Golf - A Silly Sport So Why Do I Watch It?

A reader commented about the total boredom of watching televised golf when I wrote about the Ryder Cup in yesterday's blog. I fully admit it took me a while to really get into watching golf, and it's a rather odd sport. Imagine - a small ball, a long stick, and a hole WAAAAAY over there that you're supposed to hit that ball into in as few strokes as possible. Ridiculous! Then, it is a Scottish game originally, so some would say ridiculous only makes sense for a game played in Scottish weather and on their rocky ground. 

Golf - it's an outdoor game, so rarely played in the snow and ice. 

I like golf for one reason only - as sports go, it's still rather cut-throat, but it's also civilized. It's not people physically knocking each other around or getting banged up chasing a puck, a ball, or each other. It's people in semi-uniform (really crappy clothes in many cases), outside in a variety of weather, walking around grass and "fescue" (I love that word - fescue) and trying to be more accurate than anyone else. Golf is an author's game - I know ... that sounds strange. 

In the middle of late winter, to see green and colors like these
is heartwarming. It's just beautiful. I drown myself in The
Masters to get my green back after long weeks of snow
and ice. 

Let's think about it. Golf rewards precision. It looks very easy and in fact is really difficult, especially at the championship level. People always tell authors about the books they've attempted to write - those plots that haven't seen the light of day or that linger in hard drives or bottom desk drawers. Novels have to be crafted carefully, every word precisely chosen to have the maximum impact and drive the plot forward toward the final resolution. Golf operates similarly. Golf requires complete control of the body and that long stick, striking a small orb at exactly the proper angle and with the perfect velocity to get that orb precisely placed for the next stroke. In writing, that's called a chapter. 

No other sport in the world would allow the players to wear
such terrible fashion, and not only that, but I'm sure the
clothing costs a ridiculous amount of money! OMG -
Golf "fashion" makes me hurl! 

The one thing I adore about watching golf is a single tournament called The Masters. It's played in early April, when we're reeling from the winter we've been buried in. It takes place in Georgia at Augusta National and I'm glued to the television to watch. Do I watch because the golf is so spellbinding? Hell no! I watch because it's green, green grass, beautiful blooming flowers, trees with leaves, and warm temperatures. I watch because the golf course itself gives me hope that spring will return to the Frozen Northlands. I could probably skip every other golfing event, but this one. 

I guess I must also enjoy watching paint dry - LOL. 

Happy Tuesday to all, and I'll be back tomorrow.