Conference 7.286::golf

    Mike,
    		I couldn't have said it any better!!!
    
                                                     Beak

    Gentlemen,
    
      I agree... I cannot hit home runs like Don Mattingly or toss a
    75 yd td like Dan Marino but I can on occasion fly a one iron 220
    yds over trees to the green or play a 100 yd PW right over the stick
    and let the backspin bring it to within 2-3 feet.  I am not a great
    player and on a good day break 85... but the feeling of a  well
    played shot although fleeting is terrific.  On the course I can
    forget the pressures of the office, the mortgage and just enjoy
    it.  It is one of the few sports where mastery is not necessary
    for enjoyment.  It is the only game (besides chess) where there
    are no second chances.... In baseball you get three strikes...
    In tennis you get two faults...In football you get four downs..
    but in our game each shot counts against you and I suppose thats
    why we become addicts and why non players cannot understand our
    obsession.
    
                                               Hit em long n strait
    
                                               Larry
    

	 Very well put. Golf is, I think, the only game in which I can spend
	 two  hours  hating my own guts because nothing works, then suddenly
	 hit  a  shot that Severiano Ballesteros would have been proud of. I
	 may  leave the course hating the game and everything connected with
	 it, then wake up next morning at 5 and want to go out there again.

	 I can  think  of no other game capable of turning four friends into
	 deadly enemies, even if the stake is only a pint of beer - and then
	 forgetting it all over drinks in the 19th.

	 -- Mr Litby

    
    
    
    Golf has got to be one of the funniest games around. Where else
    can you meet somebody for the first time and immediately want to
    rip their tongue out when they are talking during your swing
    preparation. How many of you out there are fed up with poor etiquette?
    
    
    Golf is truly a great game. Where else can a person with no talent
    be rewarded for one lucky shot as in a skins game? There is medal
    play for those real pros, best ball for making friends, and scramble
    for making enemies.
    
    
    I have played for 12 years and have yet to manufacture a swing that
    can be considered graceful. 
    
    Let's here it for the outdoor games, the games of finesse, the games
    of power, invention, and bravery. Wait, I belive there is only one...
    GOLF.
    
    
    
    Eugene in Phoenix

    
                              Golf
    
    The game has touched on all of my emotions, joy, hate, sadness,
    extasy, fustration and I can actually get depressed over poor play.
    I can play a good round and find myself totally content with the
    world no matter what is going on. I can have a bad round and everything
    seems to bother me. That is not good I guess but that's the way
    it is with me. I have met the nicest people and some of the biggest
    jerks in the world on a golf course but I am happy to say I have
    met far more winners than losers out there. I always encourage on
    the course nad like to be encouraged, " let's see a bird " " nice
    shot" " good looking swing." I love to take my time when I play.
    Not so much so I would slow play but i love to absorb the moment
    enjoy each step , be aware, appreciate the fact you are are alive
    and healthy enough to be were you are. I have also noticed over
    the years that golf is in many cases a reflection of a persons
    personality. If they become outwardly angry on the course when things
    don't go well you can be sure that in life they handle adversity
    in the same manner. I try to turn anger into determination it works
    out very well. If you reverse the two you are in serious trouble.
    You can only loose in the game of golf, wether you shoot 72 of 102
    if you get mad and show it, Learn to control your emotions on the
    course and you will learn to control your game. 
    
    The Guru of Lash  
                                                                                            
    

    Re:< Note 81.5 by BTO::HOGANP >

    I agree with you for the most  part,  golf  has  giving me more great
    times than bad, and I would like my  best half to ask me what I enjoy
    more, golf or sex.
    
    But  I  think  that  letting  your  pressure  out sometimes  is  more
    beneficial  than  harmful, as far as you don't do any  stupid  things
    like throwing clubs, but a good swear when things don't go  your word
    can  release  some  tension and change your mindset to try to correct
    whatever  is going wrong.  Again, no stupid things, I have seen jerks
    breaking clubs against trees after a bad shot.
    
    Tavo

    Yow, I've read a lot of people in here comparing golf to sex.  Now
    as crazy as I am about golf I still have my priorities.  If I had
    to choose from 3 hours of great golf or 20 minutes of good sex I'd
    probably go golfing but if we evened it up and I had to choose between
    3 hours or great golf and 3 hours of great sex, they'd be no choice.
    Golf could wait until the next day or next weekend.
    
    Pam

    
    RE .6
    
    You make a valid point my friend. When I read you reply I pictured
    myself hooking a seven iron into the water after telling myself,"be
    sure to play this away from trouble." I did feel better when I let
    out with @#%# and gave my clud a suttle thump to the ground. Then
    I noticed what a beautiful pond it was. Some people see the pond
    as a hazard. I see the pond as a pond, I am the hazard.
    
    The Lasher  

    I remember one day last winter I played at Denis Pines on the cape
    and on the 16th or 17th I found out the men I were playing with
    were 73, 76, and 81 years old! They attributed their longevity partly
    to golf and the exercise and the release of tensions, emotional
    and physical that golf allowed them. I just hope that I make it that
    far.  Golf has taught me that, like life, you must accept the rub
    of the green and try to take advantage of the good luck and minimize
    the effects of the poor luck.
    One more thing, sex before, between nines and afterwards would be 
    Utopia!!!   
    ps. If necessary, skip the golf.

    re.7
          Three hours of sex! Let me see I'm trying to remember the
    last time I have experienced three hours of sex......Hummmm, let
    me think........Well there was the time, well no no that was three
    minutes.... Oh I remember no that wasn't sex. Well if I ever have
    the choice I'll let you know what I decided.
    
    Lasher

    
     I can't play golf and have sex too.  Can't remember which is stroke
    or medal play.....