does anyone dress themselves up like a pimp of a weekend, and actually play? Or did you give it up when you took up cycling?

Genuine question. I’m asking as golf seems quite popular with the chaps in my new job. But to be honest they actually manage to make me look fit!! No mean feat! The majority look like they’d have a a coronary if you put them on owt with two wheels and no engine.

I don’t know anyone who does both. Is this entirely a media construct?

I’m sure there are people who do both but I bet they’re a rarity…. the sports are at opposing ends of the fitness and skill spectra after all.

I used to ‘play’ golf, as quite a few people at my last job did and one of the blokes arranged group lessons. My brother also plays and a friend of mine was quite into it and had a really good 18 hole par 3 near him that was good fun.
I enjoyed it (up to a point), but playing a full round took up too much time and it does take constant practice or you quickly lose your ability to whack the ball (well, I did!).

The main thing that put me off to be honest was gradually improving and then all of a sudden my swing went to pot. I was having lessons and I think the teacher changed just one too many things at once because I went from being able to reliably able to hit the ball dead straight (never that far, but straight) to never knowing where the ball was going to go and constantly making a complete hash of it.
One particular round was the last straw for me. I was hitting OK on the driving range before getting out on the course, but then got on the course and might as well have been using the clubs upside down.
I was getting more and more wound up and my brother and mate where giving ‘advice’ that just made me more annoyed and made matters worse.

Finally off a particluar tee shot, some random bloke who’d probably been watching my particularly poor playing commented on a ball that I had lost and I swore vigorously at him before going back to the club house for a coffee and a bacon sandwich 😳
Not played since.

I know that I don’t like to feel people are watchig me – so it’s not a great game for me when you have to tee off and you know there are people watching.

I always thought it was a funny comparison .Maybe it’s an equipment thing,do golfers buy a lot of kit that they think will improve their performance ?

the sports are at opposing ends of the fitness and skill spectra after all.

Not sure if you are implying that golf requires much more skill or a lot less? To be good at it requires rather a lot of skill. And I’ve seen cyclists who are at opposite ends of the fitness and skill spectra on many rides too!

Know a few who do both but it’s not many, and I doubt any would give up one for the other. Suspect it’s more a case of people in positions (middle management) associated with golfists have retired, and their places been filled by people who are now more likely to be cyclists or triathletes.

stumpy01 – performance anxiety !

Golf is pretty tricky – only played pitch and putt a few times but it was fun. It is massively associated with social climbing **** in England – don’t know how fair that is.

I get the impression that just over the border in Scotland it’s more of a ‘normal’ sport.

fasthaggis – Member
I always thought it was a funny comparison .Maybe it’s an equipment thing,do golfers buy a lot of kit that they think will improve their performance ?

Some golfers buy a lot of kit thinking it will improve their performance; same way that some cyclists do.
One of the blokes I used to work with was always buying new putters and drivers, as well as swing training aids etc.

steel4real – Member
stumpy01 – performance anxiety !

Yeah. I know what it is. I get it with anything though, not just sport. I hate people hovering around and watching what I am doing. I get it at work, home, doing sports like golf, ten pin bowling etc…..bleurgh. Hate it.

and I doubt any would give up one for the other.

I gave up golf and took up mtbing 🙂

Golf is good but it is something that requires a lot of practice to play well, is frustrating if you don’t play well or play inconsistently and can’t figure out why or correct it immediately, and is not something you can keep a good level of fitness by doing.

So basically it takes up a lot more time because you have practice time as well, and time doing something else trying to keep fit.

I used to carry my bag to help a bit and using Hogan Apex Redline (1988) blades helped as well as they are so sweet to hit…

I used to play a lot as a kid.
My dad was fanatical – it was a good way to spend some time with him.

We mostly played at Blackley, it wasn’t snobby at all, all sorts play there, it wasn’t expensive.
I’d say the gear acquisition thing is dependant on the individual, not the sport – some do, some don’t.
But you do need a huge amount of skill and dedication to be good – you can ride on towpaths and still enjoy it, but it takes a lot of work to be any good at golf.

I enjoyed it a lot 😀
It’s a mental challenge and teaches you a lot about yourself.
There’s often beer & cake involved too!

There really is no excuse for the clothes though.

I know that I don’t like to feel people are watchig me – so it’s not a great game for me when you have to tee off and you know there are people watching.

