Why do you play golf?

[Abu3baid]

What is that ONE thing that first inspired you to start playing? What is it that ONE thing that keeps you coming back for more? Name ONE thing that makes you angry about golf?

What inspired me was the company I get to keep while playing.. I was able to hang out with my uncle in the outdoors and do something challenging. The thing that keeps me coming back is the urge to succeed at it.. I want the challenge, it just seems so easy I can't accept that it is just too hard.. I am angry that it is such an expensive sport!

[Ferguson]

Inspiration: Watching Ray Floyd win the 1976 Augusta Masters by an 8 shot margin. I was fascinated by his upright swing and mastery of ball striking. As memory serves he had goofy pants and an exotic looking wife. Keeps me playing: Without any prodding from me, my 11-year old son asked me to teach him to play golf. He broke 100 after 3 rounds, and is currently a 16 handicap. He plays in a league with 15 and 16 years old kids. He is a natural and has a great mind for the game. I love playing with him. He keeps me playing. It’s awesome. Anger: There are many things that make me angry. The foremost is the guy or gal at a resort course that doesn’t understand the 90-degree rule. They leave the GD cart on the path, run out to the ball, look at the ball, then run back to the cart and bring back 6 clubs. That makes me very angry.

[mvmac]

What is that ONE thing that first inspired you to start playing?

What is it that ONE thing that keeps you coming back for more?

Name ONE thing that makes you angry about golf?

- Watching my dad play and hitting the ball in the air when I first started playing.

- Hitting solid shots, nothing else like it. Played last weekend and hit a pure 7 iron on the 10th hole to 5-6 ft above the hole.

- 3-putts.

[billchao]

What is that ONE thing that first inspired you to start playing?

The feeling of a perfectly struck shot. I got lucky and managed one in my first range session. Been hooked, ever since.

What is it that ONE thing that keeps you coming back for more?

That same feeling of a perfectly struck shot. I'm an addict. That, and the unflappable knowledge that, hidden behind my high scores, is an excellent golfer waiting to emerge. Sorry, that was two things.

Name ONE thing that makes you angry about golf?

That excellent golfer is taking way too long to show up.

[cipher]

What is that ONE thing that first inspired you to start playing?

Just the enjoyment I had playing the game from the very first time I tried it.

What is it that ONE thing that keeps you coming back for more?

Trying to have a consistent Key #5

Name ONE thing that makes you angry about golf?

Key# 5

[Lihu]

What is that ONE thing that first inspired you to start playing?

What is it that ONE thing that keeps you coming back for more?

Name ONE thing that makes you angry about golf?

My kids started playing, so I started playing. The main thing that keeps me coming back for more is the incessant urge to do better. A mishit shot feels really bad.

[MrDC]

At first it was the beautiful courses, I find green fields with trees relaxing, I just wanted to be there, and golf is so unintrusive to the nature, just a small hole, can hardly tell it's a place to play something.

But that wasn't enough to really keep me going, I think the solitude is what captured me, even in a group it's man against the course, not man vs man, I really kind of hate playing other sports for this reason, too much bravado and silly machismo, too much contact, too much dude sweat, not for me, I don't even care for match play and never bet, you play your game, this is me.

[jbishop15]

What is that ONE thing that first inspired you to start playing?

What is it that ONE thing that keeps you coming back for more?

Name ONE thing that makes you angry about golf?

- Outdriving our head pro at a clinic when I was nine or ten.

- Unrealistic ambition

- The exclusivity.

[phan52]

My Dad played and belonged to a golf club so I was always around it. Plus looping was my first job, one that I enjoyed and was pretty good at. Unfortunately, the pros I was around then who gave lessons didn't like kids and were indifferent about instructing us. My brother was able to pick up on it instinctively and was pretty good from the start, but I was a hack as a teenager. Golf is not instinctive for me. The second hand blades I was using didn't help either. I didn't really get addicted until my late twenties when I took some lessons, got a decent set of clubs and started to get better.

Family, work, golf. And sometimes I cheat on the order.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferguson

What is that ONE thing that first inspired you to start playing?

Following my Dad when he played with Arnold Palmer in a pro-am. Star struck.

Quote:

What is it that ONE thing that keeps you coming back for more?

The camaraderie. A large portion of my circle of friends is at my golf club. All my siblings play, and most of our kids.

