This past Friday I had the opportunity to attend game three of the Heat vs. Celtics playoff series.  It’s been a while since I’ve been to an NBA game, and even longer since I’ve been to a playoff game.  I forgot how much fun it is.  The intensity of the crowd, the players, and not too mention the game itself.  It’s a great experience and lots of fun.  It’s also something that’s missing from golf.

Now I’ve been to golf tournaments, but never a major.  So I may be a little off in my view here.  However, I have to say, in comparison to even a regular season NBA game, there is simply no comparison. 

Part of the draw for fans to any sporting event is how much fun and how exciting it is going to be while there.  And even though it’s not my favorite sport, a basketball game is where it’s at action-wise.  I love football, but there’s a lot of down-time.  I read somewhere once that, on average, a two-and-a-half hour baseball game has less than ten minutes of actual game play.  So you can see how baseball could be a little too slow moving as well.  But both of these pale in comparison to the “excitement” of a golf match. 

Talk about slow moving. I love the sport of golf, but watching it?  I’ve had people tell me they’re not interested in going to a tournament unless it’s free.  I’ve even had free tickets that people have refused!  If someone hands me tickets to a football, basketball or baseball game…count me in!  And that goes the same for most sports fans I know.  But golf? All of a sudden people have to mow their lawns.  They have some work to do around their house.  Or they have a birthday party to attend.  What’s the deal?

Well, when you take a sporting event at which half the fun of attending is going to the beer tent…you can see the issue here.  The excitement of standing still and being as quiet as possible, while absolutely riveting for some, is mind-numbing for others.  How do you talk someone who’s not really a golf fan into going to a tournament?  “Hey, it’s gonna be great!  Over-priced beer, sub-par food, wander around the course for a while and stand quiet as a church mouse.”  Yeah…good luck. 

I understand why people have to be quiet during the shots.  I also understand that the draw to a golf tournament is seeing the best of the best.  But that doesn’t make me want to attend a professional chess match!  So I guess I can understand why people feel the way they feel about a golf tournament. 

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not one of these people.  I will attend a golf tournament if I have the opportunity to do so.  I like the sport.  I want to see the guys who are the best at it compete.  But I can also understand how people find it dull and unentertaining.  Especially when you compare it to a sport like basketball where there is non-stop action and the only down-time is between quarters and during time-outs.            

So with that being said, I encourage everyone to at least give a tournament a shot if you haven’t before.  I plan on doing this myself in a couple of weeks at the Travelers Championship here in CT.  It’s only about 10 minutes from my house, so how can I pass it up?  Now, I’m just waiting for my boss to pony up a few tickets…    

Swing ’til you’re happy!