7 Reasons Why Golf Is Boring To Most People
You may have tried your hand at golf, or you may have watched a game on TV. Either way, hitting a tiny ball with a small surface stick into a little hole may not appeal to everyone, and some may find it boring. Perhaps the most apparent tedious aspect of golf is that it is an individual sport without much interaction with others.
Here are 7 reasons why most people would find golf boring:
- Very technical sport.
- Lots of dedicated practice and repetition.
- Lots of long walking.
- Type of people associated with golf.
- Spending most of the time alone.
- Practicing and playing quietly.
- A slow-paced sport.
Some of the reasons why golf may seem like a boring sport are the most important parts for success – such as technical play, dedicated practice, and hours spent by yourself. However, golf seems to be a sport that you love or hate.
7 Reasons Why Golf Is Boring To Most People
The skills and factors required to play golf are boring to many people. Playing golf well or even feeling like you are doing something right takes a lot of time, practice, and patience. These skills apply to playing for “fun” and playing competitively.
Let’s dive into all the reasons why golf is boring.
1. Golf Is Very Technical
In golf, you’re using your body in ways that you’re not used to. Golf is one of the fewer sports where the ball is more often than not standing still. This means that the golfer needs to have an excellent foundational knowledge of how they need to move to launch the ball in a specific manner.
At the same time, there are many things that you have to be aware of simultaneously, how your upper body turns vs. how your lower body turns, how the club swings, and how the clubface interacts with the ball. If you want to become a professional coach, there’s specific technical training that you should complete.
2. Golf Involves Lots Of Repetition And Practice
Muscle memory requires lots of practice, and this means lots of repetitions. The idea of playing golf is repetitive, but the actual fact is that your body never makes the same swing twice. In other words, practicing golf may seem like you are doing the same thing over and over again, which can be pretty dull.
Golfers will tell you that it takes a minimum of 6 months to 2 years to maybe go out and enjoy an 18 hole round. This includes at least 2-3 times a week of practice, spending hours hitting what feels like repetitive shots. For most people – this could get boring pretty quickly.
3. Golf Requires A Lot Of Walking
The average walking for 18 holes of golf is around 7000 yards. That’s a lot of walking, and that’s only counting walking the course in a straight line. That’s besides the walking you’ll probably be doing chasing after some bad shots. After all, golf is a hard game.
While walking for so many yards can be boring for the player and their team, watching golf can be just as dull. So much time is purely spent walking on the course, making you physically and mentally tired.
4. The Culture And Age Of People In Golf Can Be Boring
Golf courses and clubhouses are often occupied by an older crowd. If you’re hitting balls by yourself on a Sunday afternoon, your companions may be older men. This doesn’t necessarily make it boring, but golf may seem tedious if you aim to have a younger group of people around you playing a fast-paced sport.
The culture of golf can be a bit “old-fashioned” in the sense that everyone tends to be very polite, respectful, and generally quiet. Golf will appear very stiff and dull for anyone who loves sports like basketball or football.
5. Majority Of Time In Golf Is Spent By Yourself
In golf, you have to practice for many hours, and most of this time is spent on your own. You may have a coach or a friend pop in for a few minutes here and there, but proper practice time is spent by yourself.
Unfortunately, there’s no way out of this. The only way to play acceptable golf is to go through this mundane practice for months. Many extroverts or social butterflies would struggle with alone time, but perhaps it’s an interesting sport for introverts.
6. Golf Involves Quiet Practice And Play
Unlike in many other sports, there is almost no chit-chatter in golf. You can’t be hyping and cheering on your friend from the sidelines, as you’ll probably get some strange looks from your equivalent audience.
There is, of course, some lively cheering after a good shot, and people generally talk while walking between shots. It’s essential in golf to also think of the other players. So while you and your friends may take a more relaxed and fun approach, your fellow players may think differently.
7. Golf Is A Very Slow Game
Golf has a very slow pace. There are many variables involved in golf, and these variables take some time to consider. At each hole and on each shot, the players have to decide which club to hit, what distance to hit, and assess the wind direction and strength.
One round of competition golf – 18 holes – takes approximately 4-5 hours to complete. Most of the time is walking, and if you happen to watch golf on the television, you’ll notice that golfers walk pretty slowly. Professionals do this to compose themselves, ready for their next shot.
Additionally, if you play golf in the rain, as I occasionally do, living in the UK, playing in wet conditions slows the game down even more.
Final Thoughts
Golf can seem boring to most people. Golf is a slow-paced game compared to many other sports, mainly spent alone and in silence. Besides these points, golf is also very technical, requiring long hours of practice and walking in between shots.
The typical and the often stereotypical way people see golf is stiff and surrounded by older people. Not only may it be boring to play golf, but it also appears that many people find watching golf boring as well.
