Dave Begel has been playing golf for 51 years. He loves the game, but is now seriously considering hanging up his golf shoes for good. - All four pairs of them. Mr. Begel is an award winning journalist who writes for OnMilwaukee.com, a Milwaukee, WI daily magazine and city guide. - What I was doing reading such a publication, is a mystery to me...I have no connection to the city, other than a appreciation for it's malt beverages...but this morning, there I was, and serendipitously, this headline caught my eye:"To Play, or not to Play? That is the Golfer's Question." - Dave Begel was the author.
Dave has obviously established a close, relationship with his readers, and begins the piece by asking them for advice, "The question," he writes "is whether or not I should give up golf".
He provides the background; how he started playing golf as a teenager 51 years ago, fell in love with it, and enjoyed it for decades... making lifelong golfer friends in the process. - Lately however, he's been feeling that the "zing" is gone, and he ponders the reasons. They are the classics, the ones we cite constantly: difficulty, cost and time. ...And Dave's story demonstrates that just as these factors can discourage a beginner, they can also dampen the enthusiasm of a golf aficionado who's been playing for a half a century. So here's what I want you to do. Drop Dave a line and encourage him to stick with golf. This is your chance to be a golf evangelist. In this absurd economy We're all talking about bringing new players into golf.... But it's just as important to retain the players we've already got.
So if you have a minute, head over to OnMilwaukee.Com and let Dave Begel know he must not give up golf.
...then consider it your good golf deed for the day.
Lone golfer, Strathlene by Lyn MacDonald
At only 28 I feel like my game is still improving so I don't have that issue but do feel like its gotten almost too expensive and because I can only play weekends - much too long.
ReplyDeleteDave should't give up though. If he does he's sure to miss it and maybe get depressed. I'll try to get over and tell him to hang in. ;)
Nobody should ever give up golf. No matter how old you are it can teach you more about yourself than any other game.
ReplyDeleteMr. Begel, I started playing golf after I retired from a very physically active job (wildlife officer). My former wildlife friends invited me to come along so I could see them. I couldn't help but start playing it was so much fun being with them. I was awful, but after some PGA Pro lessons, and daily practice I was a little better.
ReplyDeleteI never missed even one of their golf outings. Dropping everything I was doing to get there. There is just something about golf and being with your friends that is really special.
One thing I quickly learned after only a month of retirement, was that I really needed exercise to be happy and mentally alert. I never was an indoor exerciser, so I had a part-time job loading bags at American Airlines within 2 months of retiring. I still have it, still love it, have just returned from being there 14 hours as I write this note to you.
My point is that your mental outlook goes down without physical activity. You have the additional challenge in WI of the long winter and less exposure to sunlight.
So try to get exposure to sunlight, go practice hitting balls in the winter if there are indoor ranges, and keep thinking of being with your golf buddies this spring. Look at some photos of you and your buddies on the course during these dreary, low light days of winter.
I hope in all my ramblings you find one thing that will motivate you to keep on golfing. It is such a great game.
My buddies make fun of me, as I can always say something positive about any golf shot. Here are some of their favorites:
That's a good angle from there.
Did you see how high that ball bounced off the cart path? Awesome!
Nice lay up!
Boy, the wind got ahold of that one. (We hardly ever have wind)
Now you're on the proper side of the green to chip from.
And finally when all else fails simply: Sweet!
Thanks for the heads up Patricia. I know what Dave needs...SortaGolf
ReplyDeleteI don't think Dave will give up golf. I think he likes it too much. but it's natural with the rising prices and lower incomes to question everything - not just golf. I'll send him a quick note. :o)
ReplyDeleteThis economic crisis will probably make many people question their commitment to the game. Then there are all the executives that won't be able to play for free like they used to. It's going to be a hard time for the courses and golf companies! We do need to bring new players in.
ReplyDeleteWho is he trying to kid? Consider the alternative - NO GOLF!
ReplyDeleteThe first gorgeous spring day? The Saturday morning after watching the Masters on Friday? The day after the party where all of your golf buddies are telling 'current' golf lies? Cabin fever for all twelve months?
Nah, no es posible, senor Dave. Mother Nature will soon enough steal golf from your life, don't let nickles and dimes and other unimportant factors take this away from you. Golf fanaticism is a gift from God. Don't throw it in His face...
There is no hope greater than the blank scorecard, it is like a newborn child fresh to the world. It is without sin and its promise lay beckoning, urging one to the teebox to begin the journey a-new.
ReplyDeleteThere is no greater love than the well-struck shot, nor any love more elusive and confounding. Men may despair of women, and they may me repair to the golf course only to find that a woman is a simple creature to understand compared to the perfectly repeating swing.
There is no greater pleasure than a job well done on a golf course, especially when all are there to see it. The close approach, the perfect bunker shot, the long putt pulled to the hole as if on a string, they are joyous memories, tales to be recounted over and again in the future.
There is no better day spent in an office than a bad day on the golf course. No matter how ugly the snowman on the last hole, no matter how deep in the woods the errant drive scatters, the golf course has fresh air and green grass It's odor is one of the earth, not the noisy photocopier. It's sounds are those of the birds, the clank of ball verus driver, the rattling inside the cup, not the incessant ring of a telephone making demands.
There are no better tools than those in your golf bag, they reveal a truth more telling than any pen, and cut deeper than any sword. These tools reveal, they launch, they steer and they sometimes obey only their own will.
There is no better morning than the springtime day when the tee time is set, the foresome gathering and the calendar marked with the only important matter: 18 holes with friends.
Golf is that part of life we spend others wishing for. It is the freedom to succeed or fail on our own terms. It is the roller coaster of emotion and desire. It is promise, glory, frustration and pain, all played out before our own eyes.
Loving golf is loving life, and as we count down our days left on this mortal coil, the best of them are spent on green fairways, brilliant glistening sand and the undulating carpet of the green. We may spend our last moments here wishing to have just another 18, but we will never wish for another moment in our office.
From reading the obituaries today one can really appreciate how much John Updike was revered.
ReplyDeleteThis was from one in a Romanian paper and I found it funny.
"Though often berated by critics for his seeming obsession with golf and sex, it is his mastery of the English language, its nuances, vagueries and sheer beauty, which brought John Updike millions of admirers."
I loved the "seeming obsession with golf and sex." If you have to be obsessed with something he chose the right things. :)
very beautifully said CB. You seem to be channeling Updike, God rest his sole
ReplyDelete