By Michael Hebron^*

Grow the Game by Lowering Frustration

Last week I was at Harvard University Graduate School of Education attending classes about “how we learn.” These week long classes are held at their Connecting Mind-Brain to Education Institute, where I also took classes last year. It was another great week!

After hearing a lecture about how culture, customs and values have enormous implications on how we see things, our expectations and what we can learn, I began to think about how these elements can influence how golf is perceived and ultimately why people may be leaving the game today, (i.e. the other side of the story).

The Spirit of the Game Can “Grow the Game by Lowering Frustration”

Some have said golf is broken and in need of fixing; play is down and there is a lack of interest in taking up the game. On the other hand some do not agree the game needs fixing, but how the game is seen needs some rethinking.

Perhaps golf is not broken. The problem may be that today golf is an accurate representation of the culture and values that are influencing the expectations and perceptions individuals now have of the game, thereby causing golf’s current business down turn. We are reaping what we have sown, frustrations.

Where do the perceptions and expectations individuals have about golf come from? Often from the golf industry.

When individuals are being told that “golf takes a long time to play,” and “golf is a hard game to learn and play” by those in the golf industry, it hurts the game. Will these statements motivate individuals to play golf and stay in a game that offers opportunities to experience the mental, social, emotional and physical components found in the joy of playing a game? I think not!

Yes, there is less golf being played today than in the past. Yes, golf instruction often leaves behind a golf swing that is like a closet filled with more items than it can hold. Less play and more things to think about during instruction are born out of a culture and values that are not found in a game of golf/ wrapped in the spirit of the game. This spirit is void of the kind frustrations that are hurting our ability to grow and grow.

The insight that is being put forward here is: the culture and expectations that are influencing the sport of golf today (which studies say is not growing) are clearly different from the culture, values and experiences that have always been found in the game of golf. (Expectations are different from experiences).

The sport of golf has a culture that brings out ego driven expectations about how far the ball must go, low scores, perfect swings, perfect clubs, fixing unwanted outcomes, and the latest gadgets. These types of expectations clearly create the kind of frustrations that are not helping to grow the game.

Golf as a game (like all games) is meant to be a social experience; on the other hand the sport of golf is an exhibition of ego driven expectations that cause frustrations. Individuals should be educated that it is possible to look forward to engaging golf while improving, without the kind of frustration that causes golfers to play less or leave the game.

The game of golf is a bridge or tunnel into the essence of ourselves and others. It is an experience which is not available when golf is an exhibition of desires to get something right.

The game of golf is meant to promote experiences that always connect with us as people first, then as golfers. The social aspect of being a human is elevated during a game of golf. In these environments there is something more going on than workable and unworkable outcomes. I suggest it is the spirit of the game.

Skiing and cooking have very different cultures than the sport of golf. People can ski, fall down a lot, have high handicap ski skills and can’t wait to go skiing again. People can cook and barbecue with high handicap cooking skills, but love to cook. Skiing and cooking are seen as experiences with our fellow man, and not as an exhibition of skills, where individuals are told they have to get something just right to enjoy skiing and cooking.

The spirit of the game of golf travels back in time to when the game was called “COIF”. This is a spirit that existed in Tom Morris’ time, in Bobby Jones time, in Arnold Palmer’s time. It began to erode during the mid 1970’s, moving in the direction of values, customs, a culture and expectations that the sport of golf and the business of golf promote. It moved from being a wonderful pastime, into a day filled with culture caused frustration.

Playing a game of golf gives individuals the opportunity to experience spending time with others, while bonding on different levels. This is quality time in a culture that embraces the spirit of the game, which becomes a frustrating environment in a culture of trying to get something right, that exists in the sport of golf.

There are blind golfers, one armed golfers, one legged golfers who not only enjoy the experience of playing golf, some shoot scores in the 70’s. Golf is not a hard game that takes too long to play when experienced in the culture that the spirit of the game represent.

Any well meaning suggestions for making the hole bigger, the ball bigger and making some changes to traditional playing conditions are not really needed to change the kind of expectations and frustrations that have caused individuals to avoid taking the game up.

Pete Dawson who heads up the R & A said, “I don’t think we need to dumb golf down. I think that is an awful prospect.” By seeing golf as a game, the game will grow. The business of golf has tried to grow by seeing the sport of golf as a business. Individuals and companies that see themselves as being in the golf business are in trouble, individuals and companies that see themselves as being in the “golfer” business are doing okay.

The spirit of the game recognizes that unwanted outcomes are not failures in need of fixing. They are valuable feedback for future use. Golfers should be allowed to always see themselves as being on a journey of development from where they are at the moment. No one is broken in need of fixing when they are playing golf wrapped in the spirit of the game.

The PGA, LPGA tours are not social experiences (just watch). These tournaments are competitive exhibitions that are entertaining to see and to be appreciated. But these professional tours are not be the best models of experiences the joy of spending time and interacting with new and past friends and family. What level of fun and social experiences do we see tour players having?

The game of golf wrapped in the spirit of the game, provides a safe supportive environment for learning and developing skills with a playful approach that has always grown the game.

Lower frustration and grow the game by promoting the social experience of playing a game. The game of golf touches all aspects of what humans need; a physical, social, mental and spiritual experience.

Lower frustration by removing outcome expectations during instruction and playing the game. No one can control their score, but you can control how you see yourself and the game of golf. When these insights are recognized, any frustrations that the sport of golf can bring on are avoided.

Everyone in the golf industry should promote a culture that embraces the spirit of the game, accepting its ups and downs without frustration. PGA of America call letters could stand for Pleasurable Game for All. At times this insight gets lost in the culture of the sport and business of golf.

The game of golf is not broken. Some rethinking about today’s culture, perceptions and expectations that many in our industry put forward will help grow the game that some see as “at risk.”

---

Credits

Originally posted by MichaelHebron on 16 Sep 2011.
All contributors: MichaelHebron,

Rate This Article

View top-rated articles!

You need to Login or register to rate articles.

Accuracy

12345 My vote: 0, Total votes: 0, Avg. vote: 0

Usefulness

12345 My vote: 0, Total votes: 0, Avg. vote: 0

This discussion page has not yet been started.

You have reached a discussion page that is currently empty. GolfBizWiki discussion pages are where people talk about how to improve a specific page. Typical topics include:

• Does this page follow the GolfBizWiki Writers And Editors Guide?
• Is the content on this page appropriate for wikiHow?
• Is this article helpful or useful?
• Is this article accurate?

A discussion page is an ideal place for two or more people with conflicting views to civilly reach consensus about how a page should be edited. By having these discussions off the topic page, GolfBizWiki community members can converse and agree on how to best improve the page.

Please Login or register to post comments.