Is “golf” just another name for “expensive therapy”?

It’s true, golf is exceptionally one of the more expensive sports and hobbies to maintain. First, you’ve got to purchase the equipment. With technology continually improving, it’s wise to stay fairly current with your equipment, at least within seven years. If you’re someone who understands that this game can take up all of your spare time to learn and improve, you’ve got the cost of professional lessons to help speed up the learning curve as well. Then there are range balls, green fees of $50 to $100 or more, GPS gadgets, gloves that wear out quickly, shoes, golf apparel (if you’re a fashion plate), and travel costs from time to time. You could compare it to skiing, I guess. That, too, can be an expensive hobby.

Here’s the bottom line, however. These hobbies are why we work so hard! Sure, we work to provide for ourselves, families, and loved ones. But let’s be honest here! It’s about our need to reconnect with our inner self in a sport that frustrates, eradicates negative thoughts, perpetuates physical and mental excellence, and just plain gets in our blood when we pull off a good shot. Even the worst golfer can hit a great shot or putt once in a while! Does all that expense warrant the cost?

If you think about what is “expensive,” an overworked professional working 60 hours a week — neglecting his wife, kids, and friends in the pursuit of the almighty dollar — is just as bad as one who neglects his or her need to recharge in a setting conducive to making life more fulfilled and enjoyable: spending time in a less structured environment, breathing fresh air, getting exercise, continually improving your hand-eye coordination, and doing it with good friends and — if you’re lucky — your family members. What could be better or healthier than that? Professional therapy comes with a very hefty price tag and doesn’t always work, nor is it always available when you need it.

Golf, on the other hand, is available when ever your time permits and the weather holds. There is the problem of overdoing anything that removes you from taking care of the necessities in life: paying your bills, tending to your family’s personal and temporal needs, etc. Golf can become that mistress just as easily as working too much can. So where’s the happy medium, and should we view playing golf as therapy well spent?

I figure I spend an average of $3,000 to $4,000 a year on golf. That’s more than most but not as much as some. If you play two to three times a year, you really can’t consider golf a hobby, and you more than likely suck at it. But you still have fun, because you’re having a good time with your buds.

If you’re like me, however, it’s much more than that. I look at golf like I look at a cold, clear glass of half-full water. It’s just enough to satisfy my thirst yet never leaves me feeling half-empty. I’ve never had a bad day on the golf course! I’ve had bad days at work, driving in traffic, losing money gambling, breaking up with someone, or getting seriously hurt from an accident, but never a bad day on the golf course! Constructive therapy doesn’t hurt; it cures what ails you. Look at it as a way to grow old gracefully, mentally and physically. It’s a game you can play well into your 70s and 80s.

I have a message for young people who haven’t figured out that it’s more fun experiencing life than digitally imitating it: Get out and play! Get off that couch and start focusing on your mind, body, and spirit in Mother Nature’s best-manicured parks in the world: your nearest golf course. Leave your smartphone home unless it’s performing as your GPS on the course. The apps are usually free, by the way. Take advantage of the discount tee-time sites, and make a commitment to play at least twice a month. You’ll never get better if you don’t practice, so make time for that before your game. Turn practicing into a game in itself. Otherwise, you’ll get bored. It’s like anything of value. It takes time and patience to improve. Enjoy the journey, and appreciate and monitor your scores by establishing a handicap. When you see improvement from year to year, you strive to improve, and that can be very rewarding. Just remember, you’ll never be as good as you want to be. It’s a game of endless improving. One day, you’ll shoot lights out. Next week, it’s like someone else has entered your body and you’re a beginner again looking for answers! No one ever reaches perfection, but that’s why we love the game so much. It teaches us, frustrates us, rewards us, humbles us, and gives back so much more than we can imagine: memories with great friends, time spent with the people you love and care about, and let’s not forget the 19^th hole.

Golf is the perfect therapy at a cost you simply can’t afford not to spend.

See ya on the links.