The game of golf has always been a game of the upper class. This is a stereotype that has persisted for many years due to the way it is represented on television and in movies. That doesn't necessarily mean that golf really is for the upper class. I and my father are both solid, blue-collar middle-classers and we have played golf together since I was able to hold a club. The game is not about superiority, but rather about competition. The game has loosened up drastically recently, and you're apt to see more folks out there who have just punched a time clock than ever before.
Those feelings of inadequacy are all the fault of the media. Film, in general, has shown the sport of golf to be highly exclusionary and aloof from the common folks. Middle class people, like my father and I, have historically not been welcomed with open arms onto private courses because of this image that media has portrayed of golf. Life imitates art, and it just became ingrained in everyone's mind that people in jeans and t-shirts shouldn't be playing the game. Well, I will go on record right now and tell you that this is most surely an untruth.
A wonderful example of how this sport is for everyone is a man you all may heard of named Tiger Woods. Tiger takes that rich, white golfer image and tears it apart with tremendous drives and stunning finishes. His golfing skill elevates him above all others. If golf were as aloof as the television claims, someone like Tiger would never have broken out and became the star he is today and golf would have been deprived of witnessing his particular method of genius.
Some say that golf is a gentlemen's game. Even when I'm wearing silly shirts, I take the game very seriously. It is a game that requires a stillness within and without to truly master. Someone who cannot bring a level of focus to their perceptions will have no chance of taking a tiny, white ball and sending it 400 yards to a tiny, black hole. It is a difficult game to learn, and it can take a lifetime to master. Perhaps it is this intimidating level of gaming that turns so many people off. Once you get that first, perfect drive...you'll never want to stop.
I only want to say that without golf, I wouldn't be the well-adjusted sportsman I am today. My formative years spent playing golf with my father has ingrained in me some grand traditions. Some say that the origins of golf are shrouded in mystery, lost to the annals of time. The only history worth my time is the history I see when I look at old photos of me and my father on the fairway; my father grinning with his arm around my shoulders, and me smiling back.
Those feelings of inadequacy are all the fault of the media. Film, in general, has shown the sport of golf to be highly exclusionary and aloof from the common folks. Middle class people, like my father and I, have historically not been welcomed with open arms onto private courses because of this image that media has portrayed of golf. Life imitates art, and it just became ingrained in everyone's mind that people in jeans and t-shirts shouldn't be playing the game. Well, I will go on record right now and tell you that this is most surely an untruth.
A wonderful example of how this sport is for everyone is a man you all may heard of named Tiger Woods. Tiger takes that rich, white golfer image and tears it apart with tremendous drives and stunning finishes. His golfing skill elevates him above all others. If golf were as aloof as the television claims, someone like Tiger would never have broken out and became the star he is today and golf would have been deprived of witnessing his particular method of genius.
Some say that golf is a gentlemen's game. Even when I'm wearing silly shirts, I take the game very seriously. It is a game that requires a stillness within and without to truly master. Someone who cannot bring a level of focus to their perceptions will have no chance of taking a tiny, white ball and sending it 400 yards to a tiny, black hole. It is a difficult game to learn, and it can take a lifetime to master. Perhaps it is this intimidating level of gaming that turns so many people off. Once you get that first, perfect drive...you'll never want to stop.
I only want to say that without golf, I wouldn't be the well-adjusted sportsman I am today. My formative years spent playing golf with my father has ingrained in me some grand traditions. Some say that the origins of golf are shrouded in mystery, lost to the annals of time. The only history worth my time is the history I see when I look at old photos of me and my father on the fairway; my father grinning with his arm around my shoulders, and me smiling back.
About the Author:
Take a look at golfing history and the go take a peek at outdoor golf tees for lots of great t-shirts.
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