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Regrets from Golf?


CoachB25
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12 hours ago, Hardspoon said:

Yep, my main regret is not playing sooner. Didn't set foot on a golf course until the age of 25, and didn't actually start playing regularly until 30 or so.

Second regret is lurking on TST for a year before joining (which led directly to obtaining proper instruction)!

Same with me. But I played maybe once every five years until I was 48. Then I joined a league.

Scott

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Not getting instruction and being dedicated to good golf practice earlier. 

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On 10/9/2016 at 7:54 PM, CoachB25 said:

I was reading a few threads the other night and it occurred to me that my Uncle Bill used to ask me to go golf all the time when I was a teenager.  I lived in a bad place and golf was not a game anyone in my neighborhood played.  So, I didn't go.  We were not close and I am beginning to realize that that was my fault.  I believe now that he was attempting, in his own way, to find something we could do together.  My other Uncles and I played ball or hunted and fished.  I regret that now.  I wish I would have gone and tried to play a round or go to the driving range with Uncle Bill. 

OTOH, you were a teenager at that time. Most teens are looking to do more "exciting" stuff than golf. :-D

At that age, I was generally surfing, skateboarding, BMX, climbing a big wall, hacking my way through ice walls or what not. . .I don't have any real golfing regrets. I feel like it's the right sport for me now along with clay shooting and other old man "sports". :-)

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I retired in April 2015. I had decided to take up golf once I retired, but didn't start until the August, which was only a month before I moved to another part of the country. So why the regret? My best friend back where I lived is a top pro, and whilst he gave me a few lessons before I moved, I could have had loads more if I took up golf a few months earlier. Needless to say, the lessons were free, and so was the use of his very nice course.

In my bag (Motocaddy Light)

Taylormade Burner driver, Taylormade 4 wood, 3 x Ping Karsten Hybrids, 6-SW Ping Karsten irons with reg flex graphite shafts. Odyssey putter, 20 Bridgestone e6 balls, 2 water balls for the 5th hole, loads of tees, 2 golf gloves, a couple of hand warmers, cleaning towel, 5 ball markers, 2 pitch mark repairers, some aspirin, 3 hats, set of waterproofs, an umbrella, a pair of gaiters, 2 pairs of glasses. Christ, it's amazing I can pick the bloody thing up !!

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Three cardinal regrets: First, similar to CoachB25, as a teenager my parents (and thus, I) were Oak Hill members and we lived next to the first green on the East Course, so I could watch blokes like Arnie approach and putt. He once winked at my girlfriend. I could have hopped over the fence and played anytime, but I was more interested in girls, beer, and taking Oak Hill members’ cars for joy rides when I knew they would be tied up for 18 holes.

Secondly, like Valleygolfer, last winter attempting flop shots on hardpan at Streamsong. It ruined my score. Afterward a caddie told me that nobody can hit flop shots on that course, and veterans often use a hybrid around the greens.

Lastly, a week ago, at a local course, a crew was filming a golf commercial for TV, and I suppose because of my snazzy ensemble they asked me if they could film me teeing off for potential use in the commercial. I said sure and then horribly chunked my drive, which is hard to do. “Take another shot,” the producer said. I duck-hooked it into the woods. Enraged, internally, and embarrassed, especially by the disappointed look on the pretty camera-lady’s face, I just walked to the next tee without saying a word or retrieving either ball.  

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I wish i had started taking the game seriously at a younger age. I think i could have had a shot at being a pro if i committed myself to competition as a teenager. I didn't really start playing seriously until after college, though i was always a decent player. I was still shooting in the high 70s-low 80's only playing 2 or 3 times a year. 

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Giving the game up for 10 years. I was a junior member at a fantastic local course, id taken pretty regular lessons with the Club Pro, played for the club in junior fixtures so got to play at lots of other courses in the south of England too. Aged 16  my HCP was 15.

Then I went all teenager; more interested in any girl who so much as looked in my general direction than golf. After losing my membership there I played probably 2-3 times a year at the local shithole municipal. I took the game up again this year. I've made decent progress, but I'll always wonder what caliber of golfer I'd be now if I'd kept at it.

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I wish I would have started playing sooner.  I mostly didn't start sooner because I couldn't afford it though so I don't really consider that a legitimate regret.

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Note: This thread is 2756 days old. We appreciate that you found this thread instead of starting a new one, but if you plan to post here please make sure it's still relevant. If not, please start a new topic. Thank you!

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