FORE Magazine

Top Menu

  • About Me
  • Contact Us
  • Home

Main Menu

  • Current Issue
  • Digital Book
  • Profiles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel
  • 19th Hole
  • Classic Course
  • FORE Her
  • More
    • Know the Rules
    • Handicap Hints
    • SCGA Junior
    • Where Are They Now?
    • News
    • Public Affairs
Sign in / Join

Login

Welcome! Login in to your account
Lost your password?

Lost Password

Back to login

logo

FORE Magazine

  • Current Issue
  • Digital Book
  • Profiles
  • Sustainability
  • Travel
  • 19th Hole
  • Classic Course
  • FORE Her
  • More
    • Know the Rules
    • Handicap Hints
    • SCGA Junior
    • Where Are They Now?
    • News
    • Public Affairs
Summer 2023
Home›Issues›Summer 2023›This Game Belongs To You

This Game Belongs To You

By Adam Hawk
August 7, 2023
2405
0
Share:

Where were you on the morning of Tuesday, June 6, when arguably the biggest bombshell of modern professional golf exploded simultaneously across the screens of televisions, phones and computers? Where were you when initial shock and disbelief quickly gave way to hot takes, kneejerk boycotts and I-told-you-so verbal victory laps?

The unexpected (though, possibly inevitable) merger of three professional golf tours is one of those seminal moments that leaves an impression so deep that you might long remember your precise location when you first heard the news. Though, I’d argue, it’s worth forgetting sooner than later. Because it simply does not matter.

This beautiful game of golf that dates back hundreds of years has always, and will always, belong to you, the amateur. Nothing can take that away. Deals made in rooms you’ll never be in, for players you’re likely never to meet, amounting to money that most of us cannot even fathom, has no bearing whatsoever on our cherished relationship with golf.

It’s simple math. There are tens of millions of us. And just hundreds of them. Amateurs who play this game for love so greatly outnumber touring pros who play for money that calling us a super majority doesn’t even do it justice. We are golf. And golf is us.

I do, however, remember exactly where I was when I heard the news. I was at Woodley Lakes GC with seven co-workers about to tee it up as part of a farewell party to a colleague. To my left was a driving range full of locals and to my right was a short-game practice area occupied by a handful of juniors receiving instruction. Out in front was a group of four friends in the first fairway enjoying their afternoon in each other’s company, and just behind me were the seven people I couldn’t wait to spend four hours with.

No banter was cut short, no laugh was stifled, no smile after a good shot was absent. On our phones the alleged “golf world” was on fire. But we were too busy living in reality to notice or care. And if you’ve so much as taken a practice swing since June 6, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Nothing on the professional tour level can steal a modicum of your joy on the amateur level.

Regardless of your convictions relating to the merger, I’d encourage you to never forget that standing on a tee box with your best friends is far more important than standing on a side of an issue that you cannot control. Especially, and more importantly, an issue that cannot control you and your love for the game — your game.

Previous Article

Only A Game? So Why am I ...

Next Article

Recommended Reading: Course Knowledge

0
Shares
  • 0
  • +
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0
  • 0

Adam Hawk

Adam Hawk is an accomplished writer, producer and content developer with over a decade of experience creating written, digital and broadcast programming. In addition to serving as the editor of the award-winning FORE Magazine, Adam manages all SCGA digital communication vehicles, including member newsletters, scga.org, social media and championship communications.

Related articles More from author

  • ProfilesSummer 2023

    Dug from the Dirt: The Ballard of Rancho Park’s Steven Vilts

    July 20, 2023
    By Randy Youngman
  • Public AffairsSummer 2023

    Golf And Water: Seeing the Forest for the Trees

    July 21, 2023
    By Craig Kessler
  • Summer 2023

    Recommended Reading: Course Knowledge

    August 16, 2023
    By Tom Mackin
  • ProfilesSummer 2023

    The Firefighter: Gary Klasse is Ready to Pass the Baton After 50 Years Helming the Socal Firemen’s Golf Association Tournament ...

    July 21, 2023
    By Judd Spicer
  • At The TurnSummer 2023

    Game-Changer: My Time as a Pathways Intern

    July 21, 2023
    By Madalyn Nguyen, SCGA Junior Scholar
  • Golf GroupsSummer 2023

    Club Spotlight: Speedgolf Southern California (Speedgolf SoCal)

    July 20, 2023
    By SCGA Staff

Leave a reply Cancel reply

Recent Posts

  • Classic CourseFeaturedOn The TeeSpring 2025

    The Fun Club of the Desert

  • At The TurnFeaturedSpring 2025

    Paint What You Play

  • At The TurnFeaturedSCGA JuniorSpring 2025

    Mr. & Mrs. Porter

  • Core MissionFeaturedKnow the RulesSpring 2025

    Rule 25

  • FeaturedFirst CutOn The TeeSpring 2025

    Rage or Sage

FeaturedIn The ClubhouseSpring 2025

John Henebry

A Personal Remembrance Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. A ballroom at Desert IslandCC in the Coachella Valley pocket of Rancho Mirage. The “Celebration of Life” for my dear friend, my colleague, ...
  • Fun & Games

    By Kevin O'Connor
    May 15, 2025
  • Rule 25

    By Jimmy Becker
    May 15, 2025
  • Doing More With Less

    By Kevin Fitzgerald
    May 15, 2025
  • Original Wonder Woman

    By Joe Passov
    May 15, 2025
© 2016 FORE Magazine About Us | Contact Us | Advertise