Having seen everyone from the best players in the world to weekend club golfers lose their cool on the golf course, I sometimes wonder if golf really is fun for everyone – writes retired tour caddy Sean Russell
Golf is meant to be fun, though you might not think that if you’d seen some of the things I’ve seen and heard over the years.
There was the guy at The Open this summer who looked at his lie, which was admittedly horrendous, and said: “Well… if you’re a [redacted], you’re going to get lies like this.” He definitely wasn’t having fun!
Neither was the guy who hit his second shot into the first hole of a tournament in Spain then spent the walk up to the green telling anyone in earshot how bad he was at golf and that he shouldn’t even be out there in the first place.
Then there was the guy who pleaded: “Get me out of here Sean, I can’t wait to get off this golf course.” Fortunately, we were on the 18th green at the time; he hadn’t noticed.
There was also the player who punched himself full in the face mid-round after missing an easy lay-up.
I could go on, but I think you get the idea that there are tour pros out there who reside in the grey area between genius and insanity. For me, that’s not a fun place to live.
It’s not just tour players though; I see a lot of club golfers who aren’t too far behind, usually borne out of unrealistic expectations.
There’s the 14-handicapper who misses a green with a four-iron, having hit out of a divot on a sidehill lie into a two-club wind, then tomahawks the club. I’m not sure that helps, does it?
If your name isn’t on the front of your bag, you don’t carry a five-iron 203 yards… Ever. If the putter looks like a tuning fork in your hands, you will three-putt sometimes and shouldn’t be expecting to hole everything you look at.
In my experience, an inflated ego is not good for your golf.
All the histrionics don’t make golf fun either – for you, your playing partners or those behind you.
Instead, invest your effort in some lessons, start using your handicap rather than taking on hero shots all the time, and get a move on because taking more than four hours on a flat course every Saturday can’t be much fun for you – and it definitely isn’t fun for those waiting on every shot behind you!
I’ve got lots more ways we can speed up club golf too, but I’ll save those for another day.
So, pack in the histrionics and invest some time into improving so you can actually reach your aspirations, and you’ll enjoy your golf a lot more.
