Beer & golf
Beer and golf.
They go together exceptionally well but, separately or together, they also happen to be two of my favourite things.
There are some parallels between them too.
I happen to like craft beers and have been experimenting with lots of different micro breweries and their unique offerings – everything from the tangy IPA’s to the tart lagers and hearty stouts. At one micro brewery in Naples, Florida I even tried a peanut butter beer. It was delicious but far too sweet to imagine drinking a whole pint – the small flight glass was quite sufficient, thank you very much.
One of the things I’ve observed about friends and casual acquaintances is that they fall into one of two categories when it comes to beer. There are those like me who welcome diversity, like to try new things and appreciate the fine taste of some truly unique beers. For those people my fridge contains several varieties of craft beers and a couple of premium offerings from around the world.
Then there are others to whom a beer is just a beer and generally speaking, the more the better. For those people my fridge is stocked with one of the “popular” brands of Lite beers in copious quantities because anything else is wasted on them. Everybody’s happy.
What has that got to do with golf, you ask?
Likewise in golf. There are those that seek out volume golf – playing as often and as cheaply as possible because that’s the way they’re wired; while others tend to look for golf experiences – maybe paying a little more or travelling a little farther to play a special course because they know at the end of the day that the satisfaction from one round will stay with them longer than multiple rounds on lesser courses.
Volume players may try a more expensive course on occasion but probably can’t enjoy it as much because they can’t help thinking they could have played two or three or four rounds on their usual course for the same price.
It’s not to say that one way is right or wrong – it’s really all about what works for you, both financially and emotionally. In my own case, I’m reminded of a famous quote from Philip Stanhope, the 4th Earl of Chesterfield, who lived from 1694-1773. I don’t know if the Earl played golf but one of his sayings is particularly appropriate to the way I look at the game, “Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well.”
And that includes enjoying my beer and my golf experiences to the fullest.
