i know there have been a lot of conversations/topics of what got you started in golf, but i don't know that i've ever seen a topic about why you still play the game. so lets here it, why do you still play.

so, i haven't played a whole lot of golf the last year. part of that i contributed to buying a house last summer, as the mortgage put a big dip into my finances for golfing. however today i realized it was more than that. i had an on/off relationship most for 8 years, further back than when i started playing golf and then have spent the last 6 months in a new relationship. that new relationship ended this past week and i've been pretty down in the dumps from it (she liked me, but didn't have that spark - which hurts even more since we had 2 weeks earlier we spent an amazing week in mexico in which i realized i was falling in love with her). today, instead of being sad and staring at my phone hoping she would call or text i decided i needed to get out of the house and i would golf and it was at this point i realized this is why i play golf - to get away from my problems and not feel alone. when i was off with the previous girlfriend i would typically play 4-6 rounds over the weekend (2-3 saturday, and 2-3 sunday) as well as hit the range about 2 times a week. playing golf all weekend pretty much killed the whole day and typically i would be too tired to do anything at night, and i would pass out on the couch. doing this i never thought about the ex that had hurt me or feel depressed that i didn't have anyone.

while this did work for 4-1/2 hours today, i unfortunately realized this is why i end up playing golf and makes me wonder if i actually like golf.

I play golf for the 4 hours that i get away from reality.. it is a place i can go and not have a worry in the world...

keeps me out of trouble...

Yeah, a break from the slog.

Relaxing.

It's always that one great shot, among all the rubbish that gives hope and get me back for more.


Oh yeah, keep it together mate, plenty more fish in the sea.

Good question.

I started playing when I was 11 or so and prefered it over the tennis that I'd played as a kid thanks to a father who was a handy player and had a son with hair like John McEnroe. The appeal of golf for me was that a good friend started playing slightly prior to me, I enjoyed it, and I was lucky enough to be able to join a decent club as a junior where my game developed and I got to play some team and individual golf at club and then county level. In contrast to a lot of people it wasn't something I found impossibly hard at first either, so I quickly found my feet and remained keen. For more over a decade I played representative golf at one level or another and, in my late teens toyed with turning pro and having a bash at earning a living from the game. Sadly, the opportunities to play pro golf weren't what they are now back then and the lure of steady money and a career drew me to a commission in the forces - where I still got to play a fair bit of golf. Golf was always something I did because I was reasonably good at it and enjoyed playing at a competitive level.

Over the last few years my golf has essentially become a hobby and basically something I do with a rota of friends of various standards and a way to unwind by playing a few holes before or after work. Despite always enjoying competitive play, things have dropped off to the point where I no longer play at any representative level and, if I'm honest, I'd struggle to devote enough time to playing and practicing to participate and remain playing at a decent standard. My partner and I also have twin 4-month-olds which have inevitably eaten away at my opportunities to play or practice as I'd like to. Despite starting off with good intentions this year - I resolved to chip away at my handicap and try to grab a spot on my county's team again - things seem to have ended up as per all the pessimistic friends with kids told me they would, and I've had a grand total of 45 holes and about 6 hours' practice in the last month. Not surprisingly my game isn't as sharp as it should be and I'm noticing the difference compared to when I was playing a lot more. I've always been a decent ballstriker and, although I can still string some good holes together and knock out a decent score it's all a bit more streaky than it used to be, and I'm more likely to throw in a poor round or score than I ever was previously when I was playing every day. The good shots are still as good, but they're less frequent. And the bad ones are a lot worse and more common.

I still enjoy the game and I enjoy any chance I get to play but, if I'm honest, my enthusiasm will drop off quick smart if I find I can't play as well as I'd like to. Hopefully it won't happen, and I'll be able to find a bit more time in the future but you never know. Once upon a time I was almost in the habit of sleeping with a tennis raquet in my hand and I haven't even hit a ball in the last couple of years (following hardly any tennis for 15 years or more) with no regrets whatsoever.

I love the game, but golf to me is a bit like singing. It's great if you can do it well, but not much fun if you're not very good at it; and probably better if you don't bother at all. I'm not the best player in the world, but I play to a decent standard and have done for 18 or 19 years, so the prospect of not having the same sharpness isn't something that I relish and it makes it ever easier to find an excuse to do something else at the moment. I know some people are happy to smell the roses and get some fresh air and exercise whilst shooting a modest score but I'm sadly not one of them.

All a bit pessimistic, but I've had a couple of long layoffs from the game owing to health issues in my time and I managed to come back and play decent golf after they were resolved. In fact, I played some of the best golf I've played for years at the start of this year following 4 months without touching a club owing to a back problem. A few weeks of slogging thousands of balls and I was back to normal (or, in fact, probably better than normal) and playing some really solid and consistent stuff. Sadly (or not, if we're honest), the birth of the girls meant golf took a back seat after only a couple of months of lots of decent play and my New Years' Resolution has been clobbered.

Maybe I'll just chuck the clubs in the cupboard and then come back to them when the girls hit nursery school...

p.s to the OP: I reckon Mexico is jinxed. My marriage bought the farm after a holiday in Cancun and I know two other people who had their relationship/engagement respectively go for a burton after visiting the place.

I play golf because i have a need to "conquer" it. Therefore i am doomed and will never stop playing.

Lol why do I play golf . Because the truth is there is nothing else I want to do. I get up every moring thinking about golf my swing my game.

Its been my passion for almost 45 years.

Honestly its not a matter of why I play golf as much as when I get to play again.

Apparently because i'm a masochist. This game drives me nuts, but i do like the time away from the real world.

