Gentlemen Only…..Ladies Forbidden.
Outrageous eh? Whilst the word and game of golf have often been joked to have originated from this famous, semi-sexist acronym, it actually derives from the Dutch word ‘kolf’ or ‘kolve’, which basically means ‘club.’
But regardless of its origins, the game once referred to as ‘a good walk spoiled’ by American novelist Harry Leon Wilson, has come to represent far more than just a sport.
Golf has become a therapy, a lifeline, and a serious weapon in the fight against mental health issues. Anxiety, Stress and Depression are just some of those conditions/states that can be significantly helped by participation in this beautiful game.
As a sport-mad teenager and then young adult, I dabbled in just about every sport available to someone growing up from the 70’s onwards. If I’m being honest, golf wasn’t a sport I deemed of significant interest – or indeed value – whilst I could run around a football, rugby, or cricket pitch or whilst I could bounce around a tennis court, athletics track, or indulge in any activity unaffected by cracking knees, swollen elbows and pulled muscles. Golf was for those ‘older’ types!
It was only a few years ago that, bereft of the energy, fitness, and time to devote to running and bouncing everywhere, and ironically having BECOME one of those ‘older’ types, I gingerly took to the driving range, primarily to take the day’s frustrations out on the poor little 6gram ball sat sadly beneath my club. I took a few lessons and managed to create some form of early swing movement, but it took me a few months before I felt ready to tackle the seemingly endless expanses of an actual course, with its hundreds of yards of ball-losing possibilities.
It was then and only then, over a few months of weekly visits, that it began to dawn on me how therapeutic this activity was. I realised this sport was more than trying to beat your opponent, improve your score, or even get some exercise. I realised that when I was on the course, lining up a misguided drive, chipping out of the rough and – eventually – putting across a smooth green, I thought about nothing… but golf. I NEVER, EVER think of nothing. I never think of nothing anywhere else or at any other time!
The matey banter, meaningless chatter, club and shot selection took my mind away to a place that nothing else did. And the amazing thing was it happened by accident, and it happened every single time I played. Was it the fact that – by design – it takes place in the wonderful world of nature, with fresh air, birds singing, trees swooshing and water running, or in fact, in silence? Was it that, again, by definition, courses tend to be away from the buzz of traffic and are, therefore, quiet? Was it that I left my phone in the bag for the duration of the round? Was it the fact that it was based around a gentle stroll along what is actually miles of soft, moist grass (I once worked out that I walked over six miles on one round, although, to be fair, much of that was through thick wooded forest looking for my latest slice!)?
The conclusion I came to was that it was all of the above and more. Much, much, more. The mix of exercise, nature, banter, camaraderie, and competition is the perfect cocktail for a healthy life generally, on OR off the golf course. I realised that this activity was actually setting an example for life.
Just this week, I had to skip my weekly ritual. It was a beautiful winter evening. I was due to play with one of my best friends, and after a particularly tricky working week, I REALLY needed it. Unfortunately, I had to bow out due to an injury. Was it time to find a less energetic sport again? On the contrary, it was only when I couldn’t undertake the sport that changed my life that I realised just how much it had done so. My anxiety levels were heightened, and the stress was back; and after a particularly difficult week, I needed to talk.
I realised that when I played golf, my anxiety levels dropped (until my ball disappeared into the lake for the third tee shot in a row!), stress was non-existent, and I COULD TALK. I could talk and talk, with people I love, about everything, anything and nothing, offload, rant, and laugh. My, did we laugh. Funny that when none of it matters, laughter fills ALL the gaps.
Paul Merson’s @paulmerse recent documentary ‘Football, Gambling and Me’ included a segment where Paul played golf with three other addicts. Paul commented, at one heart-wrenching point in the programme (something along the lines of), that despite having eight kids, the only thing that really brought him pleasure was gambling. When Paul was on the golf course, my wife commented that he was a ‘different person’. During that 5-minute segment, his eyes lit up. He could talk. To people that understood what he was going through. He could compete. The lack of top-level competition (as well as its presence) had clearly been a contributing factor in Merse’s addiction. And he could enjoy nature, banter and exercise.
Consider this. What if there was an entirely safe space that you could occupy, within which you could talk through your problems, hopes, hang-ups and fears with like-minded people, old friends, new friends or friends that are being made, without judgement? All whilst exercising, enjoying nature and fresh air, and, if you want, even competing?
During 2020, the number of UK participants in this most (usually!) convivial of activities rose from 2.1million to 5.2million; ironically, given how this article started, the number of females (within that figure) rose by a stereotype-shattering 365%; from 400,000 to 1.46million.
The message is getting out there, and the benefits are being discovered.
The 18-hole format we know today may well have been created to match the 18 shots it takes to polish off a fifth of Scotch. But this 15th-century game (depending on who you speak to), created in the home of (arguably) one of the world’s most famous of drinks, is proving to be of far more long-term value to its 21st-century participants – both men and women – than the alcoholic drink around which it was created.
Look out for The Golf Club – a group set up to help anyone struggling with any form of mental health issue.
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