Love it or hate it, golf remains the greatest game ever played

Isn’t golf a captivating enigma? It is a puzzle, a seductive siren, a fickle mistress. One has golfing moments when the spirit is riding on Mt. Everest, only to be followed by moments in the depths of Death Valley. There are fleeting spells when it seems so simple, so easy, then periods when you are sure it is next to impossible. Have you noticed some unusual phenomena associated with the game? The hole size seems to change depending upon the importance of the putt. The presence of a pro while one is teeing off can turn fluid muscles into stone. Balls disappear that were thought by all to have come to a safe rest. What worked perfectly on the range last evening at 7:30 p.m. just completely disappeared by the next morning at 7:30 a.m. prior to teeing off. Your opponent ball hits a cart path and bounces over the trap on the green, while yours hits one and caroms out of bounds. (just think Sergio Garcia) Play on all the outgoing holes is into the wind, but when you turn around the wind direction changes and you are into it again. After a good warm up of your putting stroke on the practice green you find that it is either twice as fast or twice as slow as the greens actually are on the course. There are guys on the driving range who seldom gets their score under three digits yet still think they can tell you what’s wrong with your swing.

Golf can become a love/hate relationship that can both flatter your ego or break your heart. But in the last analysis, test and trial though it seems, it nevertheless remains a game. A game that if completely fair and only mildly challenging wouldn’t grab you by the throat and say, “Try me again, maybe you will get it.” That’s what makes it the greatest game ever played. Now go out and have fun, even when the game bites you, because games are meant to be enjoyed.

– Gary Wiren