GOLF REMAINS CULTURALLY RELEVANT ALL THROUGH QUARANTINE, DURING THE LIFTING OF RESTRICTIONS AND BEYOND
Golf is far more than a sport. Whilst all golfers take to the fairways for the sheer physical joy of it, for many of us at least part of the satisfaction we derive from merely showing up at any first tee represents in effect having “graduated” from our own personal Q-schools and can rightfully feel pleased.
It is not by chance that youngsters and older folk form the majority of golfers worldwide. Yes, we are a privileged lot. Some luckier than others. Youngsters, for example, golf primarily by (for lack of a better word) birthright. The other, older and usually related group, has almost certainly worked and earned their ‘cards’ to spend typically, on average, half a day or more on the links. Go ahead, give yourselves a pat on the back.
One’s privilege to golf regardless of being hard earned, or merely inherited, has become a cultural reference point. Newly independent young adults are more concerned about building financial security and families, and are understandably the “missing” demographic on the links.
Rat race related stress perhaps, but the right to golf is viewed rather cynically by millennials. There are larger issues at play of course than just a person’s earned right to play. Due attention to public health and safety for instance. In American politics and elsewhere, how often, how long, when and even where a president chooses to play is hotly debated. During the enforced Covid-19 quarantine, even Donald Trump who had been averaging a mere five days between games before lockdown, thought better than to be caught and perhaps then be accused of spending too much time at one of his golf courses.
The first person I know who returned to play after the quarantine was lifted is female and young. My mates, all older and mostly male, held back. The pandemic has definitely changed the landscape. When was the last time you heard of someone venturing out into a relatively unknown, potentially unsafe situation ahead of older, more experienced folk … just because by being both young and female, she was the least at risk.
That runs counter to any maternal or paternal instincts ingrained over thousands of years of parenting! And that is just one concept that has been turned on its head post Covid-19. Social distancing, masks … perhaps reduced prayer meetings, concerts, small crowds at sporting events, more expensive tickets for half filled buses, trains and planes.
Stay safe and good luck all. Drive long and prosper!
(Photo © Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
