Golf addiction is real—for many, the game hooks us not just with a single perfect shot, but with the mystery, contradiction, and meaning woven into every round.
In this reflective and humorous piece, Dan Camilli explores what drives this obsession, why we keep coming back, and how golf mirrors the deeper rhythms of life itself.
When Does Golf Addiction Begin?
When did you get hooked on golf? When did you catch the bug?
For me, it was on a practice range during the first few weeks I had taken up the game. I was in my early fifties when I accidentally flushed a starter set seven iron. I stood there in total amazement as the ball soared into a crystalline blue Florida sky and gently descended from the heavens like a butterfly with sore feet. I was absolutely smitten.
I’ve been chasing that feeling of awe and wonder ever since. That moment was my first lesson in the many contradictions that make up this great game: effortless power vs. powerless effort. Trying hard not to try too hard.
As I played more, I kept discovering new things to love—comradery and commiseration, the joy of playing alone, and the occasional unfair argument with myself.
Golf is an 18-hole crash course in the relationship between mind and matter. It’s a Rorschach test—we see only what we’re capable of seeing.
There are endless ways to experience this game. There are the “golf bros” with party-in-a-cart speakers blasting music; the tech-savvy players with their Dick Tracy GPS watches and laser range finders; the feel players who read greens through their soles; and the golf mystics chanting quiet mantras.
And let’s not forget the anger-fueled, club-flinging obscenity shouters. As philosopher-king Marcus Aurelius said, they’re “mad at themselves and the world, as if the world should care.” Or as Lee Trevino famously put it, “They’re not good enough to get mad.”
Golf certainly has a diverse following.
Very few people feel neutral about golf. You either love it or you hate it—like Winston Churchill, who once said,
“Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an even smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose.”
It’s not easy, as Einstein noted:
“I don’t play golf. I tried it once. I quit. It’s too complicated.”
But for those of us who get it—who are fully hooked on golf addiction—we know deep down that this ancient game is much more than just hitting a ball into a gopher hole with a crooked stick.
The Deeper Side of Golf: Why We Keep Coming Back
So what is it about golf that has us so enamored?
Golf is different from every other sport in several key ways. There’s no standard field of play. The ball is stationary. The opponent doesn’t matter as much—it’s you against the course.
A typical round takes four to four and a half hours, yet only 3 to 5 minutes of that time is spent actually striking the ball. What truly matters is what happens between the shots—the “down time.” That’s where your mind roams. And that’s often where the game is won or lost.
Managing your thoughts during those in-between moments is crucial. That’s why pre-shot routines matter. They bring you back—body, mind, and spirit—to the task at hand. A good swing is one where you “stay connected.” And staying connected requires awareness—of what you’re thinking, what you’re feeling, and what you’re focusing on.
As the mythical golfer Shivas Irons said in Golf in the Kingdom by Michael Murphy:
“Ye hardly pay attention to the walking part… not many people do. ’Tis a shame… for if ye can enjoy the walkin’, ye can probably enjoy the other times in your life when you’re in-between. And that’s most of the time; wouldn’t ye say?”
Too many golfers sleepwalk through the game—distracted by cell phones or blaring music. They miss the magic of the “in-betweens.” They don’t realize the rests are just as important as the notes in the great symphony.
Golf also mirrors the Hero’s Journey, as described by mythologist Joseph Campbell. It’s a personal odyssey filled with trials, transformation, and return. The golf course becomes the stage for this drama—where we wrestle not just with hazards and pin placements, but with our own doubts, fears, and aspirations.
As Chi Chi Rodriguez once said, it’s where we learn the fine line between courage and stupidity. Anyone who’s ever stood over a water carry with a long iron knows exactly what he meant.
Final Thoughts on Golf Addiction
Every golfer sets out on their own 18-hole odyssey. And like Odysseus, we take on an endless series of challenges in our quest to return home—or at least to the 19th hole.
It’s fitting that this drama plays out on a natural canvas, not a standardized playing field. Maybe it’s a re-creation of some primal savannah where humans first walked.
What triumphs or tragedies will today’s round bring?
On the surface, golf seems simple. But it’s not easy—and far more complex than we often admit.
That’s why we can’t get enough of it.
About the Author
Dan Camilli, an All-Star Contributor to Seniors Who Golf, is a retired Teacher and Professor of History, Philosophy and Humanities and the author of Tee Ceremony, A Cosmic Duffer’s Companion to the Ancient Game of Golf (2015). DanCamilli.com
