

    Breeze147 Button Man

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    Golf - A good walk spoiled.

    Mark Twain
     
  11. Joe Strummer

    Joe Strummer VIP Whale

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    "Got too old for softball." +2
     
  12. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    People and places.

    Golf people (mostly) are good people.

    Golf is set (often) in some rather gorgeous spots. Think about it. Some weeks back I was in the Canadian Rockies and this weekend I'll be teeing it up below sea level in California's Sonoran desert. Earlier this year I played a PGA Tour-hosting event in Scottsdale the day after the tourney, another one days before the tourney in Monterey, and the past week I was in Oregon hitting snappies and blocks while looking at the high desert and Cascadian volcanoes. Soon it will be seaside in Los Cabos and mid-Pacific in Hawaii. And that doesn't even include driving four minutes to my home course ho-hum blandly set within the rolling oak hills and vineyards of the central coast or looking at the Channel Islands after driving 40 minutes to Sandpiper. I love the challenge, that (non)feeling of a shot hit pure (as another wisely noted), but be it in the Sierra or down Jacksonville way, it is the aesthetic, the place, that I carry forward long after forgetting the scorecard.

    Hell, back south we sometimes would play this rat-hole 9er set in a flood plain next to a roaring freeway under a disgusting pall of smog and heat -- and we loved it. Green ... kinda. But it was still 50 acres of something other than houses and strip mall and treatment plant and fast food dumps within the urban zoo. So it was special.

    And the peeps make it great, too.
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2014
  13. Bo333

    Bo333 VIP Whale

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    The moment when after hitting 4 bunkers on one hole when your significant other says to you "Did you want to be on the beach or play golf today?".

    Sadly it was not the first or last time she said this to me.
     
  14. ken2v

    ken2v This Space For Rent

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    The needle is one of the best things about the game.
     
  15. klawrey

    klawrey High-Roller

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    Tiger Woods. Period.
     
  16. tipdrill

    tipdrill Low-Roller

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    the discipline it takes to hit a perfect shot.

    Being outside in a beautiful environment.

    The beers don't hurt either!
     
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