I don't get golf

[BsFaninCGY]

My bad. Didn't realize you were looking for the reason to watching it on TV.

That's easy! Because TV is the ultimate procrastinators tool. Why shovel, fix that broken cupboard, or clean the bathroom when you can watch Sergio, Rory or Phil chase a little round ball around and act like its important. Why watch reality tv, soaps, game shows or eTalk? Because it's on.

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

I knew what golf supporters were going to say -- you can drink while you do it, get outside, etc. It wasn't a thread about explaining why golf is good to someone who has never heard of golf before. I've tried golf -- I've been to a driving range over a half dozen times with people who were teaching me and even played a couple games. It was miserable.

No one has been able to explain the appeal of watching it on TV to me yet though. That was part (in fact the bigger part) of the confusion surrounding it too.

[Dion]

There is one HUGE downside to golf....

Get a hole in one like I did once and you end up with a very expensive bar tab after buying everyone a drink

[Roughneck]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

Not different 'things'. Just golf. I understand why other people like pretty much everything else I hate. Only golf eludes me. Look at the reasons people have listed for it being good:

1. You can drink while you do it
2. It's competitive
3. It's light exercise
4. It's satisfying once you get good at it
5. It's outdoors

There are literally thousands of things you can do that include one, several, or all of those factors without the maddening, non-sensical, pointless frustration of golf.

You're really overlooking #4. Some people actually like the challenge when coupled with all the other reasons, and the satisfaction stems from how maddening and frustrating it can be.

[Bunk]

Originally Posted by Roughneck

You're really overlooking #4. Some people actually like the challenge when coupled with all the other reasons, and the satisfaction stems from how maddening and frustrating it can be.

Absolutely - like many pursuits, the more you put into it, the more you get out of it.

[OutOfTheCube]

Originally Posted by Roughneck

You're really overlooking #4. Some people actually like the challenge when coupled with all the other reasons, and the satisfaction stems from how maddening and frustrating it can be.

This makes sense -- it's the same reason I've never liked a video game like Demon's Souls or Dark Souls. It's not that I don't like being challenged, it's just that I hate being frustrated to the point of anger at something. That's when it stops being fun for me. As long as I'm still having fun and slowly progressing I'll keep at it, but the 'fun' part of the challenge of golf always dissipates for me long before any progression occurs.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Roughneck

You're really overlooking #4. Some people actually like the challenge when coupled with all the other reasons, and the satisfaction stems from how maddening and frustrating it can be.

Without the challenges and ups and downs the game would be boring and people would quit. It's the constant pursuit of goals that you've set for yourself that adds to the challenge of the game.

[OutOfTheCube]

Originally Posted by Dion

There is one HUGE downside to golf....

Get a hole in one like I did once and you end up with a very expensive bar tab after buying everyone a drink

Seems like an odd thing to do lol. Is it a golf tradition? I'd think everyone should be buying YOU a drink!

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

I don't get golf. I just don't get anything about it.

Watching other people do it on television is disastrously boring. I mean, I don't enjoy watching sports like baseball, soccer, tennis, or even NASCAR, but at least I understand the appeal. I have zero understanding of what people find entertaining about watching golf.

Playing golf is similarly perplexing -- it's completely inaccessible, requiring a large amount of skill and practice to be even passably good at it. It's expensive and requires strict scheduling. You can't just goof around and play it anywhere other than the specific places that are meant for it. You spend an inordinate amount of time just walking or driving around or watching other people do it. And it requires good weather, something which is quite scarce around these parts.

And yet, piles of people seem to be obsessed with golf. Play it every possible weekend, watch all the golfers and have golf pools, company events revolving around golf. I just don't get it.

I think your second paragraph answered your first.

I mean why watch the Olympics. I'll never figures skate or ski off a huge jump.

When I golf, which I do a lot, if I have a crappy game, I say, I can do better than that, I'm coming back tomorrow. If I have a great game, I say, I can do better than that, I'm coming back tomorrow.

