Why more people don't play golf

You actually have to make an investment in golf before you can do it at all. Take a few other sports as examples. Let's assume you've never done these things before, this is how it would go:

Bowling: Show up with friend, hurl ball down wooden lane. (You'll suck, but you'll have fun and get better as the day goes on)

Tennis: Show up with friend, hit yellow ball over net. (You'll really suck, but you'll get a good workout and have fun)

Volleyball: Show up at beach with friend, hit white ball over net. (You'll have a ton of fun, and probably see some pretty people at the beach)

Soccer: Show up with friend, run until you puke. (Super easy, no brainer sport. You'll have fun until you begin puking)

Golf:

1. How does it work? Somebody must explain the scoring concepts to you, because, let's face it, they are not easy. (Little known fact: bowling didn't really take off until automatic scoring was introduced in the 80's)

2. How does it work again? Somebody has to explain the rules. Because there are a lot, and some are hard to get.

("Wait a second, so if my ball goes out of bounds I have to hit again from the same spot I hit the first shot, but if it goes into a hazard I can hit from where it crossed over into the hazard. And it's marked with red or yellow, sometimes, and I have to take a stroke penalty. And I have 5 minutes to look for my ball, but I don't want to hold up the group behind me, and I let the person behind me hit before going in front of them, and I can't ground my club in blah blah blah blah .... and grounding the club is when...blah blah blah and don't move an object that is blah blah ... but you can move ... blah blah blah!!")

3. Buy/rent/borrow clubs. Somebody must explain why there are different clubs for different purposes. Somebody must explain why they cost so much money.

4. Go to driving range. Several times. Somebody must explain how to swing a club, and how to make contact with the ball, and why it goes in all sorts of directions

5. Go to the putting green. Once. Somebody must explain why this part is so important, because it seems like the only easy part of the whole damn game.

6. Get a tee time. Hopefully you do it at a course and a time when it doesn't matter that you royally suck. Because, you will.

7. Play golf. BADLY. Don't have any fun, because of the frustrating, infuriating, confusing, and complicated nature of the game.

Pray to get to the putting green so you can do the easy part. Pray to get through a round without borrowing balls from your playing partner. Pray for the restraint to not break any clubs. Pray your friend doesn't tell anybody about this.

8. Get in trouble for doing something wrong. Somebody must explain the etiquette of golf, because it's not easy, either.

("OK, this is how it works: Don't play slow, don't spend too much time looking for lost balls, yell "FORE" when you hit your ball close to another golfer, don't move or speak when somebody else is hitting, wait for the person behind you to hit first, furthest from the cup putts first, unless your ball is closer but still off the green, refrain from yelling curse words when you mess up, don't spin donuts in your golf cart, etc etc, and blah blah blah.")

9. Finish a round. Retire to the clubhouse. Have a beer. Complain loudly about golf.

10. Decide if you ever want to do this again.

A lot of people choose not to ever golf again. But at least they can say they tried.

Some people connect, and love it, and golf for the rest of their life.

Once you get past the initial learning curve - the key to having fun at golf is to play good golf. When you play good, you have fun. Period. Golf is an AWESOME SPORT, but only when you feel good about it.

Just to share...Happy Golfing

Nice one bro!

Very true... Alot of my friends pick up golf but gave up because they are not bitten by golf bug

nice one bro ... Golf is such a different sport or game.

I use to be a good bowler during my younger days. I still remember I drove into Malaysia to try out different type of bowling alleys. I roll into the bowling alley with my 4 own bowling balls. Playing 300 is not something impossible at my time ... Now, trying to get HIO seems so difficult

Simple: One round of golf, either the whole morning or afternoon is gone.

Takes too long to complete one round of golf unless one has time to kill or has no home commitments. .. imo

Bro very entertaining read. Have to be bitten before u get the bug!

Not trying to be smart here..... it does not matter if your ball is off green or not, furthest goes first... you could be in a bunker and your partner on the green, if he is further away he goes first... haha guess I just added to your point....


"FORE" when you hit your ball close to another golfer, don't move or speak when somebody else is hitting, wait for the person behind you to hit first, furthest from the cup putts first, unless your ball is closer but still off the green, refrain

Good read, thanks for typing out your thoughts.

