Nike’s recent exit from the golf equipment business to focus solely on golf apparel and footwear spawned an entire discussion about golf itself. Was golf dying? Had it failed to appeal to millennials? In an era of technology and apps, was golf out of touch with its relaxed pace of play? It led us to wonder – is golf still for the gent?
We can look into that last point first: golf’s pace of play. Mark Twain once said “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” As our world pushes us to go faster and faster it’s ever more relevant for us to slow down and pause. A morning or afternoon of golfing can help you do precisely that. Whether you are solo or with friends and acquaintances, golf allows you to take back time, and in an environment of natural beauty.
That extended time also allows for the sort of meaningful conversations that can linger with you for the rest of the week: be they business or personal. A coffee or a lunch is a great way to “catch up” but a round of golf is an even better way to get deeper and have the kind of conversations that touch on the most important things.
Golf resists shortcuts in an era of “hacking” anything difficult. At the end of the day you are still hitting a small ball down a fairway, full of sand traps and water hazards, towards a small hole. It requires mental concentration and varying levels of strength and precision from your body, all over a period of some hours.
Those are all reasons why golf is still very much for the gent. A gent takes time to have conversations and experiences – not just with friends and family – but with colleagues and possible new clients. A gent enjoys the beauties of nature, even if just for a few hours. But most importantly, a gent knows that he can always improve, and golf, like life, always invites us to do better. Not because it’s easy, but precisely because it is hard. And it is the hard things that shape the strongest things.
Do you think that golf is dead? If not, do you play? If you do play, what do you enjoy most about golf? Comment to be entered in a drawing for a free 3-course hair service you can gift to a friend!
