Every year when the cherry blossoms have bloomed, March Madness has ended, the last bouts of snow have passed, and spring is just around the corner, there's one event that always comes on in early April (except during the pandemic year).....it's an annual tradition, the Masters. This year I got sucked into the drama of Tiger Woods coming back from devastating leg injuries from crashing his car and watched a bit on Saturday morning......only to see him crash (no pun intended) and burn down the scoreboard on his way to a 5 over-par round (translation: not a good round). It wasn't Tiger that drew my attention, though; Tiger's been omniprescent in the little compartment of my consciousness labeled "golf" since I was 10 years old (and I'm sure the collective consciousness of the world at that time though).....it was the slick features of Augusta National Golf Course, the neatly mowed greens, the trimmed fairways....and it was at this time that I finally understood why people liked playing golf.
I never got into golf as a kid, as the only exposure we got was to go to the local mini-golf course in town and do putt-putts; it was a pretty sophisticated course that was built on top of a hill, so even though I knew the course backwards and forwards I would still get excited whenever anyone wanted to go. There's something about trying to get a ball into a hole that is so intriguing for people, including me: it's probably why I've liked shooting at basketball hoops my whole life, that accomplishment each time you "make a shot" is better than the feeling when cash goes into my bank account. Better than any token economy, that feeling of "I made it into the hole" just keeps me coming back.
I suspect, though, that golf is a little more sophisticated than just getting a little small ball into a hole 200, 300, sometimes 400 yards away.......there's a reason indoor golf is not as popular, and people would much rather do 18 holes of golf than stand at the driving range working on their shot the whole day. It's the thrill of driving around with a golf cart and enjoying the great outdoors but being able to call it a sport and let out some stress and frustration at the same time by walloping a ball as hard as you can, but also at certain times trying to delicately get just enough arc on it to get it onto a narrow strip of land. And your golf buddies are doing the same thing (and sometimes drinking while doing so).
I always wonderered why there so many spectators in the crowds at all these major golfing events: don't these people have anything better to do? Imagine my shock when I realized there's a huge waiting list for these events, especially for Augusta National at the Masters.....just watching golfers all day is a dream come true, and I kind of get it: I've gotten tired of going to baseball games and sitting around in the same spot all the time watching the same action on the field from the same angle, but at golfing events spectators can roam around from hole to hole following their favorite golfers, enjoying the weather, the trees, the paths, the wind in their face, the sound of titanium hitting ball at a high rate of speed, and the shouts and applause of the gallery......a lot goes into a golf tournament, and the type of people who go are usually somewhat higher-class adhering to a more gentlemanly, sportsman code of conduct...I haven't heard of any fights that break out at a golf course, and I imagine alcohol is strictly prohibited on the courses. They're all just there for the love of the game, and what a game it is. An annual tradition unlike any other.......the Masters.
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