Learning to play golf
Learning to play golf has been one of the hardest things I’ve ever tried to accomplish. It’s given me some massive highs and crushing lows. Living in Chiang Mai, I wanted to find a hobby that would occupy me, grasp my attention, a hobby that I could focus on by myself but would also allow me to be social, something healthy and fulfilling.
I’d given it ago in my early thirties, got a coach, bought some clubs; however, I just couldn’t grasp the concept, plus my coach was a bit of a dick. He had no patience, and instead of trying to make me feel good, support, and encourage, he was more on the contrary, irritable and uninterested like I was wasting his time, so I gave up.
At thirty-nine, I thought I’d give the sport one last go, I decided to go all in again, but this time go with a different coach, a local Thai guy who’d been recommended to me by a friend of a friend. I instantly fell for his method of teaching, which was firm but kind, he said things as they were, didn’t kiss my ass or beat me down, but taught me the mechanics of a proper swing. He taught me all the fundamentals in a way which was easy to comprehend and always gave me something new to work on, but gauging my level of progression, not trying to push me too hard and keeping the momentum of the rollercoaster of learning the sport moving steadily forwards.
Engraining a swing, that was smooth, easy on the eye and technically correct was like learning a language. I say was, it still is, as the body, especially for an adult can be quite stubborn, movements and flexibility change on a daily basis, maybe this isn’t true for everyone, but it definitely was for me. My swing would evolve and then go to shit regularly — finding consistency seemed to be a real issue, I think this was mainly down to my flexibility, as to craft a perfect golf swing the body needs to get into positions that it isn’t usually accustomed to.
Mastering the setup was key for me in developing a decent swing, keeping the left arm straight whilst pulling the arm across the body, making sure my head was behind the ball at impact, as well as the rotation of the body and dropping your hands on the downswing to hit inside. There’s also the grip, posture, hinging the wrists, sideband — there are so many components to bear in mind, as well as learning to putt, chip, and use the driver. One could argue, though, as long as you're making good connections and the ball’s going where you want it to go, then it doesn’t matter about all of the complexities; it takes the fun out of things. However, I needed to have an understanding of how to maximise my ball striking, which was fundamental in my learning process.
I was so addicted and determined to improve, especially as I’d started way late in the game, that I was hitting the range three to four times a week, plus seeing my coach at least once a week, which meant I progressed fairly quickly. On top of that, I was going to the gym and doing yoga. I was able to break one hundred after about seven months, yet to break ninety, though — I have shot under ninety-five a couple of times, not an easy feat. The feeling when having a good round is amazing; it’s like when you hit one great golf shot, times that feeling by one hundred, pure ecstasy.
Playing golf has shown me that anything is possible; the sport runs parallel with general life; you can have the most incredible day or moment, and then the complete opposite the next day. The sport has taught me about patience, keeping calm and letting things go. As I’m back in the UK currently, playing golf has taken a bit of backseat, it’s been months since I picked up a club, and I know when I next hit the range or get back on the course I’m going to be terrible, however, it doesn’t matter as the overriding feeling of being outside in the fresh air with friends or whoever, with the objective of trying to get that little white ball on the green — and then knocking it into the hole, is simply wonderful, there’s nothing like it — piping one straight down the fairway from the tee, or hitting a meaty 150 yard iron shot, chipping from 30 yards onto the green or sinking a putt from the edge of the green, the best. Yes, it’s horrible when hitting three balls into the bushes from the tee, or the water, or topping it with a load of people watching you, so many things can go wrong…Lol. It’s a great sport. A sport where one day you can be playing with a seventy-year-old and then the next day playing with a ten-year-old.
Anyway, I guess the moral of the story is with determination, anything is possible, but the key is to not get too carried away with things, as it’s just a fucking game.