Quote:

Name ONE thing that makes you angry about golf?

It's too expensive.

[jsgolfer]

I probably have one of the weirdest stories for how I picked up golf.

My sophomore year of high school, we had a substitute teacher for the beginning of the year.  First day of class during homeroom, they called over the intercom that anyone interested in the golf team go to the lunch room.  A couple of my buddies were going, so I said, yeah I'm going too, otherwise you needed a hall pass to be out of homeroom.  I went to lunchroom and was talking to friends, the golf coach (who also used to be the basketball coach, he was about 6'8" and my biology teacher), and he comes right up to me and taps me on the shoulder, so Mr. Scott you're playing golf.  Of course I stammered and said yeah (I didn't have clubs or anything and my dad didn't play).  So he talks about playing and then says see everyone the next day to hit into the nets and he's looking right at me.

So I go to my best friends house, whose Dad played lots of golf, he gave me an old bag, balls and mis-matched clubs.  I went and hit balls and the rest is history.  I started as the number 5 man my sophomore, was the number 3 my junior year and rotated between 1 and 2 my last year.

So that is my long story for why I picked up golf.  And it has been a love ever since.

[cedrictheo]

What is that ONE thing that first inspired you to start playing? What is it that ONE thing that keeps you coming back for more? Name ONE thing that makes you angry about golf?

I play for the personal challenge and the beauty of a well designed well manicured course. I come back for more because I know I can get better and am excited to try. Driver OB makes me very angry (dont like the big mistakes, I can handle mishitting a shot but no excuse for going OB)

[rkim291968]

1st 3 steps of golfers anonymous:

We admitted we were powerless over golf—that our lives had become unmanageable.

Came to believe that no power greater than golf could restore us to sanity.

Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of golf god.

[GolfMaineiac26]

For me golf was always one of my favorite sports, just one that was never practical for me growing up which naturally led to being more into baseball, but for me golf is so much more then a sport it is a way to get away from it all and relax, and just enjoy myself. When I get to the course there is always a sense of anticipation and I can't wait to walk to the first tee, I can spend an entire day out on the course. The challenge keeps it interesting as I'm always improving and each par and birdie, or successful shot from a bunker onto the green makes me feel good and every hit into the rough or bogey drives me to do better on the next hole. Some days I'll spend a good 15-30 minutes just talking with other golfers, while relaxing on the clubhouse  deck while having a refreshment before going out onto the course.

+1 If this is you!

[jsgolfer]

For me golf was always one of my favorite sports, just one that was never practical for me growing up which naturally led to being more into baseball, but for me golf is so much more then a sport it is a way to get away from it all and relax, and just enjoy myself. When I get to the course there is always a sense of anticipation and I can't wait to walk to the first tee, I can spend an entire day out on the course. The challenge keeps it interesting as I'm always improving and each par and birdie, or successful shot from a bunker onto the green makes me feel good and every hit into the rough or bogey drives me to do better on the next hole. Some days I'll spend a good 15-30 minutes just talking with other golfers, while relaxing on the clubhouse  deck while having a refreshment before going out onto the course.

+1 If this is you!

GolfMaineac26, where in Orono do you live.  I'm originally from Bangor/Brewer.  My son goes to UMaine.  I used to be a Member at Penobscot Valley and played golf for UMaine.

[GolfMaineiac26]

GolfMaineac26, where in Orono do you live.  I'm originally from Bangor/Brewer.  My son goes to UMaine.  I used to be a Member at Penobscot Valley and played golf for UMaine.

I live right across from UMaine it takes me about 10 minutes to walk to where the Campus Safety/Police building is on Rangeley Road, I've never been to the Penobscot Valley Golf Club but I go by it at least once a month. The course I go to is hidden meadows golf course, you ever played there?

[Strandly]

Excellent reason to get outside and enjoy the summers, hard to master, exercise.

Also like it because being 6'10" and 280 pounds isn't some free, enormous advantage like it is in 99% of other sports.

[eaglevision]

I play for the competitive nature of golf because it's a one man sport and no one to blame but yourself if you lose. You can learn a lot about yourself when you have no one to point the finger at. Plus I wasn't privileged enough as a child to play the sport!

[Patch]

After re-thinking the question, I am pretty sure I don't actually play golf. I am thinking the game of golf plays me. In a most relaxing, entertaining way.