Watching sports events on tv has been an on again, off again adventure for me. As a youngster, I loved the roller derby and wrestling. That was before I realized it was all an act. I went to a professional wrestling match in Portland when I was 19 and sat in a folding chair down on the floor near the arena. I was wide eyed with fear as one of the bruisers lost a match, hopped over the ropes and left the floor in a huff -- while tossing chairs aside. Say what?! One almost hit me!
I like watching the Olympics. Not all the events but several, and because I was an avid bike rider, I always stopped to watch bike races. In my forties, I somehow became interested in football. I never really sat down to enjoy a basketball, baseball, or soccer game but I did like football. I recently saw a rugby game and I thought that was terrific. Golf was always at the bottom of my list for something I might be interested in. I don't know when that changed. I do know it wasn't with Tiger Woods getting so famous 'cause he got on my nerves. I know that makes no sense but it is what it is.
At any rate, golf is now my favorite thing to watch. I've played the game ONCE and I hated it. I couldn't hit the ball for love or money and knew I would never play again. I actually grew up next to a golf course and walked through or around it from kindergarten to my senior year. Finding lost golf balls was a fun thing on the way home from school each day. After I left PT to venture to other parts of the west coast, I ended up raising my kids a couple blocks from where I grew up, and some days I would see my dad in his retirement years as he did his daily walk around the golf course, picking up balls for his grandkids. Even now in my retirement years, the golf course is just down the hill.
I'm at a complete loss to remember when golf on television first caught my attention. It's not unusual for me to have the golf station tuned in all day long, especially on weekends. Even if I'm not watching, it calms me and I like the background noises.
And what do I find interesting in these hours of recliner enjoyment? Well, there are a few things.....
I like to see what the golfers are wearing. They're always well dressed. I even look over their shoes, their shirts, their hats, their golf bags, and their caddies. Oh, and I look at their butts when they bend over to get their ball out of the cup.
I love the scenery provided. Golf courses are beautiful these days and you can tell there's a lot of money involved in keeping them beautiful. You learn about the care put into these courses and the different grasses that are planted and the trees and how they're redesigned all the time. You can tune in to these works of art all around the world. The photography is terrific and you get to see the ocean views, the cliffs, the rolling hills of trees, the ponds, and the houses that people live in right on the course.
The crowds number in the thousands as they follow their favorites around the course and those crowds are usually all very well dressed themselves. I've been told that golf is a rich mans game and that college kids are recruited early to be pros. I love getting to see the wives and kids come on after their husband/dad has won a tournament. And it's touching to see the parents with tears in their eyes at what their son has accomplished.
It's always an eye opener too to watch the crowds having to be held back by the cops on duty who follow the pros around. Wild life is present in this pictorial too. You see squirrels, rabbits, ducks, geese, birds, deer, alligators, beavers, turtles, moose, and snakes depending on where the golf course is. Go on Youtube and search for "animals on the golf course." Fascinating!
It used to be they wouldn't allow cameras in the audience but that has changed with the invention of cellphones as everyone is standing filming their pro as he tees off or uses his putter on the greens. You end up having favorites and you always root for them. I even love to hear about the feuds between players and I get a kick out of any golfer who loses his cool and forgets the tv cameras are rolling.
Yeah, golf is entertaining.
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