Dear Competitive Golf,

Sorry to have to tell you this but I am going to have to take a Rain Check on our relationship. Our relationship used to be fun but of late it has become toxic.

Gone are the days of fun and joy at hitting “good shots ‘. Gone is the joy of camaraderie in the Green Cathedral . The joy has been replaced with dread at seeing my score at the end of each round . I naively thought that by devoting more time to you that I could rediscover the joy , but alas it is not so .            

I am going to move on to a new Golf called social Golf . In this new Golf, no one cares about the score . There are no hours of practicing , Golf lessons or watching endless U Tube videos . There is no forty five minute warm up on the Driving Range before each game , and there is no watching hours of Golf on TV to make me feel inferior .

So, Competitive Golf lets catch up occasionally and remain friends , maybe we will become close again one day .

Yours in Social Golf,

Craig

Dear Golf,

I thought that I would write to share a little of what has been happening for me of late. Firstly, I would like to say that I love the game created in your name. I try to play as often as I can, despite the fact that I sometimes struggle out on the links. It seems that no matter how bad my shots sometimes are I still love to walk the course and do my best. You know, Golf, I think that you are without doubt my favourite pastime.

Personally, I would play every day if I could fit the rest of my life in around the edges of a daily round. I am limited to 5 times a week, however, as some things just won’t squeeze into this format. However, lately the weather has been less than conducive for golf with my home course being closed 9 weeks out of the last four months. Yes, times have been tough with the floods and way too much rain in my neck of the woods.

This LIV golf thing is another smelly situation that the game of golf could do without. Now, I know that what happens at the elite level has Buckley’s to do with me and my golf in clubland. However, the greed and shit fighting over blood money from an autocratic regime gives golf a bad name. Golf is already associated with corrupt powerful figures like US Presidents and odious people like Donald Trump. The game doesn’t need another dose of privileged, overpaid guys playing exhibition matches for hundreds of millions of dollars, whilst the rest of the world struggles with rampant cost of living pressures. They’re gonna give golf a bad name!

My own game is still very much an up and down affair. Some days shooting a good score is a breeze and on others it is a war zone with too many casualties. That’s golf I suppose and why we love it. You can’t count on it and so familiarity don’t breed contempt. We all keep whacking away with them sticks and just hope for a good outcome. One of the ironical anomalies in golf is that the older you get you have more time to play the game but you lose the physical capabilities at the same time on a diminishing scale. Hell’s bells it just aint fair.

Well, Golf great to catch up with you for a chat and to let you know how I feel. I still reckon you are the greatest game known to humankind. My best to you and yours from me and mine.

Cheers,

Scotty