Conference 7.286::golf

    It's kinda like beating your head against the wall.  When you stop,
    it feels good.  Thank god for the 19th!
    
    Bob

    What do I get out of golf?  Good question. Yes, I have bent stiff,
    and extra stiff, shafts beyond their bending point and then heaved
    both ends into the pond.  Yes, I have had temper tantrums, and declared
    to never set foot again on the course.  But I have also had the
    distinct pleasure of testing all of my mental and physical faculties
    in a manner not available from any other sport.  Which brings me
    to my central point regarding this topic.  What is the point of
    ANY sport?  Why beat another guy's brains out on the football field
    or the boxing ring?  Why go running up and down a basketball court
    to see which person can throw a ball through a hoop?  Why run your
    legs off in a marathon, only to be totally exhausted at the end,
    and possibly suffer irreversible body damage in the process?  When
    you answer these questions, then you will answer your own question
    about why people play golf.  There are several things about the
    game of golf that separate it from other sports.  Golf can be enjoyed
    throughout one's life, assuming reasonable physical fitness.  Golf
    tests not only the ability to hit long and straight, but also short
    and finess shots.  Every situation requires planning and execution.
     Golf is a game that shows your inner self to all those who are
    around you.  When executed properly, there is no greater feeling
    of accomplishment than a good 18 hole score in golf.
    
    And, you must realize that for every person that you see that is
    cursing, throwing clubs, berating themselves, etc., there are many
    others who simply go out for the physical and mental pleasure of
    golf as a sport.
    
    When someone raises the points that you raised, I cannot help be
    reminded of the golfer who, after a particularly bad and frustrating
    round of golf, enters the locker room, gets a razor and slices both
    wrists.  With arms extended over the lavoratory and bleeding to
    death, one of his buddies comes by and asks if he wants to play
    the following morning.  At that, the golfer quickly crosses his
    arms in front of himself and presses his wrists against each other
    to stop the bleeding and asks "What's our tee time?"
    
    Regards,
    
    Closs
         

    
    And as for me fellow Lynxer's
    
    It's the satisfaction of pi*%ing the wife off two or three times
    a week!
    
    Not really, as mentioned a few notes back.  It may get frustrating
    as some of the scenerios mentioned in 361.  But it's that one great
    drive, the 230 or 250 second shot, the great chip from 80 yards
    to the pin, the 30 foot putt for bird and the 33 beers at the club-
    house telling golf war stories.
    
    I'll keep coming back until I get it right and come homw with the
    "Green jacket".
    
    Bob "Monty" Montville

RE: .0    That was great! You posed questions that 'we' golfers have
          asked ourselves over the years, but have by design, chosen
          to ignore in our quest to shoot a 65 for 18.

          My reason for playing this insidious game? To experience that
          orgasmic feeling of nailing a wood, iron or putt on the screws
          and seeing the ball majestically soar to it's ultimate destin-
          ation, which is either the fairway, green or cup.

          Besides, it beats watching cartoons with the kids on a Saturday
          or Sunday morning.   8^)

-rick

    re:  < Note 361.4 by HBO::BLAISDELL "In a gutter divider" >

�          My reason for playing this insidious game? To experience that
�          orgasmic feeling of nailing a wood, iron or putt on the screws
�          and seeing the ball majestically soar to it's ultimate destin-
�          ation, which is either the fairway, green or cup.

    It's also part of the fantasy of pretending you're Jack Nicklaus trying
    to win the U.S. Open (for the ump-teenth time) and you have to make
    *this* put to do it. :-)

    It's a walk in the "park".
    It's outside.
    It's in nature.
    It's with (usually) good company.
    
    ..........steve
    

      Call it a distraction rather than a game, but the therapy is 
    excellent all the same...
    
      When playing golf I have to concentrate, my worldly worries all
    disipate.

    Rick

    Well, I read the base note yesterday and have been thinking about
    that question. Why do I play golf? Why do I like the game?
    
    I suppose one of the natural answers is because I am pretty good
    at it. Therefore, I keep playing. I like playing many different
    courses to see how each different architect challenges the golfer.
    Each hole is designed to be played a certain way. The game makes
    you think!
    
    Why do I like the game... That's a good question. I like the game
    because it is not a game that you can reach an absolute best in.
    You can constantly get better if you try. Also, you don't have to
    directly beat someone to get better. You are always trying to beat
    the biggest force (mother nature - mother earth). Your score tells
    you that you are getting better and not because you beat Joe.
    
    Another inside reason for liking the game is that I know it pretty
    well and can always use the option of teaching golf if I ever need
    it for a job. It is not difficult to become a teaching pro the catch
    is trying to find a place to teach at once you have gone through
    the PGA school in Florida. Maybe that'll give me an excuse to finally
    move to North Carolina with my fiance.
    
    Mike

    I'm a masochist !!!
    