[Peanut]

Originally Posted by Dion

There is one HUGE downside to golf....

Get a hole in one like I did once and you end up with a very expensive bar tab after buying everyone a drink

I got my hole in one when I was 16, so I escaped that whole bar tab thing.

I love golf but I sadly don't have much time or money for it these days. When I was playing more I watched it on TV a lot too. I played at a pretty competitive level but the pro's are just so incredibly good. I would watch it just to be amazed at their skill, for the most part.

Now I'll try and catch the Master's and the British Open. And maybe the U.S. Open and the Ryder Cup. But that's about it.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

Seems like an odd thing to do lol. Is it a golf tradition? I'd think everyone should be buying YOU a drink!

I wish it was the other way around. When the clubhouse is packed with thirsty golfers you fear the bar tab total. Especially when my late father walked in asking what all the commotion was about. Soon after all his buddies showed up to celebrate.

[DuffMan]

Originally Posted by Dion

You're forgetting something......

Golf and sex are the two things you don't have to be to be good at to enjoy

Plus, you can do them alone.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

I don't get golf. I just don't get anything about it.

I don't get the Harlem Shake.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

That's basically my point though -- you listed eleven of the hundreds and hundreds of things that are also fun and challenging, yet far more accessible, cheaper, easier, and more entertaining. How does one even decide golf will be their thing when almost everything else sounds better?

Hockey, skiing, snowboarding.........there are 3 sports right off the bat that can be as expensive as golf if not more so.

It's like any other hobby or sport, you either like it or you don't. Sometimes it's tough to explain exactly why, just the way it is. Personally I love playing it for the social aspect, getting outside and walking around and getting some fresh air, and it's also very challenging. As another poster already mentioned, once you start getting better and seeing improvement it makes you want to go out even more. And if you have a bad game it makes you want to go out again and redeem yourself. It gets a bit addictive.

[Rerun]

Warning: Never try and teach your wife to golf.

Teaching your wife how to golf is like teaching your wife how to drive a car. Only bad things will come of it.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by OutOfTheCube

This makes sense -- it's the same reason I've never liked a video game like Demon's Souls or Dark Souls. It's not that I don't like being challenged, it's just that I hate being frustrated to the point of anger at something. That's when it stops being fun for me. As long as I'm still having fun and slowly progressing I'll keep at it, but the 'fun' part of the challenge of golf always dissipates for me long before any progression occurs.

Unfortunately, it just sounds like you're not very good and not cut out for it, more than "not getting the appeal". I don't mean that in a rude way, but most people who put in even the little amount of time you say you put in, start to see tangible results that make them enjoy it and want to keep going and get better.

Once you see some results in golf, it becomes a very addictive, awesome game, like others have mentioned. Do you have trouble picking up sports in general, or was this just a golf thing?

Sounds like maybe some anger issues as well. If you have anger issues, golf isn't a good game for you, as you need to be fairly relaxed and confident to play well. My buddy used to break Nintendo controllers when he was younger and had anger issues with video games, then he tried golf and described it pretty much like you, saying it was a ridiculous game and he wasn't getting better. Watching him try, it was easy to see he would get angry too easily and then get uptight and then there was no hope of improvement.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by Rerun

Warning: Never try and teach your wife to golf.

Teaching your wife how to golf is like teaching your wife how to drive a car. Only bad things will come of it.

Women in general don't want their male counterparts telling them what they did wrong on a golf course, hole after hole, shot after shot. Let them have their fun and say absolutley nothing unless they ask you.

I'm not married and play with the female gender all time. The above advice works very well and helps to keep friendships intact

[MrMastodonFarm]

Put ball in hole with stick.

What's there not to get?

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Rerun

Warning: Never try and teach your wife to golf.

Teaching your wife how to golf is like teaching your wife how to drive a car. Only bad things will come of it.

Women, amiright?

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Dion

I'm not married and play with the female gender all time.

[MrMastodonFarm]

M'lady