“But in the end it’s still a game of golf, and if at the end of the day you can’t shake hands with your opponents and still be friends, then you’ve missed the point.”
Payne Stewart
Golfers all over the world are a bit off, but no other nation is more obsessed with golf than America. There are a series of golf courses spread across the country, and most are densely booked during the season. There are almost 576,534 golf holes in the world. The total number of golf courses across the globe is approximately 40,000, of which North America claims 51%. The USA, alone, commands approximately 43% of these courses.
USA
Approx. population 320,583,000
Golf holes 261,324
Golf facilities 15,372
Population per golf hole 1,227
Swansea Country Club, Massachusetts
There are some golf apps that book tee times. They further assist golfers, providing live on-course information with wonderful competence. It’s an interesting blend of nature’s bliss and technological ease. Golf courses operate very efficient tee time systems that make crowded fairways fun. I have witnessed wildness, typical American freestyle, mannerism, and courtesy working hand in hand on these fairways. People routinely watch for each other’s balls. Everyone on the flight volunteers to locate lost balls. The good, the bad, and the ugly make no difference. Friends, acquaintances, and strangers are paired by the clubs according to the seeker’s tee times. On the tee, the introduction melts into togetherness as one crew. Golfers usually count individual scores. Some make bets, while others play for the heck of it. These stylistic choices add a depth to the game, making it unique for each player.
Many Americans don’t like to tuck their shirts into their shorts or pants. People of the USA are known to do most formal things informally. Formal or informal, they love sport, and to talk about it even more. They have their own slang for golf terminology. When flying with an American crew, lingo is an added bit of fun. And they won’t spare any opportunity to comment. I enjoy funny, if not witty, commentary and am known for it. A display of good golf along with timely jokes doubles the fun. Alas, whatever stimulates multiple senses heightens the experience. Golf allows a lot of people to open up; even the most uptight begin to crack amazing jokes. I wonder how much talent shines behind the curtain of the non-introduction. Few steps together on a fairway brigade yet so much gap. How it brings people close that otherwise are skies apart. A simple ‘Hello!’ in a tee box leads to a day full of smiles and laughter. Metal may snow on the planet Venus, but the sunshine of decent interaction of its residents makes the earth unique, in the universe. Sometimes our lives are just like a golf course — the field may seem ever-expanding, but it all leads to the same distant, yet familiar, destination.
“Achievements on the golf course are not what matters, decency and honesty are what matters.”
Tiger Woods
America, Asia, Antarctica, or maybe terraformed Mars in the future — golf is a nation in itself. It only needs a passport of friendliness, a visa of harmony, and a ticket of etiquette to enter into its borders. If the dignity of a golf course, decorum of the fairway, modesty of the golf ball, slimness of the tee, virtue of the golf stick, ambience of the golf club, and delicacy of the green doesn't grab you, then what will?
“Sell your cleverness and buy bewilderment.”
Rumi
Credits
Swansea Country Club
Golf Quotes
Rumi 2014
Facts
By
Ahsan Jamil
Golfer, Blogger, Entrepreneur, Author, Poet, Wanderer, photographer, Rebel.
Email: Golfaij@gmail.com
Website: Golfaij.com
YouTube: Morning with Golf