Should I Take Golf Seriously?

[Playwhereitlies]

Hey everyone, first post here, I am trying to seek advice on whether I should actually give golf a serious try. I'm 5'11 195lbs, 25 years old and played baseball my entire life. I began working on my golf game about 9 months ago, took a 2 month break in between that time, and have seen my handicap drop from 25+ (high 90s/low 100s) to 7.5 as of recent. I play about 45 holes a week, my club head speed is about 118-122mph and I usually care my driver consistently 288-297. I started working on my short game pretty heavily and now getting up and down is normal, putting still needs a lot of work. I've always been a pretty high caliber athlete as I've played against/with some of the best baseball players of my age. I've always been around golf my entire life but never had any lessons and the only teachings that I've received are from numerous golf social media accounts. It wasn't until 9 months ago I bought some custom fitted irons/driver/woods. I graduated from a top tier university and have an amazing job right now and consider myself at least somewhat successful for my age. I think pretty much every round of golf I play its just with me and a couple other of my buddies but we aren't ever playing serious and are always drinking. I played in my first tournament about 2 months ago and got runner up in my flight which consisted of 10-15 handicap players. My question is, should I cut all the dumb stuff and start taking the game seriously since I found a flash of talent or continue to enjoy it? I have always been a highly competitive person, and pretty disciplined, so what should I do, what are your opinions?

[bkuehn1952]

13 minutes ago, Playwhereitlies said:

... My question is, should I cut all the dumb stuff and start taking the game seriously since I found a flash of talent or continue to enjoy it? 

Just enjoy yourself.

[dennyjones]

29 minutes ago, Playwhereitlies said:

I think pretty much every round of golf I play its just with me and a couple other of my buddies but we aren't ever playing serious and are always drinking.

Welcome to TST.   I believe you have your answer

[mcanadiens]

That's a hell of a first year.

You are 25 and probably not going to get paid to play golf, so, as @bkuehn1952 said, enjoy yourself. 

That said there are plenty of avenues for good amateur golfers to find good competition. Check out your local and state associations. 

Your choice if you drink or not.

[Bo the Golfer]

I guess it depends on what do you mean by taking golf seriously. Quit your job and try to make it as a professional? I would say no. I would suggest starting a swing thread on here and have some of the very qualified people take a look at your swing. You are playing a lot more golf than most are able to so I think with some solid swing advice you can only get better. Good luck!

[Patch]

At this point in mu golf journey, I take my golf game serious enough to continue playing golf. The fun part is a bunus. 

How serious one takes their golf game, really depends on what they want out of it. The lower one wants their handicap, the more serious they need to be about about their focuses on training, and playing to that lower handicap. 

If someone wants to just have fun with the game, then their focus is more on just having fun.  Maybe a little serious focus might be involved to play well while having that fun.  

The OP is hittng close to 300 yards off the tee. If that were me, as youngster, I'd probably get serious enough to see just how far I could take my game.....while still having fun. 

[rehmwa]

51 minutes ago, Playwhereitlies said:

every round of golf I play its just with me and a couple other of my buddies but we aren't ever playing serious and are always drinking

Why in the world would you ruin what looks like a great thing in your life?

[bones75]

Ofc, enjoying yourself is always wonderful as others stated.

But as I'm in my 40s now, that old adage of "it's the journey" strikes true more and more, even as I look back at my times at your age. I drool over thoughts of having more than a few free days/nights a week to focus and progress at something like golf. I for one have regrets not pushing myself more in post school athletics. I competed D1 in college (not golf) and played a lot of sports after, but I now I wish actually competed more and was more dedicated to a sport after school, as opposed to just going out and having fun. And you don't need to necessarily sack the former for the latter either.

You simply won't have time (or the body) to do such a thing when you get older...

[Old Pro]

You can do both, bud. That is just one of the many fine things about golf. You're not going to have competitions every week. Plenty of days to work on you're game & enjoy times with your friends.

Edited April 8, 2019 by Old Pro
Missed letters

[Playwhereitlies]

1 hour ago, bones75 said:

Ofc, enjoying yourself is always wonderful as others stated.

But as I'm in my 40s now, that old adage of "it's the journey" strikes true more and more, even as I look back at my times at your age. I drool over thoughts of having more than a few free days/nights a week to focus and progress at something like golf. I for one have regrets not pushing myself more in post school athletics. I competed D1 in college (not golf) and played a lot of sports after, but I now I wish actually competed more and was more dedicated to a sport after school, as opposed to just going out and having fun. And you don't need to necessarily sack the former for the latter either.

You simply won't have time (or the body) to do such a thing when you get older...

Awesome feeback guys. appreciate it. 

[Buckeyebowman]

Take the game as seriously as you wish! I took it quite seriously for a long time. Then life intervened and I couldn't do that any more. So, I had to throttle back. There are only so many hours in the day, and so many days in the week. If you have the time, go for it! If not, realign your sights. 

[RussUK]

All you need to do is google "Golf Tantrums" and you'll see what sometimes happens when golf is taken too seriously .

You can still play in comps and still have fun but if you prefer to play with your buddies then prioritise golfing them. I'm sure you'll make more memories playing golf with your mates then in comps.

[Yukari]

It's a bit strange you are seeking a career advise from strangers.  You should seek that kind of advise from your parents/coach or someone more close to you and knows you a lot better than from an internet forum.

JMHO.

[krupa]

Define "seriously"?  In other words, what's a "serious" golf goal vs. a "just enjoy it" goal?

[TN94z]

I would enjoy the game and maybe play in some local and state tournaments when you feel like being more serious. If by serious you mean, try to make it on tour, I would say no, in my opinion. It sounds like you love your current job and playing with your buddies, so I wouldn't stray from that at 25.

[p1n9183]

You are not definitevily going to play profesionally and make a living from it. As an amateur take it as serious as you like.
I love to compeete but at the same time i don´t want to be consumed by the sport. So i give golf the amount of time i want to and leave some free time to do other things. I still compete at scratch level but just for fun, no intention to win anything. I leave that to the ones that wants to practice all week long. 

[windlaker]

It sounds like you love your current job and playing with your buddies, so I wouldn't stray from that at 25.

Agreed.

Take it from a 59 year old.  Married, had kids in the house.  Still married, kids are gone.

I'm just now getting to enjoy golfing almost whenever I want.  Loving it.

Keep your real job, and play as often as you can.  Once a wife & kids come along, you probably won't have the time you do now.

[Groucho Valentine]

No. Don't take it seriously. The difference between a 65, 75 or 85 isn't worth taking years off your life for. 

But that doesn't mean you cant dedicate yourself to improving and enjoying there satisfaction that comes with playing good golf.

 I too got into golf from baseball, and if i have any advice there is don't let swing theories or mechanics get too much in the way of your athletic instincts. You obviously know how to hit a ball.