One more postmark to add - once you are bitten by the golf bug and start hitting balls at the range and spending an inordinate number of hours at the chipping and putting green, watch out for back/elbow/wrist injuries that can dampen your enthusiasm and shorten your golfing lifespan. Learn the proper techniques and maintain yourself physically, otherwise you will mostly...

Kengnam wrote:

9. ...Have a beer. Complain loudly about golf.

What a well written piece. I enjoyed it.

It's complicated.

There are lots of rules.

Hitting the ball well is a lot more complicated than it seems.

It requires lots of study and practice.

Having the right equipment and tuning it to fit you is important.

It takes time, commitment, diligence and patience.

Progress is hard to attain and easy to lose.

There are lots of different social groups with different culture and approach to the game to join.

Reminds me a lot of my school days, especially...

There is a report card that measures and tracks your progress at every single step.

And those are exactly the reasons why I LOVE this game.

shorthitter wrote:

Not trying to be smart here..... it does not matter if your ball is off green or not, furthest goes first... you could be in a bunker and your partner on the green, if he is further away he goes first... haha guess I just added to your point....


"FORE" when you hit your ball close to another golfer, don't move or speak when somebody else is hitting, wait for the person behind you to hit first, furthest from the cup putts first, unless your ball is closer but still off the green, refrain

Yes, thanks for pointing that out. A common misconception.

hahah very true...

Plus its a game dominated by malesss...

Golfing is also like other sports, why?? by trend, and followers of the sports,
e.g. when Tiger was hot on trial, everyone wants to be like him...especially between
2000 to 2008?

On a typical Saturday golfing at my Club, the crowd was like Pasar Malam, so
crowded, you get to see regular faces weeks after weeks. But nowadays sadly
you dont see them anymore, lots of golfers gave up.

Reasons being:
Play many years no improvement.
Inconvenient to travel so far JB example.
Bad traffic jam.
Too much hassle playimg golf.
Lost interest in golf.
Friends or buddy gave up no transport, too lonely to drive up.
Tiger lost its way so no more Tiger to look forward.
More middle age golfers gave up, got to take care of family.
Cant play well so keep on changing Drivers, iron, buy and sell.
And many more reasons for not playing golf..pleasse continue..

one of the biggest reason some of my frens dropped golf even tho they showed initial strong interest is cos they lack a group of mutual frens who can play together on a regular basis... more so if they are the introvert type who feels shy about playing with total strangers from GR.. LOL

Lee36328 wrote:

What a well written piece. I enjoyed it.

There is a report card that measures and tracks your progress at every single step.

in report card, you mean our handicap?

pippin wrote:

hahah very true...

Plus its a game dominated by malesss...

you mean mostly males with beer tummy and no hair? maybe if golfers look like those young guys carrying (kayak) paddles in the mall, more female will play this game

jeffman88 wrote:

one of the biggest reason some of my frens dropped golf even tho they showed initial strong interest is cos they lack a group of mutual frens who can play together on a regular basis... more so if they are the introvert type who feels shy about playing with total strangers from GR.. LOL

it only takes one range session or one game to get rid of the awkwardness....this is where GR can help. To link up golfers who otherwise would be playing alone.

just find mloy at GR games, she can help intro you to everyone, think she knows everyone...but she no shy one, after shake hand first time, ask for strokes already...dont need to do anything. just agree. resistance is futile.

Well written bro.

I was deeply bitten by golf bug last time... but recently I 'gave up' golf because it just takes up too much of my family time. If I play locally here, I have to get up at 6, and finished by 1 or 2 pm, depending on how fast/slow the pace of the game is. Plus normally I was tired after the game so I took a nap afterwards normally...

If I go Malaysia/Bintan/Batam- whole day.

Not to mention the amount of practice you have to invest, range, short game, putting, sand, plus even the stamina... everything...

So... you need time and commitment for golf.

And now I'm picking up cycling as a new hobby :d

I used to play badminton when I was in pri sch.
In sec sch until uni, I played table tennis to quite a respectable level. Mon to Sat.
On Sun am, I will play soccer with a group of friends.
When started working, I tried bowling, getting my own shoes, ball and spare ball. Then I decided it is just not right to play game in an air con environment.

As I grow older, it is very diff to find just 1 fren to pay either badminton or ping pong....let alone a group to play soccer.

