Off the Subject of Golf – or maybe not

You may or may not know that I am interested in a few other subjects unrelated to golf. (I know – call the press). But the truth is that I am interested in what makes people who they are…I am interested in what makes people tick.

I am not talking about what makes people tick from a psychology standpoint – that is too complicated. I am talking about it from a personal standpoint. I like to hear peoples stories. We all have them and every one of them is interesting.

I like to know what motivates people to play golf, go to workout, read the paper or simply what gets them out of bed in the morning.

Why orange juice and not grapefruit juice? Why a Honda and not Toyota? Why California and not Florida? These questions of why we do what we do can be revealing to say the least. Oh, by the way, not only am I interested in why others do what they do, it makes me ask often “Why do I do what I do? Why do I like big dogs better than small ones? Why do I enjoy Starbucks coffee so much when I don’t really like coffee? Why, at times am I extremely motivated and others, I could stay in bed until noon? Sometimes my answer is simply “I have no idea why I do what I do.”

Golf, on the other hand, has always been something that is a part of my life. It has become a part of me. I have been a part of golf for so long, it has become more than what I do, it has become who I am. How did that happen?

What is even more interesting, and maybe a bit disturbing, is that when I was 12 years old, I played more golf than I do now. That doesn’t mean I don’t have the time to play golf now, it is simply that I see the game differently now. I enjoyed the challenge of golf when I was 12, now golf is a challenging business. How times have changed for me. How golf has changed for me.

I still love golf. Every bit of it. But now, after looking at golf from a different perspective where I now look at from others eyes, I see a different game. I see people who play the game for the same reasons I played it years ago – because it does something for them. What is it doing for them? Most people have an answer to why they play golf but usually it is much deeper than what they think.

Some say that when they play golf, they are able to go outdoors. So why not sit on your porch? Some say, that they like the competitive nature of golf. So why not play chess? Some attribute playing the game to having fun yet many, who I watch play, do not have fun when they play.

I have a different perspective on why people play golf – maybe this will resonate with you. I think people play golf because, for all the things we do and the reasons we do them, the game of golf helps you find yourself.

What do I mean by this? When you play golf, even if you think you enjoy being outdoors, you will still play in rain and bad weather. The game makes you deal with adversity and adversity builds strength in character. Your character is who you are.

If you are competitive in golf, you must face your opponent. This means that you must once again confront yourself and your strengths and weaknesses. You must learn how to deal with yourself against your opponent. When you win, you feel victorious and when you lose, you feel defeated. Once again, through competition, golf found a way for you to look at yourself.

You see golf, for those who know it and love it, is a game for self discovery. It brings you closer to yourself. This is what I love about golf and why I do what I do.