I can fully empathise with this 🙂 I recall one instance where we were running a little late for the tee off time. When we reached the first tee there was a small group waiting for us. I could feel all these eyes on me and was shaking like a leaf. Silly really

I used to play a fair bit but not so much in the past couple of years. As others have mentioned it couldn’t be more different from cycling but I enjoyed it all the same. Particularly the strategic thinking required depending on the different shot or club choice you would have to make. Plus when you caught the ball sweetly with a driver it felt great.

Tell you what though, golfers are worse than cyclists for changing their kit – there’s tons of used equipment on ebay.

EDIT: Oh and whilst I doubt you would ever get fit from golf, playing a full 18 holes on a long hilly course could see you walking a good 5 miles or so (depending on how straight you’re playing) whilst carrying a relatively heavy bag.

I used to caddy on occasion with an ExPro mate who meandered into Coaching (mainly lonely wealthy middle aged women :wink:) who was sponsored by TaylorMade, now the vast majority of his clothing was subdued checks and roll necks and a bling glove or tow, but on the whole he was very sartorially tailored, immaculate in fact.
Now I know some ExPro Cyclists who dress like a bag of shite…
😆

I don’t know anyone who does both

[img]http://jimsbikeblog.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/the-golf-bike.jpeg[/img]

I used to play at county level in my teens, but stopped playing when I started university due to a lack of time and money, I did a proper degree and worked 4 shifts a week to pay for it.

Although i’ll only play once or twice a year now, i’m still better than the guys at work that play minimum twice a week. I do like to rub that in sometimes.

Cycling is much more fun, but I still really enjoy playing golf in the summer.

Maybe it’s an equipment thing,do golfers buy a lot of kit that they think will improve their performance ?

On in Rory Mcilroy’s case get paid $250m, by Nike, to use a set of clubs which meant he couldn’t play well any more!

I get the impression that just over the border in Scotland it’s more of a ‘normal’ sport.

I work in a wee village that calls itself the Home of golf,I get to see all the ,not so normal players 🙂

I do both but its a real struggle and am about to give up my golf membership due to time and financial constraints. I live in surrey but grew up north or the border and the attitudes to golf are vastly different. In scotland golf is a game for everyone. Down here it takes some serious cash to join a resonable club.

I think the comparison is more to do with middle aged men spending ridiculous sums on top of the range kit that makes no difference to there performance!

$250,000,000!,he needs to spend some of that on acting lessons 😉

I hack around the municipal par 3 course at Heaton park from time to time. It’s a pleasant enough way to spend a lazy sunny afternoon, but I’m ready to finish by the time 18 holes are up.

On in Rory Mcilroy’s case get paid $250m, by Nike, to use a set of clubs which meant he couldn’t play well any more!

that is weird, isn’t it. Tiger got Nike to make carbon-copies of his titliests but Rory is obviously not a big enough star to have that much clout.

Golf was pretty much my life from 8 until 17. Played county level and if stuck with it could’ve turned pro, but, I just lost interest in it. Occasionally play now.

The typical stwers view of golfer so couldn’t be further from the truth. The sport is big in my family, I have 2 uncles who are pro’s, my brother is off scratch, a cousin who plays off scratch and works/has worked for Taylor made. My youngest cousin though perhaps shows the best chance of making it big. He Plays a lot for England around the world and is now concentrating on getting in the Walker cup squad (ameteur version of the Ryder cup)

Obviously those who have never played it do take the pee, but to be good at it now a days you have to be fit

The big difference for me is that if you have an poor day at MTB it is still a good one, coming off leaves you with a story to tell and brusies to show off usually.

If you have a poor day at golf it winds you up, I just found it embarassing and deeply frustrating. Used to work at a famous golf resort where many of staff were scratch handicappers seeing how angry they could get with one fluffed shot made me think what’s the point?

Iam going to take up Golf as its the Cycling.

that is weird, isn’t it. Tiger got Nike to make carbon-copies of his titliests but Rory is obviously not a big enough star to have that much clout.

I’d say it’s really daft, not a good advert for Nike Golf kit if the world’s best players can’t play well using it.

I learnt to play for “commercial reasons” a few years ago. I was told I had a natural swing by the pro, so didn’t need much work to get me to the standard where I can get round a course without looking like a complete novice.

I play 2-3 times a year – mostly corporate/charity golf days – and myself and a couple of others take our bats when we go on our mountain biking weekends away and play 9 holes on the Friday afternoon.

