KEEP PERSPECTIVE AND HAVE FUN
Diffley: Play with friends with good attitudes, and keep score only when it counts!
Goldstein: To play golf for a lifetime, it has to be FUN. Who your playing companions are matters. If you pick someone you love, like I have with my daughter, golf will never vanish from our lives. Pick special friends, loved family members, and golf will always be a great endeavor that joins lives.
Hughes: I can’t emphasize enough the importance fun has in our lives and how we alter our lives and priorities when something is not fun. Keep the fun in golf by enjoying the little battles of the game you win, in perspective. Forget the ones you don’t. Do not judge fun solely on performance or score. Judge fun on the overall experience — the friends you keep, the courses you play, the small goals you obtain, and the teachable moments you obtain by playing the game.
Graham: Taking up the game can be incredibly overwhelming — there is just so much to learn. It may sound oversimplified, but at the very basic level if you follow a FUN+ notion of the game, you can create longevity.
First and foremost, no matter what age you start at, you need to remember that it’s a game and it is meant to be FUN.
Finally, loop right back around and remember that golf is FUN! Yes, it is a hard game to master but the journey through all stages of the game creates lasting relationships and wonderful memories. Isn’t that what it is all about?
Vangellow: Comraderie and peace are equally important. Playing with the people you love to be around makes you want to show up and play, while for others the peacefulness of playing nine holes at 7 a.m. or 6 p.m., by themselves, relaxes them.
Roy: From my perspective, attitude is judge. I teach some seniors who continue to want to improve, always trying to learn. I know personally that’s one of the reasons I love this game. You can always get better.
