Golf for the most part is played without supervision of a referee. A central principle of golf: “Play the ball as it lies, play the course as you find it, and if you cannot do either, do what is fair”. Golf, like life, relies on the integrity of the players. Whether golf emulates life or life emulates golf there are many reasons to learn the game.
As a mirror to life Golf has many benefits. All golfers know to “do what is fair” can test the patients and integrity of most people during a round of golf. It takes a strong mental attitude and character to maintain composure when things are no going as intended. “Play the ball as it lies” is probably the greatest test of our mental game and of our character.
I have played many rounds where I observe people shift into a negative mindset due to bad lies. Stop and think about some difficult unintended shots that resulted in challenging lies. Consider how positive you kept your thoughts? Consider if you truly honored the rules of golf? How well did you focus on the shot? How well did you put the unintended shot that got you in a bad spot out of your mind? Your answers to these questions will surface information on where your mental game may need some work.
Golf presents opportunity after opportunity for the young and old to practice honesty, patience, confidence, responsibility, respect, perseverance, and humility to name a few. Then of course there are the benefits of being physically active outdoors, developing mental skills such as confidence, focus and concentration, as well as problem solving and decision-making? Finally, Golf is a friendly social game regardless of playing for fun or competition or at least it should be.