The Break: Missing golf

Hi everyone, welcome back to The Break! Today, I want to get into a topic that’s a little more personal — and maybe something you think about, too.

What time for golf?

Back in January, I told my wife that this was going to be the toughest professional year of my life. And I was right, but I had no idea how right I was.

At the time, I said that to her because I knew we would be launching Golf News Net TV in 2024. I thought it was more imminent in January than it turned out (and is turning out), but it was clearly a Herculean task that was going to consume a lot of time and energy.

I had also already started to see the effects of having the GNN website copied five times to five different domains by a black-hat SEO company. I had already been getting less traffic from search engines by that time — and little did I know that it would eventually go to almost zero before a turnaround started recently — and golf audiences on TV were down. That double whammy would keep me working hard to find new ways to build the GNN audience (which I fortunately did find).

Between the website, TV, GNN Radio and podcasts, video, a newsletter, social media content and whatever other stuff I do that I forget right now, I knew time and capital were going to be at a premium. And that was all secondary, really, to my family, which is way more important than any professional dream.

Add in that our club also closed through the summer to transition from ryegrass tees and fairways to Bermudagrass. We knew that was coming, though, and could plan for it.

The net result? I played less golf this year than I have in any year since I became a parent, and maybe even since I had any kind of full-time job.

I really miss golf. I miss playing golf. However, what I did learn this year is that the reason I love golf has evolved, and I think it’ll be for the better.

For the longest time, I loved to play golf alone. I liked the quiet time, and I liked being able to work on my game, hitting shots and trying to learn new skills. I enjoyed playing with buddies and new folks, but the vast majority of chances I had to play golf were as a single, so I did that.

In the last few years, though, I realized that I don’t care quite as much about being good — or getting better — at golf. I play a lot of nine-hole rounds, and the beauty of that is I can always keep going if that nine goes well. If I play nine with a great number, I’ll just walk to the 10th tee instead of the clubhouse. It’s a great out if a round is kind of blah.

I’m on the golf course because it’s a place I can focus on something, have fun and get some exercise. A big revelation, I know. But golf has really become about the people for me. I love the folks I play with regularly, even if regularly is once or twice per year but I know I’m playing with them. Scoring well is kind of secondary to pulling off shots I want to try or doing something I’ve never done on a golf course.

I work alone, and I’m by myself for large portions of most days. I know my job(s), and I do it without a whole lot of social interaction. New things come up — usually because I invent new things for myself to do — and my company is typically our dog, Penny. It can be repetitive and lonely.

People need an outlet for the opposite. Golf is different every time, and so are people — at least the good ones. Golf can be a challenge or a respite, and often it’s both simultaneously. The great news is that it’s a social game, too, so we’re all experiencing something familiar and new at the same time through different lenses. That’s really exciting.

Golf has introduced me to so many wonderful people and taken me to some of the most stunning places I’ve seen. I’ve become more grateful for that this year, even as playing became more of a treat than a routine. Not only am I hoping to play more golf in 2025, but I’m hoping that I’ll keep with me that it’s a privilege to get to play — especially with the folks and at the places I know best.

The Links

The Tiger Slam is turning 25! I did a podcast with author Kevin Cook, whose new book chronicles Tiger’s 2000-01 run.

We can talk more about this later, but Bloomberg reports the PGA Tour and Saudi PIF are “nearing a deal” for an investment.