It’s a nice way to work up a thirst and it’s a great leveler – we’re all “occasional” players, so we all have the odd good hole/drive/pitch/putt as well as a few absolute stinkers. We spend most of the afternoon in stitches!

For me though, I’ve never woken up and thought “Hmmm, quite fancy a game of golf today…”. Those desires tend to be bike related.

I don’t think that Nike making crap clubs is the problem. At the pro’s level a little change that doesn’t feel right can be the difference between winning and losing.

I come from a tennis background and the difference between what’s sold in the shops and what the players use is unbelievable. For example, Roger Federer plays with a 90 square inch Pro Staff 6.0 painted to look like whatever the latest version being sold is. The racket he plays with is a mold that has been around since Sampras was a junior, so going back 20 years now. It also has a slightly different string pattern to suit his play. You cannot buy it in a shop.

If Rory is playing with off the shelf clubs then fair play to him. The tennis marketing is pretty duplicitous because they never acknowledge that the pro rackets are custom jobs. However, if you’re stupid enough to believe buying Federer’s racket will let you play like him then you deserve what you get. If results don’t come through then you will probably see him renege on the contract, or paint his old clubs or whatever.

A similar thing happened with Phillippousis when he swapped rackets (to Dunlop I think?). His results went down the drain. Soon afterwards he was playing with his old frames painted black.

The company I work for, at least all of the upper management or director level people, all play golf. And take it quite seriously. Our head office is in Portugal surrounded by golf courses. We have occasional team building courses or days, always at a golf club, normally at Celtic Manor.

When our plant opened 3.5 years ago the middle management guys all started playing golf to try to climb the ladder. When that didn’t work they all took up riding bikes with us plebs. I do work in the FOD though. A lot of expensive gear bought to “improve” their riding.

I ride bikes and I play golf (but not at the same time. Although that’s given me an idea…).

Golf is not easy. It’s like any individual sports where you need to have consistent form (e.g. shooting, archery, that sort of thing). Once you’ve got the basics, it’s about improving and maintaining form above all else, if you’re serious about it.

I am a member of a club. I would say that of the members of that club, only 10 – 12% are actually serious about it. The rest just play for the social side and the hell of it. I fall into the latter category.

Golf is often summed up as just about the only sport where absolute rank amateurs can compete alongside the professionals (in theory if not in actual practice) due to the handicapping system.

I play both and remain talentless at both. The only contradiction I see is that on a sunny day I’d like to be doing both. There is a huge difference now in the way that golf can be accessed in this country. 30 years ago when I started we were treated like scum at most clubs, now I see the complete opposite with juniors and non-members being encouraged at the majority of courses. Snobs can still find homes (both north and south of the border) but there are plenty of options for us that like to drink in a bar without wearing a tie!

One of the great things about golf is that we can play at the same venues as the pros (many of the venues at least). Doubt I’ll ever have a kick around at Anfield but have played played Royal Birkdale, Turnberry, Belfry etc.

I play golf… and cycle of course. I dedicate more time to my cycling than I do to my golf, which is why I’m much better at cycling than golf.

Golf is an irritating sport, that you can’t really pick up and put down, you have to put the hours in to get good.

I probably play twice a month, but have been known not to play for up to 6 months, with fairly dire consequences.

One of the great things about golf is that we can play at the same venues as the pros

You can do the same thing with bike riding!

Tennis, well, you’d better have chosen rich parents or start working very hard. However, having said that, Wimbledon was a religious experience for me the first time I went!

30 years ago when I started we were treated like scum at most clubs, now I see the complete opposite with juniors and non-members being encouraged at the majority of courses. Snobs can still find homes (both north and south of the border) but there are plenty of options for us that like to drink in a bar without wearing a tie!

This is the problem with golf – many clubs still have an air of superiority about them which some people find distasteful, and as a result have struggled to attract new members.

My own club narrowly missed going out of business a couple of years ago precisely because of their stiff-backed, curled-lip attitude, but since the committee have adopted a much more relaxed dress code and reduced membership fees to the bare minimum (along with introducing different levels of memebrship) the club is enjoying a bit of a renaissance.

Mind you, it’s the same with any sport – non-football types tend to assume that ALL football fans are brainless idiots. Until you actually swallow your pride and give it a try, it’s unlikely that those prejudices will be removed.