I had quit for about a year when I got out of college, had the yips and really didnt care. I found a way out of the yips and had a fairly good first tournament back from quiting(i started playing again and it took about 8 months to play in a tournament since i had quit). Since then over the last 3-4 years I have loved the competition and being in the hunt going into the back 9 the last day. I play more when I am playing bad and practice more when I am playing good. This is a goofy game but for some reason i love it.

I play golf becasue it is the only game I know that can be played by ones self. It is a battle between you and the course and for me old man par wins more that it loses. It is a game where you must have you mind totaly on the game and let outside interests or presures go away. It is also the only game that I know that you can judge yourself with the pro's. By that I mean that I know if I hit a great shot say from 150 and stick it next to the pin that just that one shot was hit as good as any pro could do short of holing it.

3 years on I'm at a 9.0 handicap and still improving at a pretty good rate. I always feel like my next round could be my best ever. I'm fascinated by the golf swing. I like to get away from the city. There's a whole lot of individual reasons but really I think it transcends all that.

Playing sports is a manifestation of some kind of primal instinct, that people still have despite living largely sterilized indoor lives. If you don't play some kind of sport, part of you is unfulfilled. Once you've awakened that instinct, it's just a way of life. There is no going back.

Amen.

no one can beat it (except tiger...he can do anything) and for that reason alone i keep playing

Why do I still play?

1. To get away from work and everything else. To think about nothing other than what to do with the next shot.

2. Other sports I participated in (baseball, boxing, ice hockey) I was able to become proficient in quite rapidly. Golf, however, has been a kick in the gonads. I have been truly humbled, and maybe even P'd off. I MUST get to par one day.

3. Breaking 100 first would be paramount to getting to par, of course. I keep coming within 1-3 strokes, but have come up short since I have committed myself to the game almost 5 months ago.

For me, Moe Norman summed it up best:

Golf is happiness.
It's intoxication without the hangover,
it's stimulation without the pills.
It's price is high,
yet its rewards are richer.
Some say it's a boy's pastime,
yet it builds men.
It cleanses the mind,
and rejuvenates the body.
It is these things and many more
for those of us that know it and love it.
Golf is truly happiness.

You can hear him say it at the very end of this ESPN tribute:
link

agreed totally.

for me golf is exactly what it is to everyone else: a time to get away, to enjoy the day, to enjoy company with friends, and to just think about golf and nothing else. golf's a zen-ful experience for me--it's not about start/finish, but rather the process that culminates between these two events that is joyous.

Why? Obsession. i play off 1 and am always striving for the magical scratch.

Bingo.

Trying to break 70, on this quest for a long time, shot 70 twice this year, had my lowest 9 holes ever (31, unfortunately went out in 39).
But when I do break 70, the challenge will change to ??

I'm still playing golf because I found nothing else better to do on the weekends.

earlier this year I played in a group ryder cup style event. I came down 18 on the last day one down, and won the hole to halve the match, and preserve the overall team half for my group. On that last hole as I played in there were 30 people standing over the green waiting for MY match to end, and watching everything we did. I got to succeed in the crucible of sport on display. One of the great feelings of my life.

I am playing a match this upcoming saturday, and the 4 of us have been sending trash talking emails for a week, already. I just cant wait to play this match.

I play golf because I love to compete. I love to pit my skill against someone else's at this game I love so much.

Since i mainly walk golf has become my main form of exersize , due to mounting repercussions of past injuries i cant play hockey or run any longer so the walk is my cardiovascular workout , and i also play because golf is like cheesecake with fresh strawberries it's VERY addicting

I play golf because I need something to do between January and October when I'm not allowed to hunt deer.

Seriously, I have two obsessions: White tail deer hunting and golf. However, when deer season opens I don't think about golf until the season is over.

Wish I could find some cheaper hobbies, but I gave up gambling (other than on the golf course) so I feel like I've done enough.

It's fun and challenging and I fully expect it to continue being so for the rest of my days.

It just has a really good balance of mental and physical aspects to it and if you want it to, the game can you tell you a lot about what type of person you are.

Moe Norman said that? Those are inspired words. I would say that neatly sums up why I play golf.

cuz its fun. Im not trying to break any course records, as long as I break 90 and have good company for the round then Im happy.

I figured that it is something i'm good at and also can only get better, i know that if i fulfilled my dream of being able to teach this wonderful game for; (Hopefully another year)

1) There's no better feeling then nailing it on the first drive,
2) To share the joy that comes with being friends,
3) Playing an absoulutly brillant round and the great feeling's that come from that,
4) To provide a really good income to support my family in doing a job that i love to bit's

I know it sounds soppy, but that's what it means to me.

I enjoy many elements of the game:

1. It give me an escape from all the stresses of life for a few hours. When I am out there, I truly do not think about the world outside of the course
2. The challenge of each shot. Even if you hit a bad shot into the trees or something, you have an opportunity to either try something new, play safe, take a risk, see if you can pull off the only shot you have. Whether you succeed or not, the next shot is yet another opportunity.
3. LOVE the rush of a perfectly struck shot, flying as designed, going where you want, whether a punch out of trees (seems a theme for me), a perfect drive, perfect approach shot, bunker shot, pitch, whatever. It is all the same rush
4. The people you meet (if paired up with people you do not know) or the people you spend time with (if those you already know and spending 4-5 hours with them)
5. Being among grass and trees and water and bushes....whether perfectly manicured and 100% man made or some combination of man made and natural. It is among the greenery and outdoors that I love.
6. The mental stimulation you get by having to put past holes behind you and not think about them, not think about your possible score if playing well, not think too much about mechanics or other things and just the ability to focus. I think you learn a lot that way.