Without question, there are those in this world who cannot see the point of golf. The thought of chasing a little white ball around hundreds of acres of land is the most ridiculous thing they’ve ever heard.
And from their completely superficial viewpoint, you can (sort of) understand where they’re coming from. To the outsider, some things about this game are, well…stupid. Here are five of them I tend to hear over and over again…
1. Golf is stupid because we really do chase a little white ball around. In the very simplest of terms, we golfers hit a ball, walk after said ball, and then hit it again. Taken on its own, I could see how this is mind-boggling to the non-golfer. But we golfers also know there’s so much more to this game than chasing balls. First of all, hitting that ball where you want it to go takes a whole hell-of-a-lot of skill. But beyond this, golf is a very complex and thought-provoking game. And of course there’s the camaraderie aspect of it and the “walk in nature” aspect, etc. Taken collectively, golf is a wonderful game. And speaking of taking a walk in nature…
2. Golf is stupid because you shouldn’t have to pay to take a walk in nature. Again, taken on its own, one shouldn’t have to pay to walk in the woods. But golf courses need to be maintained in order to play the game properly and that maintenance costs money. We golfers will gladly pay a greens fee to putt on a smooth green.
3.Golf is stupid because it wastes valuable space. Golf courses and cemeteries, right? At least according to Al Czervik and apparently many others. Now I will admit there are probably too many golf courses out there – I mean you’re more likely to run across a golf course before a McDonald’s restaurant here in the U.S. But a complete waste of space? Not if people are enjoying themselves. Plus, many courses preserve wildlife habitat and invest and care for those areas far more than they would be if the course was not there.
4. Golf is stupid because of the clothes. OK, it’s hard to argue with this one – when the sport’s primary style is the clothing of choice for retired men everywhere, you might not be on the cutting edge of fashion. But nowadays more athletic gear (and less old man garb) is becoming more popular (and acceptable) on the course – so things are slowly changing for the better.
5. Golf is stupid because most people play even though they’re not any good at it. Guilty as charged. And I should add I’m totally fine with that. Where does it say you have to be great at something in order to love it? And golf is scaleable – the handicap system helps you compete against anyone no matter their skill. And you can even compete against your previous score. There’s so much to appreciate about golf regardless of your level of play.
So with the exception of the clothes we wear, anyone who tells you golf is stupid are they themselves probably a bit, well…stupid. If you don’t fancy golf, that’s cool. But to call it stupid when you don’t fully understand it? Well, let’s just say that leaves more tee-times for the remaining 30+ million folks out there who do.
