What is good about golf?

[munro41320]

Golf is one of the most technical games in the world. I agree golf requires a lot of investment initially,  it does become enjoyable once you get the hang of it. It is a game of making the right strategy and using your best possible options to achieve your score. It provides a variety of hurdles which you must overcome quite similar to our lives. I gained a lot from golf,  you would too if you start liking it.
AND

What is good about golf?

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Edited June 4, 2019 by Phi for All
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[QuantumT]

You don't have to break a sweat, and you can still call it a sport.

[Strange]

The only game you can win by being below par.

2 minutes ago, QuantumT said:

You don't have to break a sweat, and you can still call it a sport.

It is a bit sad that "wandering slowly around a lawn hitting things with sticks" is back in the Olympics.

[DrP]

22 minutes ago, QuantumT said:

You don't have to break a sweat

Then you probably haven't played the game to any half decent standard or competitively. ;-)

The hardest game I had was 36 holes on a links course in a near hurricane and torrential rain. Over 90% of the field withdrew throughout the day. I ached everywhere afterwards and had so little energy left in me that I had to lie down when I got home and rest (after food).  I won the net prize for playing to somewhere near my handicap - which was a nice big silver plate and a £100 voucher for the pro shop.

 

49 minutes ago, munro41320 said:

What is good about golf

For me it is the visualisation of the shot before hitting it in the preshot routine... then executing that shot exactly as it was visualised in your minds eye. It is a great feeling to actually see the image of the ball going off on the trajectory and shape that you pictured it a few seconds before.

[Strange]

29 minutes ago, DrP said:

For me it is the visualisation of the shot before hitting it in the preshot routine... then executing that shot exactly as it was visualised in your minds eye. It is a great feeling to actually see the image of the ball going off on the trajectory and shape that you pictured it a few seconds before.

Or you could play pool or snooker and avoid the worry about hurricanes.

 

[QuantumT]

38 minutes ago, DrP said:

Then you probably haven't played the game to any half decent standard or competitively. ;-)

The hardest game I had was 36 holes on a links course in a near hurricane and torrential rain. Over 90% of the field withdrew throughout the day. I ached everywhere afterwards and had so little energy left in me that I had to lie down when I got home and rest (after food).  I won the net prize for playing to somewhere near my handicap - which was a nice big silver plate and a £100 voucher for the pro shop.

I knew a hairdresser like that once.

[Phi for All]

3 minutes ago, QuantumT said:

I knew a hairdresser like that once.

You're lucky, mine refuses to cut hair even when it's only raining. 

[Eddie B]

There is also the issue of fitness benefits when playing golf... lots of walking, good back exercise when retrieving those balls, and visual benefits to your eyes  as you constantly train them to watch that small white dot in the distance. 

Not a golfer myself,  but as I use a walking sick to get around, suffer from angina and am somewhat short sighted... perhaps I should have taken it up years ago  .

[Strange]

1 hour ago, Phi for All said:

You're lucky, mine refuses to cut hair even when it's only raining. 

Are you sure you're not confusing your hairdresser with your lawnmower?

1 minute ago, Eddie B said:

There is also the issue of fitness benefits when playing golf... lots of walking, good back exercise when retrieving those balls, and visual benefits to your eyes  as you constantly train them to watch that small white dot in the distance. 

Not a golfer myself,  but as I use a walking sick to get around, suffer from angina and am somewhat short sighted... perhaps I should have taken it up years ago  .

I remember seeing something years ago that all that twisting (and always in the same direction) was not good for the back

[Eddie B]

Yes you could be right, but is not in our nature to sometimes do things that are not good for us, especially if it is something we enjoy. I guess you would have to play a lot of back hand tennis to counter act the affects of golf in that case   . 

[MigL]

If you can be a world class player in your 70s, it CANNOT be a sport.

Or it could be just jealousy...
I used to golf, and had a decent drive, but now I only see with one eye, and have no depth perception.
( my putting is now great )

Edited June 4, 2019 by MigL

[Strange]

12 minutes ago, MigL said:

I used to golf

I haven't come across "to golf" as a verb before. Is that an American or Canadian thing? Or just golfers? Or just the Interwebz?

[Eddie B]

Yes I agree, I too do not consider golf  a "sport"... waste of electricity when tournaments are aired on TV if you ask me. 

As we are both impaired by different physical ailments, an ex golfer and a non golfer... we can conclude there are no fitness benefits. yes ?

[Phi for All]

1 hour ago, Strange said:

Are you sure you're not confusing your hairdresser with your lawnmower?

My hairdresser is confused by the stapler, so you may be right. Still, I wouldn't advise you to mow during a hurricane, especially if you've just had your hair cut. 

Unless you're golfing too.

[zapatos]

2 hours ago, Strange said:

I haven't come across "to golf" as a verb before. Is that an American or Canadian thing? Or just golfers? Or just the Interwebz?

“If swimmers swim and runners run and skiers ski, it follows that golfers golf.” - Lisa Osterheld

 

[koti]

4 hours ago, Strange said:

Or you could play pool or snooker and avoid the worry about hurricanes.

 

Lots of the pool/snooker players I know have various health issues, 3 time polish champion had a spine surgery month apart from mine. "Breaking a sweat" does take different meaning depending on the type of sport, look at all the chess players going nuts. 

[Eddie B]

Mod Strange was correct !.  Statistics from golfsupport .com show lower back problems account for 34% of all injuries. The article also states that an estimated 40,000 golfers a year seek emergency treatment due to injuries from errant golf balls and club heads. Nine fatalities in the US between 2006 - 2016 were related to lightning strikes. And 15,000 injuries a year are reportedly related to collisions with golf carts.

Lots of sites promoting health benefits related to golf, but most of these seem to be supported by various golfing agencies... sounds like a dangerous past-time !

[DrP]

13 hours ago, Strange said:

I remember seeing something years ago that all that twisting (and always in the same direction) was not good for the back

Depends on your swing. Those (like Seve Ballesteros) that had the old fashioned full follow throughs that leave their bodies arched in a high C shape at the end of their swings tended to get back problems later in life. The modern swing is 'quieter' and more compact and does less damage to the back.  

 

[Sensei]

17 hours ago, Strange said:

Or you could play pool or snooker and avoid the worry about hurricanes.

..I prefer chess.. or scrabble.

12 hours ago, koti said:

look at all the chess players going nuts. 

..indeed, if you play chess 14h+ per day, or scrabble 14h+ per day, couple months in a row, the entire night you dream about what movement you should make during day in some round.. Scrabble-pro-players dream about letters they received during day, and what combinations of words they could create from them ("anagram").. At the end of night, you are exhausted like if you played entire 24h..
Enough is enough. There is needed healthy balance between different kinds of activities. Balance between brain-training activities and body-training activities, life and rest.

 

Edited June 5, 2019 by Sensei

[dimreepr]

"What is good about golf?"

Some people like it...

[Strange]

1 hour ago, dimreepr said:

"What is good about golf?"

Some people like it...

Some people like the Transformers movies. That doesn't make them good.

[dimreepr]

6 minutes ago, Strange said:

Some people like the Transformers movies. That doesn't make them good.

Indeed, but some people like them...

[Strange]

On 6/4/2019 at 3:35 PM, munro41320 said:

What is good about golf?

Donald Trump likes it, so it must be really great. The best.

[Phi for All]

37 minutes ago, Strange said:

Donald Trump likes it, so it must be really great. The best.

Now there's a guy who can get a haircut during a hurricane.