“They call it golf because all the other four letter words are taken”
Raymond Floyd
Of all the golf quotes I’ve happened across, this one from Raymond Floyd is my favourite. Golf is a frustrating game. For those with a penchant for profanity like me, it certainly strains one corner of my vocabulary a lot more than other activities. I cannot remember where I read it (or indeed, like some of those very clouded memories, whether I actually ever read it at all) that golf was one of the most written about sports. I can see that, but compared to some hugely mass participation sports like football (soccer) or the major American sports, I’m not sure how golf actually ranks. All that said, plenty has been said and written about the mesmerising game.
I think one of my favourite quotes about golf is from Arnold Palmer:
“Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening – and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented”
Arnold Palmer
Who would I be to disagree with one of the greatest golfers of all time? He absolutely nails the point about frustration. You simply can’t master golf from overthinking it. As Palmer also said:
“Golf is a game of inches. The most important are the six inches between your ears”
Arnold Palmer
It is a game played in your head. It is also technically a game of narrow margins, which adds to the frustration. One of the most important things for me developing as a golfer was developing my mental game, in particular working on expectation management and keeping my head in check. As golf writer Jon Sherman says though, we have to see golf as a positive. The fact that we can play golf and we have a choice to do so should stop us beating ourselves up and try to enjoy it. Golf should be a good part of our life and, as golf professional Bobby Jones observed, golf offers us lessons in life:
“Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots; you get good breaks from bad shots – but you have to play the ball where it lies”
Bobby Jones
And if you’re enjoying these quotes about golf, here is a final one, perhaps my favourite – ‘The Golfer’s Creed’ written in 1899:
“GOLF is a science, the study of a lifetime in which you may exhaust yourself but never your subject. It is a contest, a duel or a melee, calling for courage, skill, strategy and self-control. It is a test of temper, a trial of honour, and a revealer of character. It affords a chance to play the man and act the gentleman. It means going into God’s out-of-door, getting close to nature, fresh air, exercise, a sweeping away of mental cobwebs, genuine recreation of tired tissues. It is a cure for care, an antidote to worry. It includes companionship with friends, social intercourse, opportunities for courtesy, kindliness and generosity to an opponent. It promotes not only physical health but moral force.
David Forgan, ‘The Golfer’s Creed’
Commonplace 