Why do people play golf? It takes a lot of time, money and, most of all, anger management. You can hit a perfect shot only to get a bad bounce or have your ball impacted by a sudden gust of wind or have it land in someone’s divot or roll over someone’s unrepaired ball mark on the green. It’s been referred to as “a good walk spoiled” and “a game to be played, but never to be mastered.”
Former PGA pro Craig Stadler once answered a reporter’s question, “Why am I using a new putter? Because the last one didn’t float too well.” His comment, insinuating he tossed his old putter into a pond, is a feeling that we lesser golfers have experienced at some point during a round with almost every club in our bag.
Advocates of the game champion it as a “life sport” but for many hackers it feels more like a life sentence. Yet, I can’t get enough. I’m more passionate about the game of golf than I am about hockey. I’m a borderline addict. Not just playing it, but watching it, reading about it and talking about it. While many folks can’t relate, I absolutely love the live drama of professional golf.
Perhaps my fascination is because I am in awe at what it takes to excel at the game. Just last week I went to hear former LPGA player and current teaching pro Christa Dutton speak at the Athletic Club of the Lowcountry. I took a full page of notes and benefited immediately with a much-improved score the very next day.
Even the casual golfer will admit that the mental aspect of golf is equally important as the physical parts of the game. Accomplished golfers would say it’s a 7,000-yard game played in the 6-inch space between the ears. Former Masters champion Ben Crenshaw once said, “I’m about five inches from being an outstanding golfer. That’s the distance my left ear is from my right.”
The equipment needed to play (14 clubs, a bag, shoes, balls, gloves, clothes and other essentials) can be quite expensive, as can greens fees and cart rentals. Then there are the lessons that most weekend golfers never have because they are either too cheap or too egotistical to admit they need them. Most 18-hole rounds take up at least six hours in travel and playing time, as well as time spent at the 19th hole afterwards. I’ve always believed a lot of marriages would be saved if golf were a 12-hole sport. Let’s face it, if you already golf, you know playing nine holes isn’t enough, but playing 18 can be way too much for some to handle.
“These Guys Are Good!”
Back in 2016, the PGA did a series of TV commercials that showed players making incredible shots followed by the tag line, “These guys are good!” I’ve been fortunate enough to have seen several PGA events in person, including U.S. Opens, PGA Championships, The Masters and the FedEx Cup playoffs. I’ve also seen college golf tournaments at some nice courses and participated in enough golf outings to comprehend just how talented the PGA and LPGA players really are, especially when you realize they get paid based on their performance each week. Talk about pressure.
“Baseball players quit playing and they take up golf. Basketball players quit and take up golf. Football players quit and take up golf. What are we supposed to take up when we quit? – Former golf pro George Archer
My three kids even chose to come to South Carolina for the PGA’s RBC Heritage Golf Classic at Harbour Town on Hilton Head Island instead of the usual weekend in Happy Valley for the Blue-White spring football game. That was a shock for me, as I thought for sure my three Penn State alumni children and double PSU graduate wife would want to be up north for the festivities that we’ve enjoyed all their lives.
The lure was the great weather and the fact that the quality of the RBC Heritage tournament was likely to be outstanding since it was designated an “elevated” tournament. That meant that most of the top golfers on the PGA tour were going to be there since the prize money was significantly enhanced.
We attended the Wednesday practice round and were so impressed with the setup of the tournament. The transportation plan to get the 101,000 fans who attended over the six days of play was outstanding. I prefer attending the practice rounds for PGA events because they are typically less crowded, and you can actually get close to the players and move around a lot easier than the actual competition rounds. It was a magical day watching 2023 Masters champion John Rahm and my favorite player, Scottie Scheffler, up close and personal.
We spent two days in between going to watch the RBC by playing golf at my home courses of Hidden Cypress and Okatie Creek golf clubs. My youngest son, Ryan, who is a 5-handicap player, is a joy to watch when he’s on his game. Ryan played golf at State High and worked at the Penn State Golf Courses during college. He currently works part-time at Belfair, one of the premier golf clubs in the Lowcountry, before he heads off to his real job in Minnesota in a few weeks. Ryan has become the golfer I always dreamed I could be, routinely shooting in the 70s and even carding a few rounds under par in the 60s.
A Golf Addict’s Bonus: A Three-Hole Playoff
We returned to Harbour Town for Sunday’s final round, and it didn’t disappoint. We followed the leaders, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, for the first 10 holes. We then walked over to the strategically important 15th hole, a par-5 that gave the player the option to lay up or try to reach the green in two.
On the ninth hole, Fitzpatrick, the eventual champion, was 10 feet away from us while hitting his approach shot into the green after plunking a spectator in the chest with his drive. Fitzpatrick’s family had vacationed on Hilton Head Island since he was a kid. The average person would not understand the added determination for him to win this tournament he had dreamed of winning since he was 5 years old.
We eventually made our way over to the famed 18th hole at Harbour Town. It’s a beautiful setting along the waters of the Calibogue Sound with boats and even parasailing participants. What a view that must have been while suspended 30 feet above the water. We picked a great spot as the final group came to the 18th hole, where defending champion Spieth and fourth round leader Fitzpatrick finished tied at 17 under par, with Cantlay just one shot back. It took three playoff holes before Fitzpatrick’s childhood dream came true when he hit a shot from 205 yards away to within 6 inches to secure the victory. It was an amazing day with my three kids at a fantastic event.
I have become fascinated by the history of golf and love the fact that I can play the same courses these professionals get to play, although it can be pricey and tough to get tee times. You don’t get to play pick-up baseball in Fenway Park, or a friendly game of two-hand touch football on Lambeau Field, or pick-up basketball at Madison Square Garden.
You can have a bad round going and suddenly chip a shot in or make a long putt on the final hole and you can’t wait to get back. Or you may have a great round going and mess up your final hole and that motivates you to want to return as soon as possible to see if you can finish off a great round. Mac O’Grady once described a typical round of golf in this way: “One minute you’re bleeding. The next minute you’re hemorrhaging. The next minute you’re painting the Mona Lisa.”
When you are asked, “What’s your handicap?” you’re supposed to reply with a number that helps level the playing field and determine strokes you give each other for a match. When I get asked “what’s your handicap?” I usually reply with some pithy response like “my brain” or “my putter,” and very often “my LOFT — lack of talent!” When asked how my round went, I often reply, “Magnificently…average.” I amaze myself at my inconsistency and I am always good for a few “TLC” (temporary loss of coordination) moments every round.
No matter how well or how poorly you play, there is always the 19th hole, where you can quickly forget about your poor performance or recall all your great shots or have a friendly post-match discussion about how if the wind wouldn’t have blown so hard your shot wouldn’t have gone in the water.
There were people who warned my wife that when we moved to the Bluffton/Hilton Head Island area (home to 33 golf courses) that she would soon become a golf widow. That especially seemed inevitable since the first thing we did was buy a golf cart. It’s used daily, but mostly to take our dog to the dog park and to make short trips in our development. I do play twice a week, sometimes three, but not the five to seven times a week that some folks here play. I don’t want to torture myself that much.
My wife is often asked if she plays golf. She chuckles and says, “I can start playing golf anytime and be bad at it. What’s the hurry?” She’s always been the smart one in this marriage. Smart enough not to be driven crazy by golf.
