Let’s Go Golfing: 7 Golfers Share Their Love for the Game

There’s something about people strolling over perfectly trimmed green grass with a bag of clubs in tow that screams SUMMER! Every time I drive past a golf course here in Victoria, I think it would be lovely to go golfing there, just to enjoy the beautiful scenery. So to celebrate summer, here are some golfing stories…

Golfing with Dad

Julie says, “Golf for me is a sport jammed with memories. I learned by lugging my father’s clubs around the course when I was little. Gradually he allowed me to begin to play with him. This was a BIG deal for me—somehow I knew I’d hit a mark with my dad. He knew I understood the rules and we really enjoyed our memories made as a family on the course.”

She adds, “My dream destination is in the Caribbean—there are some amazing courses overlooking the ocean which I’d love to venture to one day.”

I’ve been golfing twice. During my first two summers at university, I worked for the training and safety department in my dad’s company. At the end of the summer, the department hosted a Texas scramble tournament. Since I’d never golfed before, I asked my Dad for help. He took me out with a buddy of his to shoot some balls at a driving range and then went to the tournament with me. For me, it’s a fun memory of something Dad wouldn’t usually do but did for me.

Relax with Friends

Jennifer’s husband loves golf because he finds it relaxing—it’s a game that is, in principle, simple but in actuality is very complex. His dream  destination would be taking his dad to play at Pebble Beach. His favourite memory is “the first time I took my wife to the driving range on our honeymoon and teaching her how to swing a club.” (Awwww!)

My brother started golfing a few years ago because he wanted a hobby outside of work (and many of his buddies played).  When he calls me now, he usually has a few stories to tell me about how many balls he dropped in the water trap or which iron he had to use to get a ball down a very long fairway.  He says he often “beats a bucket of balls [at the driving range] before hitting the course” and calls golf “fun but frustrating.”

Sherry, affectionately known to my daughters as “Noah’s Grandma” because her grandson lived near us, says, “Golf, for me, is pure pleasure. It is the only time where time stands still. I don’t think of anything else but what I am doing in that moment. It is a time I get to share with my peers, a time where we enjoy each others’ company and share many a laugh and catch up with our lives.”

Challenge Yourself

Nils has a great description of the game: “Some say golfing is a good walk spoiled; others say it’s a rich person’s country club game; and still others say it isn’t even a sport! While I respect the fact not everyone gets why an otherwise rational person would chase a little white ball for 4 hours, I love to golf. Unlike so many other sports, golf is a game you play against yourself.”

He adds, “While there are many technical aspects to perfecting the golf swing, still a great majority of the battle rests between the ears. It’s in this environment that the game provides the perfect backdrop for virtually any moment in life. Have a bad day at the office or need a break from the stresses of life? Want to enjoy some good company amongst friends or even strangers? Perhaps you’re a small child or maybe you’re a parent or even grandparent—golf is a game you can enjoy for your whole life! People of all ages, abilities, and skills come together on a golf course and share the common goal – how to get the ball into the hole in as few strokes as possible.”

Sherry agrees: “Golf is a game that is one shot at a time and you must be mentally in that state to play it. It is a humbling game and no shot is ever the same. It constantly challenges you in all the right ways. It is a game of honesty and integrity. ”

Dream Golf Destinations

Sherry says, “My dream destination would be the Old Course at St. Andrew’s in Scotland. It is one of the oldest courses in the world, considered by many as the ‘home of golf.’ Players have been playing there since the early 1400s and it is a course I have always wanted to play for the experience of its rich history.”

Nils also listed St. Andrew’s as a dream destination, saying, “Quite simply, it’s the birthplace of golf. Located in Scotland on the North Sea, it is home to the famed Old Course where Old Tom Morris was credited with inventing the modern game of golf in the 1850s. This would be a trip of a lifetime to golf on the same course as every golfing great along the way.

“My second dream course is Pebble Beach located on the Monterey Peninsula along the central Californian coast. Talk about paradise! This course is literally perched on the edge of the ocean, and the vistas are breathtaking (at least from all accounts and as seen on TV). While not boasting nearly the legacy of St. Andrews, Pebble Beach has its own share of history dating back to the 1920s. Some of professional golf’s major moments have occurred on that very course.” 

A friend of mine says he loves golfing because “it’s a patient, peaceful game surrounded by God’s created beauty.” His dream destination is also St. Andrew’s in Scotland and his favourite memory is “playing 36 holes in Kitimat, BC, in the summer time. We played until the sun set at 11:30 pm.” (Wow!)

Are you a golfer?  What do you love about the sport and what’s your dream golf destination?