Then I found golf. Oh it is such a wonderful game.
I can play it 365 days a year.
I can play it outdooor on the greens and when it is raining, I can practice at range.
The best part is I can play ALONE

The only downside (besides being $$$) is it takes up too much time to play a game and much more time and effort to MAINTAIN a game

jeffman88 wrote:

one of the biggest reason some of my frens dropped golf even tho they showed initial strong interest is cos they lack a group of mutual frens who can play together on a regular basis... more so if they are the introvert type who feels shy about playing with total strangers from GR.. LOL

Yes, finding kakis with almost similar interest and can click is a real challenge. Some cannot golf on weekend due to family commitment ... Other sport like cycling, tennis, swimming, bowling, etc. do not need a group of at least 3 to play especially for people who can only golf on weekend.

Some people dropped out after they failed to experience any improvement and as a result lost motivation.

skybobo wrote:

I used to play badminton when I was in pri sch.
In sec sch until uni, I played table tennis to quite a respectable level. Mon to Sat.
On Sun am, I will play soccer with a group of friends.
When started working, I tried bowling, getting my own shoes, ball and spare ball. Then I decided it is just not right to play game in an air con environment.

As I grow older, it is very diff to find just 1 fren to pay either badminton or ping pong....let alone a group to play soccer.

Then I found golf. Oh it is such a wonderful game.
I can play it 365 days a year.
I can play it outdooor on the greens and when it is raining, I can practice at range.
The best part is I can play ALONE

The only downside (besides being $$$) is it takes up too much time to play a game and much more time and effort to MAINTAIN a game

Of course it is 'such a wonderful game'...If I can come back 36, I'll also find Golf very wonderful...

swing2sky wrote:

skybobo wrote:

I used to play badminton when I was in pri sch.
In sec sch until uni, I played table tennis to quite a respectable level. Mon to Sat.
On Sun am, I will play soccer with a group of friends.
When started working, I tried bowling, getting my own shoes, ball and spare ball. Then I decided it is just not right to play game in an air con environment.

As I grow older, it is very diff to find just 1 fren to pay either badminton or ping pong....let alone a group to play soccer.

Then I found golf. Oh it is such a wonderful game.
I can play it 365 days a year.
I can play it outdooor on the greens and when it is raining, I can practice at range.
The best part is I can play ALONE

The only downside (besides being $$$) is it takes up too much time to play a game and much more time and effort to MAINTAIN a game

Of course it is 'such a wonderful game'...If I can come back 36, I'll also find Golf very wonderful...

Play white lor, much more easy....if still cannot wear skirt loh @$%R^&^(&(*
U very free izzit

daveaha wrote:

Well written bro.

I was deeply bitten by golf bug last time... but recently I 'gave up' golf because it just takes up too much of my family time. If I play locally here, I have to get up at 6, and finished by 1 or 2 pm, depending on how fast/slow the pace of the game is. Plus normally I was tired after the game so I took a nap afterwards normally...

If I go Malaysia/Bintan/Batam- whole day.

Not to mention the amount of practice you have to invest, range, short game, putting, sand, plus even the stamina... everything...

So... you need time and commitment for golf.

And now I'm picking up cycling as a new hobby :d

Does that means you are not joining us for game liao?

as to comments about it's taking too long to play, it's counter intuitive to the subject. the more people play, the longer the queue during the round.

Unless everybody speeds up their pace

read USGA & PGA initiative to play/tee it forward

http://www.pga.com/pga-america/pga-feature/pga-and-usga-step-new-sets-tees-in-nationwide-tee-it-forward-initiative

Golf is indeed one of the worst games to master.

I have been an active sportsman for more than 20 years, played many games, some on competitive level like basketball, soccer, volleyball, tennis, softball even (no baseball in SG schools), badminton and bowling. I believe I can still play volleyball despite not playing for more than 10 years, or bowling, that I play maybe once a year. Nowadays I count only weekly football, tennis and golf as regular.

However, when it comes to golf, it always baffles me as no sport that I tried is more difficult to master than the golf swing. When I first held the golf club, I ask myself, if I can hit a moving ball, surely a stationary ball will be easier right? But I am so wrong.

Indeed not being able to execute the shots that you will like is very frustrating, especially when my swing is so erratic. Like most games, for example tennis, it's no fun if you cannot even serve, return, volley. Games become very meaningless when you have the idea, cannot execute.

After playing golf for 2 years, on and off, there are times that I really thought of giving up. Still hoping for that "eureka" moment, when I can finally understand the golf swing, and be able to really enjoy the game.