Friday, July 14, 2006

Golf

What could I possibly write about the sport of golf that hasn't already been said, certainly by better and more distinguished writers than I? I guess it doesn't matter what has gone or been written about before when you're standing there at the tee, nervous anticipation trying its very best to break through your hopefully calm exterior as you address the ball. Or in my case, wild terror, and a vain hope that I don't raise up the mother of all divots and damage my club.
Just very recently I had the round of golf that got me hooked on the sport. I've played before, mostly on holiday or other such excursions, but this was the one. The course itself was nothing special, or at least certainly not exceedingly glamourous, being a little nine hole pay-to-play course hidden away on the south coast, but something about the sport finally grabbed me. A pretty little course, I was taken in by the meeting of chilled relaxation and enormous concentration, such harmonious surroundings existing purely as a backdrop to my ultimate goal - a small cup about 180 yards away.
Even when you're strolling around the course away from the pressure of the tee, the normal trappings of life recede into the distance. An aeroplane can occasionally be heard leaving its jet-trail scar across the sky, and the busy nearby A-road generates a vaguely noticeable hum on certain parts of the course, leaving you to ponder the minds of those people driving to and from one busy thing to another, whilst for you the world has stopped turning, at least for a couple of hours.
The dress-code and other rules of this club are modest, but they instil a wonderful behavioural backbone on the other golfers here. As long as you're here to play golf you're a friend of all others present, and there exists an instant friendly camaraderie - an amazing atmosphere that simply makes me lament the passing of so many social rules in normal life. Without being weak, I sometimes feel lost with so much freedom in normal life - I'm sure others do to, and maybe that is part of the attraction of any sport, with its rules in requirement of a fair playing field. Golf just amplifies this by its heritage, its clubhouse expectations and its very nature.
One day I might even be good at it.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

very interesting post Charlie. cant say i'm into golf myself, but i know people who are, and apparently its the one sport where you cannot get better gradually. you suck continually for so long it humbles you, and then for example one day you figure out a small way to move your foot which improves your swing 75%? lol, am i even close? glad to hear you found another hobby though :).

ps- keep writing!!!xxx

Charlie said...

Hmm, I've heard all sorts of conflicting tales about improving at the game - and things like you describe are definitely one of them.
You're right about my hobbies. The problem is, I never seem to stop doing the previous one before finding another - which just means I have so little time left. I'll just have to cut down my work hours hehe.

x