Any one else sort of losing interest?

[flomarilius]

I hate to admit it but I think either I have lost interest in golf or I'm just burned out. I used to think of some of these other kids on the forums that they would burn out and never make it. Just curious if anyone else has had these moments or "extended" breaks from golf and actually come back and pick it up. I was no hacker either held a 4.something cap for a long while and just fell out of love with the game I guess (after not being successfully recruited :()?

[Wi-Golfer]

Not for me, but then I am still working on just becoming a crummy golfer instead of a horrible one.

I do know of what you speak though, I have been thru similar situations in regards to racing motorcycles. At times I love it & wouldn't want to do anything else, then I sit back & start thinking about how stupid & dangerous it actually is. Basically I talk myself out of enjoying it & then I take a year or 3 off. Think I am out for good now though, haven't done any in almost 2 years & really don't miss it one bit.

[MIKE1218]

No 'burn out' for me. I used to play on the HS team, but I won't try out this year. I'm not a chopper, and I'm planning on playing more than ever. Just going to play to play. Don't let the fact that you didn't get recruited keep you from being a guy and hitting a ball with a stick. Go to the range dude.

[SilverUberXeno]

I seriously, SERIOUSLY, considered quitting this year. I mean, quitting-quitting. Frankly, I love golf too much to play recreationally. I want to play the hell out of the game. I want to make something of it. If the rest of my life gets in the way, then I gotta give up the game.

So really I kinda gave up the rest of my life, instead.

Taking a hiatus is fine. Sometimes you need to cool off and relax- a sebatical, much needed in a game where frustration is as natural as breathing.

I think what you're feeling is that golf will do nothing for your life besides spend time. I say, keep playing, lower your cap, and keep trying to get a scholarship for it. Transfer to a better school, or something.

[88cupfan]

The thing I love about golf is the competition. After graduation, the guys I played with went an all different directions so I lost my golf buddies and no longer had the competition of organized play. So, I took up softball and played 3 nights a week and in tournaments every other weekend till I was 34. I still played golf from time to time in a scramble or with my business associates but my game was gone. I knew I would go back to golf when I was finished playing softball and get serious about it. I'm 48 now and have a solid game that i enjoy working on at a close by range and play in a money game with 20-30 players each weekend. The weekends cant come quick enough. I live for the competition. Its not unusual to feel a let down after High School golf. Give yourself some time and do some other things for a while. This however i can pretty much guarantee, You'll be back some day! Golf is the greatest game in the world for athletes who love to compete after the glory days of youth are over and the risk of injury prohibits other sports. Enjoy your youth my young man, golf will always be there for you when you want it.

[limpalong]

This winter I just haven't had the "bug" like years before. My bag is pretty well set. Just thought the other day... If I win the PowerBall, what clubs would I buy? And... the answer is... Oh, if I saw something interesting on sale on the used rack...... There's just nothing out there I can't live without! After years and years of ho'ing, it has taken the edge off of even getting really excited about the game.

That said, I am looking forward to 60 degree temps here tomorrow. Buddy called this evening to make sure I was planning on being at the course early tomorrow morning. And... today... that's what it's all about!! It's about the comradery, socializing, solving the world's problems, telling jokes that would make Claire blush... I've aged/matured/grown up. Some years ago, I realized I would never be a tour player. I would never be a scratch player. So, the only way to enjoy this game was to not take is so seriously and do exactly that.... enjoy the game.

If you're getting "burned out" at a young age, try to refocus why you play the game. Move from the need to make a team or make the tour or whatever the early dreams were. Understand this is a game that can be played and enjoyed for an entire lifetime. New friends can be found. New experiences can be had. There's nothing at 18 or 38 or 68 that beats the fresh smell of mown grass, the manicured look of fresh mown fairways, the sweet feel of a well struck ball, the ungodly loud shout of "Fore!", the screaming of vulgarities from the next fairway, the tight haltertop on the beer cart girl....

[Pa Jayhawk]

If I played solid year round I could see that happening over time. To me winter kind of serves as a restoration point where I spend the entire winter thinking of golf and by the time I go back I am primed. I do try and get as many round in during the winter as I can, but it is very limited to either with travel or driving a couple hours on nice days when it hasn't snowed south of here in a while.

