Nothing!  Nothing about golf is fun.  I really don't like the game at all.  It's too dang frustrating for me to play because I can't seem to be consistent enough to enjoy myself out on the golf course.  I mean, how can you have fun when all you do is slice the ball into the trees or hit your divots farther than you hit the golf ball?  Hey, I can't help it, that's my game!

So why do I play?  Because I always feel as though the next round I play ......it's all going to come together.  I don't know how that's going to happen or why it's going to happen - but I always hope that it will.

Now in reality - it never does!

It only seems to be getting worse every time I play.  And again in reality, it probably isn't getting worse - it's probably staying the same, though I believe I'm just getting more frustrated with myself and my inability to see any improvement.

I feel I'm a positive person.  The glass is half-full for me.  I'm not a half-empty type person - so I don't understand how I can become so negative about my game on the golf course.  And this is another problem that plagues me - I can be going along well for 3 or 4 holes - hitting good golf shots - and then - BOOM - all of a sudden I hit one bad shot and I can't get my game back together.  It feels as though I'll never hit another good shot again.  And it makes me wonder - how the heck did I hit the ball so good for those prior 3 or 4 holes when now it feels as though I don't know what is wrong with my swing.

You know what I mean?

Though, I keep plugging along hoping that one day it will just come together.  Why do I feel this way?  Well, because I've done it before.  Just like I said above about playing good for spurts of 3 or 4 holes - I know I can play this game.  I see people that I've played with that I know I'm a better golfer than they are and yet, I'm always in the trees and they're always in play some how making pars or at least bogies.

I don't get it - how can that golfer that I don't believe is better than me always score in the 80's and I'm struggling to break 95?
 
I spend more time practicing than they do!  I know more about the game and how you should play it correctly than they do.  I'm a student of the game!  They just play along and to me, they have know idea what they're doing - yet, they beat me all the time.  And this drives me nuts!  Because I should be better than they are!

Sometimes I think they're cheating or maybe they're using illegal equipment because I know they aren't better than me.  But I know that's not true.  They just keep the ball in play and make more putts than I do.  But it's not fair because I work so much harder and care so much more about my game than they do about theirs.

That's why I'm thinking about quitting.  The game is becoming too frustrating for me and this disappointment is starting to seep through into my everyday life away from the golf course.  I feel as though I'm getting frustrated with people around me after I play one of my terrible rounds.  And this isn't fair to my spouse and friends.

Though, I think I'm going to give this game one more shot.  If it works out and I play better - I'll continue playing.  If it doesn't work out and I play like I've been playing - I'll just stop playing.

I love this game - but it's just not loving me back!

Thank you for allowing me to spill my guts to you and open up about my frustrating golf game.  It's nice to know that you were listening.

Regards,

A Monkey

What makes golf fun for you?

Birdies!  I love to make birdies!  To be able to stand over a putt that you know that you have the opportunity to break par is a tremendous feeling.  I have excitement and nervousness and anticipation running through my veins and my heart and my brain all at the same time.  It's an adrenaline rush - the anticipation of making the putt and watching it sink into the hole or the agony of the ball just rimming the cup and squirting out - just gets me going.

That's what I play for!  The excitement.  The ability to go out on the golf course and hit more greens in regulation than I've ever hit in 9-holes.  The ego booster of hitting my ball farther and straighter than another golfer that is better than me and that has out driven me on the last 3-holes.  That feeling to be able to have them hit their second shot before I do and then be able to walk 10-yards farther up the fairway to my ball - is worth everything to me.

Although I love to hit greens in regulation - I don't mind missing if it leaves me with a shot that I really have to make a PLAN on.  It really gets me going when I need to walk from my ball onto the green and survey the area where I'm going to land the ball.  The whole concept of standing in that landing area and picturing how I'm going to play that next shot, meaning how high or low I'm going to hit the golf ball.  And then determining how the ball's going to react when it lands so that I can land it in a place that helps the ball roll towards the hole.  The strategy of the game and the accepting of all its awkward bounces and thought agonizing shots.  I love how it challenges me to perform!

You know what I also love about golf?  I love downhill putts that could either break right or left.  Isn't that funny?  I love the challenge of reading the green.  Not just if the ball is going left or right, but how fast is this ball going to go downhill.  Then determining how much that speed is going to affect how much the ball goes left or right.  And after I putt the ball and watch how my PLAN has come together - I know in my heart that all my effort has been worthwhile.

Regardless of if the ball goes in the hole or not - I know I tried my best and I feel good about that.  Of course it's more fun after the ball goes into the hole rather than missing, but the majority of the fun is in the PLAN before I even putt the ball.  And then when you putt the ball towards the hole and watch with the anticipation of ".......is it going to go in?"  Oh, I love golf!

I love this game - and I can't see myself without having golf in my life.  It goes beyond the game.  It's more about me challenging myself.  It's about me succeeding sometimes and failing other times.  Though, I believe I get better by understanding my failures and improving on them so that they happen less often.

I feel I learn something new and exciting everytime I step onto the golf course that will help me to become a better golfer everytime I play!

Thank you for allowing me to let out some of my enthusiasm about why I love golf!

Regards,

The Player

Which letter do you write after each round of golf you play?

Regards,

Marc Solomon - Your Instructor For Life