However, not everyone who plays golf is a ‘golfer’ and not everyone who doesn’t play is a non-golfer. (It can’t be straightforward because this is golf.)
In its simplest terms, golfers ‘get it’ while non-golfers don’t.
A stark illustration of this came at the weekend courtesy of club professional at Western Australia’s Sea View Golf Club, Andrew Marchbank.
Marchbank is a constant campaigner for the things that are important about golf and, like Sandy Jamieson in Melbourne, uses real life stories of those playing his course to illustrate what the game really can and does mean to people.
Yesterday, Andrew posted a clipping from the local Cottesloe paper about a member at Sea View, Nicki Netherway, who recently won the Club Championship for a second time.
Story of the day:
The local paper ran this story on our women’s Club Champ who has found an important outlet & supportive community in the game.
Nicki defended her title in just her 3rd year playing
Yet golf provides her much more than just competition@karenharding123 @GolfAust pic.twitter.com/VFWGdc7oYE— Andrew Marchbank (@MarchbankAndrew) September 25, 2022
It was quite the achievement for Nicki who only took up golf three years ago. And yet it wasn’t the most important element of the story.
As Nicki revealed in the paper, she had come to golf after the tragic loss of a son.
“The reason I decided to play golf was to help deal with the death of our son, Jeremy,” she told the paper.
“I found being out on the course with my family and all my newfound golfing friends was a huge outlet and support for my family and me.”
So what does this have to do with golfers and non-golfers?
“In the same way dogs teach us things we didn’t expect to learn so, too, can golf. And just like dogs sometimes find people right when they are needed the most so, too, can golf.” – Rod Morrie.
The analogy might be a bit of a stretch but people’s golf origin stories – like Nicki’s – often remind me of people’s stories about their dogs.
Many dog owners never really intended to have a pet but, through some series of unexpected events, ended up owning a dog. And loving it.
It’s almost as if dogs find people, rather than the other way around. And in a strange way, I think the same can be true of golf.
Andrew says he’s not sure how Nicki heard about his beginner’s clinic back in 2019 or what prompted her to sign up.
But he does confirm that she is now, without doubt, a ‘golfer’.
“In every sense of the word,” he says. “And a fabulous and popular addition to the club, as well.”
Golf is, of course, just a game and most of us are guilty of taking it too seriously at times.
But it is also, of course, so much more than just a game and can make people’s lives genuinely better.
In the same way dogs teach us things we didn’t expect to learn so, too, can golf.
And just like dogs sometimes find people right when they are needed the most so, too, can golf.
Non golfers don’t get it but that’s ok. Some people don’t like dogs, either.
In both instances, though, it feels as though they are the ones missing out.
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