Creative Ways to Balance Golf In Real "Life"

[NI4NI]

Finding time to pursue a recreational golf hobby can be a very time-consuming endeavor, especially when juggling the various life "balls" that each of us has on a daily basis (family, career, domestic duties, volunteer work, et al).  Some of us most likely have found more success than others in juggling the golf pursuit, whether due to having a more understanding significant other, being able to successfully link a few of the "balls" together to allow for the pursuit (getting the kids involved with golf), or by simply stealing or begging time away from the family or other obligations in order to have time for golf (vacations during the day while the kids are in school,...).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                What has been your plan of attack to satisfy your golf addiction without dropping the other "balls"?

[NI4NI]

For me, I mainly golf early in the morning during the weekday (~5:30 AM).  I can get in 9 holes (carrying or with a push cart), and be home before my son's bus picks him up for school.  I also take a few weekdays during summer to play in the late morning or early afternoon.  My weekends are busy either coaching or working on the "honey do" list, but I will be golfing a few times during the weekend with friends / family.

There is a very nice nearby course which has a "Nine and Ride" promo for the second year which is pretty cool.  $22 for 9 holes with a cart, and a junior golfer under 14 years old plays for free.  My son and I will do this a few times during his summer school vacation - it's a blast.

As long as I obey the married man's golden rule, I can stay pretty much out of the dog house.  "If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy".

As my boys get older, I plan on golfing more with them - I am very much looking forward to quality time with my boys on the golf course.

[NuclearMike]

For me the balance comes from having a homebound wife who insists that I at least get to the range on just about every day off and the course when I can.  I work too much and had given up the game for a long time because I felt that it was incumbent on me to spend the majority of my time with her once she got sick and needed help with more and more things at home.  About five months ago she suggested, strongly, that I find something to do with some of my time, since she is somewhat stable in her disease progression and with the help of a power wheelchair can get around the house better than she could in the past.  I still don't have much time to play but I'm the first one at the range on every day off.  Hitting over 1000 balls a month is a great way to work out the kinks and to try to recapture what I once had- a decent golf game!  It's been a record-setting hot summer (all-time Houston record of 109, 30 days of 31 in August over 100, etc.) with NO rain, but the heat may be helping rather than hurting.  Getting back into golf has given me a brand new perspective on life and the swinging of the club and the proper body motion (well, maybe not so proper yet) associated with the golf swing is actually helping with my arthritis, which I never thought would happen.  I've also lost 15 pounds!  I'm thinking about changing jobs (I've been at this one for almost 12 years) to one where I'll have better earning potential in fewer hours away from home, so if that pans out I'll be working 40 hours in four days and getting three days off.  THAT will result in more course time than just range time as well as better quality time with my family.  No anecdotes, no funny stories (yet), just a new approach to life and the vision of even better life/work balance ahead.

[NuclearMike]

Decide to stay at my job rather than to move to another company.  I'm taking a week's vacation starting Friday and of course have a lot of stuff to catch up on.  Let's see... driving range on Saturday and Sunday, Transmission repair on Monday, range on Tuesday, course on Wednesday or Thursday, Mom's 80th birthday on Thursday, range on Friday, back to work on Saturday.  Notice how golf takes a priority in my spare time, thanks to my wife's insistence.

Of course, the honey-dos around the house I try to take care of on a consistent basis so there won't be a lot to do except maybe clean the garage and paint the baseboards in the kitchen and laundry room.  This will still leave a lot of time to spend with the family and hopefully just relax with them and worry as little about the job as I can.