I first took up golf when I was 50 years old, after my son quit playing competitive sports and I had a lot of time on my hands in the Summer. I quickly became addicted to it. For those who don't know...
(1) Golf is the most frustrating sport any adult can take up, yet it is psychologically addictive. As B.F. Skinner noted in the 1960's, "intermittent reinforcement" is the most psychologically addictive force in human nature. Golf provides "intermittent reinforcement," in the form of the occasional great shot, which even bad golfers sometimes execute, and which brings us all back to the golf course, time after time, trying to re-execute that shot. Which may never happen again.
(2) Striking a golf ball properly with, for example, a 3-iron, is one of the most challenging athletic tasks in the sports universe. It requires that every part of the golfer's anatomy be perfectly aligned, and that a dozen or more separate muscle movements be perfectly timed to strike the ball perfectly with exactly the right part of the clubface. The ball must be struck at exactly the right angle BEFORE any of the clubface touches the ground. yet moving toward the ground when contact is made. Most golfers can essentially never do it.
(3) If you haven't learned how to golf by the time you are 12 years old, the task of becoming a "good" golfer will be a hundred times more difficult than if you learned at the earlier age. The reason is that "muscle memory" pretty much stops occurring as you get older, and if you have to think about hitting a golf ball when you are hitting a golf ball, you will never be good. (You have to be thinking about where you want the ball to go, not the mechanics of your swing).
(4) The fact that golf is so frustratingly difficult has resulted in a multi-billion dollar industry of companies that continually make "better and better" golf products (mainly clubs and balls) that promise to help you hit the ball longer and straighter. And yet even though a lot of this is true - today's drivers hit the ball farther, irons are more "forgiving," and today's balls are much better - the average golf score of the average golfer has not improved a single stroke in the past 60 years.
(5) Essentially all golf instruction is based on a lie. It is based on the ridiculous and provably false premise that if you develop a "perfect swing" that will make you a good golfer. There are simply too many good golfers who have "terrible" swings, and too many bad golfers who have "good" swings for this to be true. Truth be told, it takes most golfers at least a week to recover from a typical golf lesson, which is why most golfers rarely or never take a lesson.
(6) The futility of conventional golf instruction has spawned a cottage industry of unconventional equipment, techniques, gadgets, training aids, books, videos, and even jewelry (magnetic, don't you know), that claim to provide frustrated golfers with the "truth" about golf and so on. "Forget what everybody else tells you about golf and do THIS!" Think, "Natural Golf," "Stack & Tilt," and "the A.J. Bonar System." All of them start with the premise that it is impossible to become a good golfer by taking conventional lessons and using the same equipment or technique that everyone else uses. Then they show you their system or gadget, which makes everything easy. All of them work for a few people - a very few people, but not for most.
The bottom line is that if you didn't learn to golf as a child, you have to learn to accept the fact that you suck, and you are always going to suck. Once you accept that, you can take joy in your good shots, your good holes, and even your good rounds of golf. Once in a while it will all come together and you will shoot a 78 or whatever number represents Nirvanna to you. But in the meantime, you can't be throwing your golf clubs and fretting about every bad shot or "snowman," or terrible round. You have to accept them. You suck. What do you expect?
I will finish with one tangible suggestion: When I'm having a particularly bad round, I stop keeping score in the conventional way, and I start with my own personal scoring system. That system is as follows: I only count the great shots. A good round is an 8 or a 9 - meaning that in those 18 holes I actually hit 8 or 9 good shots. With a score like that, or even a 4 or a 5, I can go home happy, and just remember the couple times I hit great shots in that round. It helps.
(1) Golf is the most frustrating sport any adult can take up, yet it is psychologically addictive. As B.F. Skinner noted in the 1960's, "intermittent reinforcement" is the most psychologically addictive force in human nature. Golf provides "intermittent reinforcement," in the form of the occasional great shot, which even bad golfers sometimes execute, and which brings us all back to the golf course, time after time, trying to re-execute that shot. Which may never happen again.
(2) Striking a golf ball properly with, for example, a 3-iron, is one of the most challenging athletic tasks in the sports universe. It requires that every part of the golfer's anatomy be perfectly aligned, and that a dozen or more separate muscle movements be perfectly timed to strike the ball perfectly with exactly the right part of the clubface. The ball must be struck at exactly the right angle BEFORE any of the clubface touches the ground. yet moving toward the ground when contact is made. Most golfers can essentially never do it.
(3) If you haven't learned how to golf by the time you are 12 years old, the task of becoming a "good" golfer will be a hundred times more difficult than if you learned at the earlier age. The reason is that "muscle memory" pretty much stops occurring as you get older, and if you have to think about hitting a golf ball when you are hitting a golf ball, you will never be good. (You have to be thinking about where you want the ball to go, not the mechanics of your swing).
(4) The fact that golf is so frustratingly difficult has resulted in a multi-billion dollar industry of companies that continually make "better and better" golf products (mainly clubs and balls) that promise to help you hit the ball longer and straighter. And yet even though a lot of this is true - today's drivers hit the ball farther, irons are more "forgiving," and today's balls are much better - the average golf score of the average golfer has not improved a single stroke in the past 60 years.
(5) Essentially all golf instruction is based on a lie. It is based on the ridiculous and provably false premise that if you develop a "perfect swing" that will make you a good golfer. There are simply too many good golfers who have "terrible" swings, and too many bad golfers who have "good" swings for this to be true. Truth be told, it takes most golfers at least a week to recover from a typical golf lesson, which is why most golfers rarely or never take a lesson.
(6) The futility of conventional golf instruction has spawned a cottage industry of unconventional equipment, techniques, gadgets, training aids, books, videos, and even jewelry (magnetic, don't you know), that claim to provide frustrated golfers with the "truth" about golf and so on. "Forget what everybody else tells you about golf and do THIS!" Think, "Natural Golf," "Stack & Tilt," and "the A.J. Bonar System." All of them start with the premise that it is impossible to become a good golfer by taking conventional lessons and using the same equipment or technique that everyone else uses. Then they show you their system or gadget, which makes everything easy. All of them work for a few people - a very few people, but not for most.
The bottom line is that if you didn't learn to golf as a child, you have to learn to accept the fact that you suck, and you are always going to suck. Once you accept that, you can take joy in your good shots, your good holes, and even your good rounds of golf. Once in a while it will all come together and you will shoot a 78 or whatever number represents Nirvanna to you. But in the meantime, you can't be throwing your golf clubs and fretting about every bad shot or "snowman," or terrible round. You have to accept them. You suck. What do you expect?
I will finish with one tangible suggestion: When I'm having a particularly bad round, I stop keeping score in the conventional way, and I start with my own personal scoring system. That system is as follows: I only count the great shots. A good round is an 8 or a 9 - meaning that in those 18 holes I actually hit 8 or 9 good shots. With a score like that, or even a 4 or a 5, I can go home happy, and just remember the couple times I hit great shots in that round. It helps.