There is only one time in the 7 years I have played where I really got disgusted with my game and am not sure I really enjoyed it at the time. I took a couple weeks off to clear my head and it helped.

At the end of each year and shortly after Thanksgiving I am usually not real serious about my game and am really not to disappointed at the time knowing it is going to be 3-4 months. It is also a time of the year where I many times play my best golf as I have no expectations and relax. Then come the first of the year I can't wait to get back and I believe the anticipation only keeps me more interested.

Take some time off if you have the choice and see what it does.

[warbirdlover]

If it's in your blood you'll never be happy unless you can play some golf. If you don't feel that, maybe you don't like it all that much. Maybe it was too easy for you to master and you have not experienced and enjoyed (?) the challenge of getting better?

I like limp's analysis of it all. He is a wise man...

[Bakemono36]

I started playing back in '99 and then gave the game up for 9 years (just had no interest).
Last spring I found myself check out the golf section of Wal-Mart and Target and watching golf tourneys on TV, thinking about picking the game back up and thats what I did in June of last year.
Now, my passion for golf is stronger than its ever been.
IMO, if golf just isnt fun for you anymore, its time to step away from the game. If you arent having fun, whats the point?
Im kind of the same way about snowmobiling as you are about golf right now. Ive snowmobiled since I was 12 years old and have been around snowmobiles all my life and now Im to the point where I dont even really care about it anymore and I find myself thinking about selling my sled. Its to the point where snowmobiling is boring and there just isnt much of a thrill in it anymore. I could get on my sled and blast across the lake at 120 mph or go flying down a tight and twisty trail at 80 mph, sliding sideways through every corner and Im just like, "*yawn* booooooring...".
It was the same back when I used to race motocross. It got to be old and go to the point where I had no passion for it anymore, so I knew it was time to give it up.
Only you know what you really want, but if its to the point where golf isnt fun anymore and you have no interest in it, perhaps its time to move on and find something that you are passionate about.

[Esox]

I've taken a year or two off a couple times in my 35 years as a golfer. I came back last year after two years of musky fishing where I only played in a few scrambles. I was so frustrated with my putting I needed to get away. I always strike the ball pretty consistently, but have putted poorly consistently for about ten years.

I think it really recharged my batteries. Last year was great as I played a ton with my wife and daughter. Can't wait for the snow to melt so this year's season can begin.

Last year I loved knowing we were going to be heading to the golf course. I belong to a semi-private club, and really enjoy seeing the people that work there. I love getting there early enough to head down to the range to loosen up. I love seeing which way the wind is blowing any given day and planning how I'll play that day's round. Then I love piecing that round together. I love seeing my daughter and wife improve most every time we play.

The only thing I didn't love about last year? On occasion, the wife and daughter need a fire lit under their butts so we get out of the house in time to get to the course so I have the time I want to work up to that first drive.

Kevin

[RustyL]

I went through a questionable time last year. Its not that I lost interest; I lost interest in stinking up the course. I took about 8 weeks off. I have played some easier courses as of late to build my self-esteem back up.

I'm wondering if I need to get back into fishing........nah

[slickpitt]

Nope... not me. I eat sleep and drink golf lol

[JEFF4i]

Nope. Took a two year break and since I returned there's never been any hesitation about me continiuing playing.

[LBlack14]

You must live where it's warm. I don't get to play for a few months anyway so I'm chompin at the bit. I take up the lost time wheelin and dealin trying to get the bag to where I want it and make a few bucks in the process.

No rest for the wicked here!!!

[wirehair]

Yeah Flo - it happens.
2 stories.

I played golf in HS (1960's) and when I graduated just didn't want to play anymore. A couple of rounds in college, a couple of company outings. Picked it up again about 40 years later when I inexplicably woke up one morning & hit a couple of golf balls.

My son was a soccer player, nationally ranked club team. Won several big national tournaments. Went to college on a soccer scholarship & they were in the NCAA Final 4. After that year he decided to hang 'em up. His explanation, it just wasn't fun anymore. He plays recreational now and coaches a men's team.

Moral - Life is too short, live it doing something that blows your skirt up, but realize that the wind speed & direction blowing your skirt up will change and shift.