What to you makes golf... Golf

[InternalGolf]

Everbody loves a certain concept about golf.... But what? To me I love the manly or honesty that players play by. I know not all players do but the players I do play with are honest. I love that people don't cheat. Of course f bombs are dropped when a bad hit is hit but you don't cheat. That's what I love.

What do you guys love about golf?

[lamebums]

Getting up at 5 AM on a Saturday to spend the rest of it trying to hit a small ball into an even smaller hole.

There's something about that, it keeps me coming back again and again. Maybe it's the realization that I could do so much better than I currently do, and I could in theory pull off all perfect shots for 18 holes and shoot in the upper 40's for 18 holes, that I keep trying. (I am assuming every par 5 is driven in two, some par 4's are made in one shot, and every other hole is birdied.)

[Hackey Hackerson]

Trying to figure out what I did to hit that "one shot". Everyone has that one shot in their past that either holed-out or stopped so close to the pin that even Phil could make the putt. I play entire rounds to hit that "one shot".

[Shindig]

Golf is the first thing in my life that I've both enjoyed and not been particularly good at (at the beginning). I mentioned this to many people, and I just hear "that's golf."

[Cooker]

I love it because no matter how bad/good you are you can always be better. If you have a bad hole on hole 1, hole 2 is a whole new ball game and a fresh start. Also what other game is practicing just as fun as playing the game? Even if I'm not on the course I can go to my local driving range and practice pretty much every aspect of the game therefore making it very accessible.

[c_mack9]

today i had a 10 on a par 4 and the next hole was a 2 on a par 3...thats golf

[flap]

Just teeing of at 5am and watching the wild life and not hearing the cars or jackhammers thats what golf is all about.And yes the fbombs may abound but THAT IS GOLF

[TheNextBen]

The sportmanship. People in who are competing with each other don't wish for others to fail like in basically all other sports. Well if you're in the clubhouse at -16 under par and the guy in the leaderball is -16 you probably hope he will miss his birdieputt on 18th. But other than that you probably want to win against people when they play the best. In other sports like soccer you will see players making cheapshots and what not to come out on top.

That is what makes golf, golf. And the best sport in the world.

[MountainHip]

Trying to figure out what I did to hit that "one shot". Everyone has that one shot in their past that either holed-out or stopped so close to the pin that even Phil could make the putt. I play entire rounds to hit that "one shot".

Yup .... that's it.

Also the values in golf. You feel like you've done something good. Golf is life. a) wait your turn b) be quiet when it's someone else's turn b) if you do something wrong you are punished c) if you do something right you are rewarded d) honesty e) integrity f) environmental stewardship there must be a list like this somewhere on the internet.........

[fluxcapacitor]

Everything you guys have said is why I play. Couldn't agree more. I'd add the challenge. You're challenging your body and mind, and its you against yourself. Yea you play against people, but for me its all about doing my personal best. And the fact that no one will ever shoot a perfect game. There are just too many variables. Wind, humidity, the sun changing directions of the grass, and on top of that you have to build a swing that is exactly the same everytime. For me its got to be the challenge.

[Jeepthrills]

I love that for one shot, one hole, even a stretch of holes, I can be as good as the best players in the world. There is no other sport where you can do that. Well maybe bowling or darts. Unfortunately it won't last, but I can hit that perfect approach shot or chip in for birdie. I also love the challenge that comes from knowing that the course is going to shoot par every day and that it's my job to try and beat it. I am very competitive in everything I do. However my biggest opponent is myself. i want to beat my best score every time out.

[InternalGolf]

Those are all reasions I totally agree with.

[atrapasuenos]

There is a lot of reason why I love golf... but these two are what makes golf to me.
1.- It makes that I forget of evreything. (School, exams, friends, etc)
2.- For that 3 hours and a half of 4 hours I feel relaxed.

Regards

[Undr Par]

no matter how good you play or how bad you play, Golf for me always provides that challenge of doing better then the last time....

for example, when I was in school and played baseball, if I went 3 for 5, or 3 for 4 whatever, there was room for improvement but not much room, in Golf no matter how well I may have scored weather it was 9holes or 18holes, I know that somewhere out there on the course I left some shots that should/could have been made, and the challenge is the next time to improve on that.....it's always a challenge playing golf, more so against yourself none the less.

great post by the way

[psychosnoman]

To me the best part of golf is when the sun is coming up or going down and you look at the hole ahead of you and right then at that moment its only you and that stretch of grass.

[gbk56]

I like the relaxation and the fact that in order to play well you must be relaxed and the more relaxed you are the better you play. There is just some real sense of peace on the golf course which is usually in very beautiful and natural surroundings. Of course I like the challenge of getting better and amount of creativity you can have with shot selections. Measuring yourself against yourself without worrying about others is also a great stimulus.

[RKO]

The challange. Played sports since I was a kid, and all the way throughout my High School years. I was very competitive, and this game of golf is extremely challenging. Not every shot is the exact same, you battle through different elements (wind, rain etc.), and you have your good days and bad days. For some reason, after a bad day, oddly I keep coming back for more. To me, amongst other things, this is why I choose to golf.

[keiyoz]

didn't know what the fuss was about 10 years ago, as i was still heavily involved in 'traditional' sports such as tennis and soccer

although soccer is still my number 1 love, it is getting harder to organize matches as i get older, and you always need someone to compete against in order to know whether you have improved

golf, on the other hand, is a continuous process of competing against yourself, both physically and mentally. this is what makes me golf :)