[Mick]

[quote author=ferrari link=topic=10113.msg92423#msg92423 date=1405482918]
[quote author=CornFed link=topic=10113.msg92422#msg92422 date=1405482666]
[quote author=Spiny_Norman link=topic=10113.msg92403#msg92403 date=1405454427]


I know there are some golfers on the board and you have to read Dan Jenkins' Dead Solid Perfect if you have not done so yet.  I think I laughed more reading that book than any other.

Quick note on golf books.  Two I would mention and recommend highly.  [u]The Match[/u] and Golf in the Kingdom.  They could hardly be more different, but both capture the essence of golf in their own ways.
[/quote]

Golf is like soccer.  Great games, beloved worldwide, but boring to those who don't/haven't played unlike, say, football, baseball, basketball.  Just saying.
[/quote]

Well, you're probably right, Ferrari.  Golf is not so much of a spectator sport.  Probably been a while since you gained personal satisfaction from playing football, baseball or basketball, however.
[/quote]



I think our ability to enjoy a sport from a spectator's standpoint depends on our understanding of the game.  Even I can tell the difference between the USA's passing abilities and that of der Mannschaft.  I know a lot of people who find baseball ridiculously boring, but I take great satisfaction when Romo's slider breaks 9" instead of 5"...because I can tell the difference, same with an outfielder who throws to the wrong bag.

Golf is what you make of it.  I grew up playing the game (badly), but my dad was a good player and I would caddy for him when I was a kid.  I remember he reached a long par 5 in two with persimmon clubs, hit the ball about 12 feet from the flag.  A marshall was watching, and he says to my dad "Son, in forty years as a marshall, I have never seen a better shot on this hole."  I recall seeing Bernhard Langer hit his tee shot (from the tips, of course) to the left side of the 17th at Pebble Beach and thinking "Man, what an incredible shot," while Langer was shaking his head in disgust.  At a standard stadium, you sit in your seat, maybe you walk around the concourse at Stanford, but at any golf course, you can do a four mile walk in nature.

So I find the more that I understand a sport, the more I enjoy watching it.  The sports where I am comparatively unfamiliar with the rules, traditions and strategies...well, I find them boring as heck.

[Mick]

[quote author=ferrari link=topic=10113.msg92423#msg92423 date=1405482918]
[quote author=CornFed link=topic=10113.msg92422#msg92422 date=1405482666]
[quote author=Spiny_Norman link=topic=10113.msg92403#msg92403 date=1405454427]


I know there are some golfers on the board and you have to read Dan Jenkins' Dead Solid Perfect if you have not done so yet.  I think I laughed more reading that book than any other.

Quick note on golf books.  Two I would mention and recommend highly.  [u]The Match[/u] and Golf in the Kingdom.  They could hardly be more different, but both capture the essence of golf in their own ways.
[/quote]

Golf is like soccer.  Great games, beloved worldwide, but boring to those who don't/haven't played unlike, say, football, baseball, basketball.  Just saying.
[/quote]

Well, you're probably right, Ferrari.  Golf is not so much of a spectator sport.  Probably been a while since you gained personal satisfaction from playing football, baseball or basketball, however.
[/quote]



I think our ability to enjoy a sport from a spectator's standpoint depends on our understanding of the game.  Even I can tell the difference between the USA's passing abilities and that of der Mannschaft.  I know a lot of people who find baseball ridiculously boring, but I take great satisfaction when Romo's slider breaks 9" instead of 5"...because I can tell the difference, same with an outfielder who throws to the wrong bag.

Golf is what you make of it.  I grew up playing the game (badly), but my dad was a good player and I would caddy for him when I was a kid.  I remember he reached a long par 5 in two with persimmon clubs, hit the ball about 12 feet from the flag.  A marshall was watching, and he says to my dad "Son, in forty years as a marshall, I have never seen a better shot on this hole."  I recall seeing Bernhard Langer hit his tee shot (from the tips, of course) to the left side of the 17th at Pebble Beach and thinking "Man, what an incredible shot," while Langer was shaking his head in disgust.  At a standard stadium, you sit in your seat, maybe you walk around the concourse at Stanford, but at any golf course, you can do a four mile walk in nature.

So I find the more that I understand a sport, the more I enjoy watching it.  The sports where I am comparatively unfamiliar with the rules, traditions and strategies...well, I find them boring as heck.