T-Minus Eight Days 'Til Golf

One week from tomorrow I'll be playing golf for the first time in almost four months, and I feel, well, kind of excited about it? I'm not sure. Yes, of course, I'm excited that I'll finally be able to chase the little white ball around again. But I'm not as excited as maybe I had expected to be at this juncture of the game. Winter has been so cold and oppressive (twelve more inches of snow yesterday and today!) that one would think I would be literally chomping at the bit to get out there on the course. But my tempered enthusiasm makes me think that maybe I really have turned a corner and am not going to be obsessed with the game come this summer, or worse yet, completely distraught and downtrodden when I'm not able to play my usual number of rounds due to any number of potentially unfortunate circumstances. Did I finally just grow up?! Oh heaven's, please no. But seriously, I feel a great change coming on and I'm excited about it and a little scared. I've always (well, at least for the last ten-plus years) had my obsession with golf to fall back on when nothing else seemed right anymore. What now? A brave, new world, methinks. A brave, new world...

A Golfer In Retreat

This phrase has been resonating in my head these last few days....a golfer in retreat. I'm so on again/off again anymore with my future as it pertains to the game I love--its maddening, really. But I'm starting to feel like its time to pull back. I wonder if I could rekindle my overall enjoyment of the game by going back to my roots, my humble beginnings in the game? Could I quit my golf club, and for all intents and purposes, quit playing the game with any regularity, and just enjoy the occasional trip to the range and/or the even less occasional 9 holes at dusk at the local muni? I think I could, but I can't be 100% sure. On the one hand, it might be a relief to no longer feel the need to constantly obsess over my path towards improvement and instead just enjoy the game for what it really is--a game. However, I may have spoiled myself a bit too much over these last five-plus years by playing in the relative serenity of a private course with decent enough conditions and anything but congestion on the first tee. More ruminating on this subject is definitely in order, but that might just be what I need to get away from doing in the first place.