Golf for the Fun of It redefines golfing success. We abandon the conventional idea that a good round of golf means scoring well. Instead, we believe that the primary reasons for playing are enjoyment, satisfaction, and personal growth. To get there, we are willing to subordinate, even eliminate, the usual goals — low score, competition, and winning.
This book is different from many other books on the sport. It is about the pleasures of the game, rather than about improving technical skills, the best courses, or the great golfers. In it you'll find many practical tips about how you can increase your enjoyment of golf. These tips have nothing to do with driving farther and putting better. They have everything to do with appreciating the game, no matter whether you hit banana slices and duck hooks or crisp, accurate irons and long, booming drives.
“Remember, it’s called ‘playing golf,’ not ‘working golf.’ ”
— Peggy Atwood, LPGA PRO
WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK
In writing Golf for the Fun of It, we had you in mind if you are:
  1. a golfer's mate, partner, relative, or friend. Help your golfer become a more satisfied player who enjoys every round, no matter what the score on the scorecard.
  2. a beginning or returning golfer. We explain how to maximize your enjoyment of the game at whatever level you play.
  3. an occasional golfer. Do you play once a week-maybe? We encourage you to take pride and delight in your game however often you get out to the course.
  4. a serious or expert golfer. Are you getting maximum enjoyment from your game? Does a bad round result in lost sleep and "golfer's hangover" when you feel depressed for days about your last game? We'll help you add value to your scoring game.
  5. a golf coach or teaching pro. This book will help you inspire your student athletes or clients with a lifelong love of the game and an appreciation of all its benefits.
  6. an activity director or wellness coordinator. This resource will help you encourage people to adopt golf as a healthful, recreational sports activity.
  7. a non-golfer. Thinking about taking up the game? We've described the many benefits of playing this great sport. Never say, "I don't play golf." Say instead, "I don't play golf yet." (What are you waiting for?)
"Recreational golf" means no-stress golf played during a relaxing, diverting, agreeable round. It means being away from work, delighting in the company of others, and enjoying big bone, large muscle movements in a glorious outdoor setting. Appreciating the details of play, our surroundings, our playing partners, and ourselves as we play is no small part of recreational golf. It can involve competition or scoring better, but it doesn't have to.
Although recreational golf usually refers to actually playing the game, it can also mean reading about golf, watching golf on television, going to tournaments, thinking about the game, and talking about it. We are continually surprised at the unexpected ways in which the sport is enjoyed.
“Golf and sex are the only things you can enjoy without being good at them.”
— Jimmy Demaret, Golf: Great Thoughts on the Grand Game
RETHINKING THE GAME
What are reasonable goals for occasional golfers, given the fact that the overwhelming majority of us don't shoot a low score? One is getting out on the course regularly, or at least occasionally. Another is enjoying ourselves once we're out there.
A third is to make sure that every time we come off the course, no matter what our score, we can say, "Hey, I had a good game today. I really enjoyed myself." The challenge may be to rethink what "playing golf well" means. It does not have to mean just breaking par or shooting below our handicap. When a "good golf game" can include every good thing that happens during play, not just the sum of birdies, pars, bogies, etc., we are on our way to playing better golf.
In the game we have in mind, satisfaction comes from companionship, the beauty of the course, the heft of the club, the moment of relaxed patience before starting the swing, the arc of the swing, the flight of the ball, and the sound of the ball falling into the cup. Golf can teach patience, self-control, sociability, and respect for nature. Can it also lead us to eudemonia, the philosopher's ultimate happiness? For a few moments, at least? Absolutely.
Play the game, really play the game for all it and you are worth, on your terms. If this means playing a frozen course in early winter, when the cups are pulled and no flags fly, so be it. If this means jogging while you play, that's okay. If this means playing with your children or grandchildren, so much the better. Celebrate the many games of golf. Take personal possession of the game. Golf becomes surprisingly generous to those who ready themselves for its gifts. Golf is so much more than an 18-hole score. We all should feel encouraged to continually reinvent the game as our needs and abilities change. We've often felt that there's no better thing to do and no better place to be than on a course playing golf. We've written Golf for the Fun of It to awaken in all who play the joyful spirit of the game
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Why We Wrote This Book Over every clubhouse door, engrave these words: “Enjoy your game, no matter what the score.”