I used to write a blog for Golf Monthly titled “More than a Game.” It was back in the olden days when blogs were a “new-fangled” thing and nobody had even thought about vlogs and podcasts and other such, more easily spoon-feedable forms of media. Anyway, digression, I’m guilty for that. You can get away with digression in a podcast but not when using the written word. Digression again. Bad Fergus.
My blog covered my life in golf. Not just playing the game, not just the equipment, not just the courses and clubs. My weekly musings dealt with how golf impacted on every element of my life, from my daily timings to how the game affected my relationships within and outside the game, how consumed I was with thoughts of golf and how I found myself relating almost everything to the sport. “Ooh, that wee valley would make for a terrific par-5…” That sort of thing.
Golf has been an intrinsic and vital part of my everyday existence since I first swung a club at the age of four or five and I have no hesitation in saying it has improved my life. It has improved my life in countless ways, teaching me patience, humility, integrity and an acceptance that different people behave quite differently. It’s provided an escape and a release, a way to socialise and to compete, to travel and become a part of something… Basically, there are way more than five ways that golf has improved my life, but these were the five that sprung most readily to mind.
Structure
Golf has provided the backbone to my life. It’s been a constant seam running through my 44 years, there for me to tap into when I’ve needed it. When I was a junior, my club provided a meeting place, a focal point for summer holidays.
I didn’t need to think about where I would go to university. What golfer wouldn’t want to go to St Andrews? I was lucky enough to get in at a time when they would accept anyone with a few standard grades and a good personal statement!
I always have golf and the golf club to turn to when I need to let off steam or get away from the real world. The club also gave me structure when I was persuaded to go onto the committee and then to become captain. I valued the club, and for a while at least (I think) the club valued me. It gave me a great sense of belonging.
Golf has given my life structure, a foundation on which to build, and I am grateful to it for that.
Friendships
I have made some of my very best friends through golf. I’m still heading out for games with kids I used to tee it up with in the junior medals. Nowadays, sometimes, their kids will join in too. I have made great friends playing golf at university, through playing golf matches. But above all, I have made a huge number of friends through working in golf. Those fortunate enough to be a part of the golf industry, or at least to jog alongside it like me, will recognise what a friendly and welcoming community it is. The friends I have made in golf have improved my life immeasurably. Thanks to you all.
Perseverance
The game has taught me the importance of all the virtues I listed in the introduction, but the most important virtue golf has taught me, that I believe has most improved my life, is perseverance. There can be few sports that demand you try, try and try again more than golf.
It’s the most frustrating of games, the most devilish and unpredictable. The tiniest mistake can prove costly but there’s no better feeling than overcoming the obstacles golf throws in your path to return a good score or win a tough match. If you persevere in golf, you will get to enjoy that feeling at least once in a while. I always think that if I can apply that attitude and approach to life, I’ll be in a good position.
Opportunity
Golf opens doors and has done for me. The people you meet through the game come from a huge variety of backgrounds, a plethora of different walks of life. I met people as a junior who gave me advice that sticks with me to this day. I met people later in life who suggested I took a particular path, even assisted me along the route of that path. My first boss after university found out I was a golfer in my final interview, we began discussing the merits of the Vardon grip over the interlocking grip. That one was in the bag!
I have travelled the world because of working in golf. I have met golfing legends, celebrities and politicians, a US President even.
In playing, I have represented my club in matches around the north of Scotland. I have teed it up at some of the great courses of the UK and further afield.
I wouldn’t have done most of these things without golf. It has given me so many opportunities, I can’t even begin to count them.
Health and Fitness
Without golf, I fear both my physical and mental wellbeing wouldn’t be as good as they are (both fairly average, I should add.) The game gives me a reason to stay in shape. I want to be going as well down the 18th as when I teed off. So, I try to stretch, to exercise a little and just keep the old engine room going. Golf in itself is good for that – a five mile walk with 50 odd swings is pretty decent exercise as I rumble on through middle age.
From a mental point of view, golf provides a cathartic release as well as excellent socialising. It offers a chance to chat, to let it all hang out a little. I use golf as a way to share life experiences and realise that others are in similar boats, many are in boats far less buoyant than mine. That puts things in perspective. I often realise just how lucky I am after a day playing golf. As The R&A so aptly puts it – Golf is good for you!
