Golf…Why do we enjoy it so much?

I was 7 years old when I was first introduced to golf, and to be honest I wasn’t really in love with it. In fact, I used to say it was boring. When compared to soccer or surfing, it lacked excitement, action, contact and mobility.

The Game of Golf

Let’s take a 50,000 feet view of golf. You hit a little ball, with a stick to a 4 1/4 inch diameter hole located some 400 yards away. And by the way you need to put the ball in the cup in only 4 strokes. Actually, I imagine that if you give this explanation to an alien he would think that golf is a freaking difficult sport.

To me, the best interpretation of golf origins is given by Robin Williams, if you haven’t seen it take a look at this clip (click here) you won’t regret it I promise.

So if it is so painful, lacking excitement and all the other things so many people say, Why do we all enjoy it so much?

Why do we play golf?

I will comment on my theories, which are of course not scientifically proven. So you be the judge, give me your comments cause I would love to hear your thoughts as well.

I believe there are 3 reasons why this game is so freaking addictive

1. The Golf Handicap, or its idea of being able to measure how good you are
2. The Variability of your own performance driving you nuts
3. The Setup, that includes contact with the environment and friends

Think about the killer combination of the three factors.

“I want to brag with my friends (and myself) how good I am, but is driving me crazy that I shot an 82 and next time a 96 when I thought I had everything figured out. It’s Ok though, because even if I play badly there is no way I won’t enjoy spending 4 hours with my friends on a beautiful place pretending that I am exercising my body”

Now here is my psychological analysis of those 3 factors

1. Ability to measure your self.

It is a well known fact that people are more engage and have better performances when they are being measured and they have targets. For example, in my ex-life I used to help businesses implement performance metrics and reviews for their employees. When implemented correctly they would not only increase performance by at least 10%, but more importantly it would increase the employee satisfaction level.

2. The Variability of performance.

Think about the last time you were in Vegas or on a racetrack betting. The reason why it is so exciting is because you don’t win all the time and you don’t lose all the time. If you were loosing every single time you would walk away immediately. And if you win all the time, you would of course enjoy the money but it would be boring. Well, same happens with golf not only in overall rounds but even within rounds. How many times have an amazing drive on the 18th hole after a terrible round of golf? Did you go home at least a little happier?

3. The Golf setup

My dad used to say: “I play golf because is the only chance I have on my busy week to enjoy 4 hours, on a beautiful green place and forget about everything so I can focus on a stupid capricious ball”. Well, I would never forget that, not only because it is true, but most importantly because I take it seriously to go out to disconnect and play every week with that stupid capricious ball

Enjoy your Golf!

(and leave me your comments)