    

    There is no other sport (and I'm sure we have tried them all) where
    you can handicap yourself against the greatest player in the world
    and have a chance to compete. You can't play tennis with Lendl or
    hit homers with Winfield but you can play Seve with your handicap
    and have a chance (slim, I might add). Also if you ever get a chance
    to play one of the great courses the pros play, you may have hit a career
    shot to the green or reached a par 5 in two and you watch on TV
    as Watson or Nicklaus foul it up bad. This is something you can
    brag about for years with the boys in the bar.
    I have yet to find a more self rewarding sport and  hope I can
    play forever.
    
    This is a great notes file.
    Ken

    
    Yesterday I shot eight on the opening par 5, then seven on par 4,
    then 6 on par 4, then I finally parred the fourth, back to eight
    on par 5.  I stopped at the club house for a beer before the sixth!
    
    On six, par three I hit a 5, par 4 seven was a par and eight was
    a par.  Nine almost got the best of me and had to take a 10 on the
    par three!   And it was HOT! Real HOT!  Why?  Cause there's always
    another hole, another day!  I'm not that good yet and my score proves
    that, but when I consider I've only started this year I really have
    to be happy with it!  What am I saying?  Of course I'm happy to
    be out there but I'll never quit and I really want to keep trying!
    
    I keep saying to myself not to get upset because there's not reason
    to be!  Getting pissed takes energy away from my concetration. 
    If I duff a shot I can always hit it better the next time!  I know
    it!  And if I have a bad day like yesterday there's always tomorrow.
    
    I went to the open and really saw how the game is supposed to be
    played.  I try to be like them and I never pretend to be them. 
    I'm me not Arnold or Jack,  Curtis or Seve.  Dream all you want
    but be alert on the course and concentrate on my game is all I'm
    out there for!  The more I play the more I fall in love with the
    game!

	What do I like about the game?

	- When you are playing well there are few better feelings than
	standing up, visualizing a shot and then executing that same shot.

	- Though I can't play as good as a pro I can hit individual shots
	as good as a pro.  Last week I made a birdie (a relatively rare
	occurance) in two consecutive rounds.

	- Golf challenges you to think.  I enjoy courses where a premium
	is placed on shot making.  Where the architect challenges you to
	figure out how the hole should be played.

	- I like golf because even when you aren't playing against someone
	else you are competing against the course.

	- Golf courses are in some of the most beautiful places around the
	world.

	- I like being outdoors, especially in the early morning or late
	afternoon when there aren't many people on the course.

	- Golf builds character.  Sooner or later you learn that you aren't
	as good as you play on a good day, but you aren't as bad as you
	play on a bad day.

	- Hopefully I'll bhe playing until the day I die.  It's a game
	you can play & enjoy for a life time.

	- Golf is the only game I know where the handicapping system
	allows people of all levels to compete together.

	- You meet a lot of nice people at the golf course.

	These are just a few of the reasons that I like golf.

	Larry

    .12 has most of the reasons I play, or more accurately, I'm obsessed.
    
    One the reasons golf appeals to me is that it's not perfectible,
    while at the same time it SEEMS like it should be easy. It's a lifetime
    game you can improve at forever. 
    
    Physical conditioning and youth may help for the muscle part of
    the game, but experience and self-mastery more than make up for
    lost strength and flexibility as you age. My 76 year old father-in-law
    still plays often, and still learns -- he's been at it for 50 years.
    
    I like the fact that it's the only entirely self-paced ball sport.
    It is not reactive -- you're not hitting a pitch, a serve, catching
    a pass and dunking, etc. You could stand over that ball all day
    planning your shot (theoretically -- some idiots do, too!). You
    choose the club, you make the swing, you put yourself in trouble
    or save yourself. I like that -- there are no external forces to
    blame, only yourself.
    
    I like the seemingly contradictory elements of the game -- you must
    relax to be sharp; slow down to hit far; hit down to hit up, etc.
    It's been a learning experience for me since I started the game
    again four years ago. I've finally realized that shots are not
    connected -- each shot is a totally new event. That sounds trite,
    but think about it. In tennis, every shot flows into the next. If
    you're off balance for one shot, you'll be off balance for the next,
    and worse and worse. In golf, that horrible, sliced tee shot will
    put you in trouble, but when you reach the ball it's an entirely
    new event. So living for the moment, and forgetting trouble and
    mis-hits is the essence of the game. When I get in this frame of
    mind I play well.
    
    I love the fact that I'm starting to master this game, finally.
    In most cases now, I've had a lie like that, made a shot like this,
    or I know the disaster that's waiting if I try something stupid.
    I've accumulated a good database for shots, and in general I do
    the right thing. My confirmation of this is the lowering scores
    I'm posting. It's so objective, so clean. The perfect game for a
    Type A personality.

    			
    
    
    		It maybe a bit cras but I like to think of golf as 
    
    	having sex with a different women every time you go out on
    
    	the course, ( or is that brothel ) basically because its never
    
    	the same. Every game is a different thrill for some reason or
    
    	other even if you play badly you have still had an emotional
    
    	event, just like sex...doesn't that make it sound like you
    
    	have to get out again this weekend.
    
    
    
    	OUT OF THE CLOUDS
    	lfb