Is Golf Addictive

[Paul Hedrick]

A friend and golf buddy wrote this:

https://bobirdie.com/is-golf-addictive-a-golf-loving-psychiatrists-opinion/

 

[KC Golf]

I am definitely addicted…  

[GolfSpy_APH]

I'll give the article a reas after, but for me it certainly is. Whether that's due to the part of challenging yourself, the fun of new toys and equipment or getting to meet new ppl I can certainly say there is enough there to call it addictive.

[Javs]

Hello I am (insert name) and I am addicted to golf; however, I have no intention of quitting……..Now onto the next great shot or the newest gear to change my game, ha ha

[Triple_Putt]

Definitely addicting. I’ve played sports all my life but I honestly think about golf most of my day. Whether it be playing, new clubs, etc. 

[DisVet1]

DEFINITELY! No matter how many bad shots a person hits, and he’ll remember most of those, the ones most TALK about are the right shots they hit that keep them coming back over and over again! Seeking that contact & sound, the travel of the ball, etc. yeah so addicting in the best of ways!!!

[Jbird]

I tried to quit golf, but it drove me so crazy that I ended up in the rough of withdrawal!

[GolfSpy_BEN]

Every range session, putting practice, and playing round reinforces this notion. Hit one good shot and the first thought afterward is to set up to another one and say to yourself, “let’s see if I can do that again…but better…

[Shapotomous]

I dont think i am addicted to golf but after a jan / feb layoff  i do look forward to getting back out there.

In a related subject,

I was addicted to the hokey pokey once but fortunately i turned myself around! 

[Donn lost in San Diego]

Thts how Scottie Sheffler learned his footwork, the hok pok.

[ParFore74x]

I’m definitely addicted to golf. I could have an absolutely terrible round and that one good shot is enough to keep me motivated to improve. Dare I say that a really good round is almost euphoric? It gets stuck in my head for days.

[JerryB]

[Caddie1966]

Is the sky blue? Is water wet?  Is ice cold?  Is the desert hot? Is golf addicting?  
 

Only someone who doesn’t go to sleep by imagining shots instead of counting sheep would ask such a question.  Only someone who doesn’t swing without a club in their hand while waiting in the grocery store checkout line would ask such a question.  Only someone who can’t walk by a mirror and check their backswing positions would ask such a question.  Only someone who doesn’t putt on the carpet would ask such a question. Only someone who doesn’t smile watching Tiger hit irons in his prime on YouTube would ask such a question.  Only someone who doesn’t hang out at My Golf Spy would ask such a question.
 

The best thing about golf addiction is it’s legal. I am not aware of any golf anon meetings nor do I know of any medications used to wean one off of golf although I am sure there are plenty of shrinks who would take your Skins money to try to get golf out of your system.  I think the only way that golf addiction can be “cured” is a debilitating brain injury which results in complete amnesia or death.

I’m happy  to acknowledge my addiction and my NEED, yes physical, mental and emotional NEED to hit a little white ball into a hole.

[Will_Mac]

Abso-freakin'-lutely!!!

[Ding-dong]

I would say yes.

It has a power to resuscitate or crush you…

My own experience is it has taken me to highs and dragged me off the bottom of my lows.

The best rounds are at the forefront of my memory, they are the moments I play back and enjoy. 

[OldCaddie]

On 7/8/2023 at 9:52 AM, Paul Hedrick said:

A friend and golf buddy wrote this:

https://bobirdie.com/is-golf-addictive-a-golf-loving-psychiatrists-opinion/

 

Guilty as charged and love it.  

[Mr_BogeyPro]

Does a bear sh*t in the woods? It is very addicting! I love the challenge of trying to 'beat' the course. I never try and beat my buddies; I always look at it as besting the course.

It is a one-on-one sport. No one to blame if they didn't catch the ball. No one to blame if there was a bad call. Just you and the course!

[ChuckZ]

An addiction takes on many meanings and one is a habit.  And for most of us Golf is a habit (a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up).  Going a few weeks without playing starts to take an effect on you and when you go back you start to wonder how you will hit the ball, a sense of insecurity.  So I guess all of us who play this game are addicted  to the game if we play it on a regular basis and are dedicated to it.  I have had to step away from the game a number of times this year for medical reasons.   Five months the first of the year, recently two weeks, and will stepping away at least another month to take care of my wife who is having a knee replaced.  That is a lot of time to be away and then try to come back.  Hard to get the mojo going with the short game.  Going to have work even harder for our being trip in November to the TPC Scottsdale with my new T350 irons once they are released and I can get away for a fitting.  Yes, I AM AN ADDICT.  GOLFERS Anonymous.  hakuna matata.....    

[Hook DeLoft]

When I was in school, we had a professor who had lost about 100 lbs and ran every day for long distances.  He was giving a lecture on behavioral addictions and said he wondered about golfers, having seen people playing in horrible conditions.  I raised my hand and asked if he had seen this while running in those horrible conditions.  To his credit, he laughed.

[Dweed]

It is definitely one of the loves of my life. My God, my wife, my grandkids, being a vet, my choc lab, golf.

 

[Krowland]

For me, yes!  I've played many sports growing up, very competitive, and thought i enjoyed playing them... until I got into golf. Now that i have gotten older, the other sports have faded and I specifically concentrate on golf.  If i'm not playing golf, i'm watching golf. If i'm not watching golf, i'm looking at equipment. I'm reading articles, researching, buying stuff i probably don't need but can be another tool added to my bag.  
 

No sport has ever been as challenging yet enjoyable as golf has been for me. I was blessed with athleticism but there is so much more to this game than just some fast twitch muscles and given ability.   I think golf has to be one of the only sports where people can practice and not get any better. Or shoot the greatest round of their life one day, and their worst the next time out.  The chase is real and i'll keep running even if there is no finish line!  I'm like a dog chasing a ball, really is no winner, its an endless game and i'll keep playing until i'm forced to quit! 

[Koncelor71]

Golf is addictive.  I have been playing this game for more than 60 years and aS MUCH AS i COMPLAIN ABOUT SLOW PLAY, POOR PLAYING CONDITIONS, E.G. SLOW GREENS, NO SAND IN SANDTRAPS, ETC., AND  the lack of water on the course, I look forward to my next round with eager anticipation. 

[CrazyGolfNut]

Golf is not an addiction or a habit, it is Life or Death!  Sorry.  Now back to my basement for some putting practice ... 

[GolfSpy TCB]

What other activity can make you feel so disappointed, dejected, depressed, frustrated, angry, and completely disheveled that you never want to do it again... until the moment you finish... when you are planning the next opportunity to do it all over again.  Yeah.  That is addiction.

[Q22Golf]

10,000% yes! I’d do it every day!

[cajunhacker]

Glad I’m not the only one…..

Grew up playing a ton of sports but didn’t play golf until college. Started to play a bunch right after college…. Then got married and had kids. The wife got me my first lesson 2 years ago and it’s been a rabbit hole. 
went from probably a 20 handicap to an 8 now, and slowly dropping. Fun ride. 

[ccostel18]

I refer to it as being devoted…..addicted has such a negative connotation to it

[Lionel3]

Only physically, psychologically, spiritually, and emotionally. So, no...not really.

[Jonesie]

It’s the last thing I think about before I fall asleep and the first thing I think about when I wake…. I don’t see a problem?

[DoubleBogeyDad]

"A lifelong condition that involves compulsive performing of an activity despite harmful or negative consequences."

Yep, checks out.