This is Why I Love Golf – The Silence. Nature.

Yesterday, after a two-year hiatus, my golf clubs finally saw the light of day and I re-immersed myself in the pure joy a true golfer feels when on the course.

To mark my auspicious return to the game, I went to breezy Clearview Golf Course, located a heartbeat away from the Throgs Neck bridge in Queens, NY, armed with my handy DSLR.  My round was in the mid afternoon on an almost deserted course (thank you! holiday weekend) in pristine condition.

I shot the following video and want you to listen to why the game of golf is better than any.  The Silence, punctuated by the sound of Nature.  Golf is Serenity. Golf Is Nature.

Next week, I’ll post a more involved story with great still photos.

Tee Talk! – Tee Shot at Patriot Hills Golf Course, Stony Point, NY

Tee Talk! – In the Swing of Things…

 

(Photo Courtesy of The Fourth Tee Archives)

 

 

Tee Talk: Fog-et-about-it!

Golfing in the fog.  Fun, fun, fun!

 

Foggy golf at La Tourette Golf Course - Staten Island, New York (Photo Courtesy of The Fourth Tee Archives)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tee Talk: Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place…

Once again, the picture speaks for itself.  Another case of When Bad Shots Happen to Good People!

(Image Courtesy of The Fourth Tee Archives)

For The Love of Golf, Women Take a Lesson and Change your Life.

Submitted by DGW, Atlanta, GA

I know that it is very hard to find time for yourself in this busy hectic world.  We do not have five minutes for ourselves sometimes.  But I wanted you to think about this at least for the future, or if you can do it now, just do it.

This is not just a game men play.  There are many women out there playing golf but not enough. We have great role models, Nancy Lopez, Annika Sorenstam, Lorena Ochoa and the legendary Babe Zharias.

(Image Courtesy of The Fourth Tee Archives)

I remember when I took my first golf lesson.  I took my first golf lesson in 1997 the year Tiger Woods won his first Masters.  My husband had been playing golf for many years before I started playing.  I would listen to his stories with amusement but never felt the urge or need to play the game.  We had just moved into a home which was located near the 6th hole of one of 5 public golf courses in Somerset County, NJ.  Every day, I picked up errant balls and every Saturday watched as players hunted for balls in the bushes behind our backyard.  I was getting curious, something was always happening over at the par 4, #6.

The urge to learn to play really ramped up with Tiger Woods and his appearance on the national scene.  The Masters was the first time I watched golf coverage in its entirety on TV.  My friends and family talked about his win incessantly.  I watched him on Oprah and was truly inspired for the first time to try this game.  His enthusiasm and his gutsy play, his drive and, suddenly, I wanted to play too.  My husband played so it was something for us to do together as a couple.  And I was not alone, a lot of my female friends also started playing golf for the same reason.  I took my first lesson and was hooked.

(Image Courtesy of The Fourth Tee Archives)

I love golf for the chance to be with nature.  I love the trees, the sounds of nature, birds and water.  I appreciate what golf courses have done to preserve nature and to provide a sanctuary for animals.

I love golf because it pushed me to be more independent.  I would go to the course and play 9 holes myself, something I may not have done before.  It pushed me to go further in the game and in life than I had ever gone before.  It provided the ultimate life lessons.

I love golf because it provides me with time for me, just me.  I have a chance to think, I evaluate professional and personal issues.  I am alone with my thoughts and it is incredibly freeing.

(Image Courtesy of The Fourth Tee Archives)

I love golf because it allowed me to meet people from all over the world, from different paths. I may never see them again, but in some small way, they impacted my life and I impacted their lives.

I love golf because it expanded my horizons.  It motivated me to travel to places I may not have gone, just to play golf.

Golf also provides a great opportunity for women to network with fellow colleagues.  All of those corporate golf outings you missed in the past should now be on your schedule.

(Image Courtesy of The Fourth Tee Archives)

Golf taught me how to be more patient.  It forced me to stop, take a step back, and then move forward.  It helped me to relax.

The biggest change?  It taught me how to fight, in both my personal and professional life.  To keep pushing, to never give up.   You cannot give up on the course, you have to make that swing, and if it is bad, so be it, you move to the next one and that one has to be better than the last.

(Image Courtesy of The Fourth Tee Archives)

Golf teaches you how to breathe, to settle and calm your mind.  You have to before each swing or else…..it could be a doozy.

I know everyone talks about the lack of exercise in golf, that it is not a real sport.  Well try walking 18 holes with a bag and no cart.  It kept me slim and trim.  I can tell you that you will exercise the most important part of your body, your mind.

Thank you, Golf, for changing my life.

Please contact any local golf course or Golfsmith in your area and ask about lessons. And get a starter set of golf clubs – no major brand names – just in case it turns out you don’t like golf, at least you would not have wasted your money.

Your life is about to change.

(Image Courtesy of The Fourth Tee Archives)

Tee Talk: When Bad Shots Happen To Good People…

This was taken during an outing at Fox Hollow Golf Club, NJ.  The picture speaks for itself…

When Bad Shots Happen To Good People - Errant ball is circled in red (Courtesy of The Fourth Tee Archives)

Tee Talk: Golfing for The Ages

I saw an elderly couple at the range on Northern Blvd., in Queens, New York.   They must have been in their late 80′s, early 90′s. They walked so slowly and with great difficulty.  They told me they had been married for sixty-something years and always loved to play golf but not very well, they related. I watched them hit some balls and, like all golfers, when they hit a bad shot, I noticed them trying to make adjustments, trying to improve the shot or more accurately, to improve their swing. What other sport would you ever, ever see that?

Submitted by:  jokur

Introducing Tee Talk

The Fourth Tee will be introducing a new category of story called “Tee Talk.”

What is Tee Talk?  Tee Talk is actually the result of receiving a very touching anecdote from a Fourth Tee reader which demonstrated that this type of entry needed its own category.

Tee Talk will be where all Fourth Tee readers can share golf-related stories, anecdotes, photographs, and videos with The Fourth Tee community.  All submissions are subject to The Fourth Tee’s approval and will be posted by The Fourth Tee, if approved, with credit given to the person submitting.

To submit your story, anecdote, photograph or video for sharing with The Fourth Tee community, please send the content to:   thefourthtee@gmail.com, subject line:  Tee Talk.

The Fourth Tee looks forward to hearing from you.

LEGAL NOTICE: Submission of any content to The Fourth Tee for Tee Talk represents your express consent to  having such material posted to The Fourth Tee’s blog on WordPress with subsequent reposting on The Fourth Tee’s Twitter and Facebook pages.  Content will be posted at the sole discretion of The Fourth Tee, subject to The Fourth Tee’s approval.   Any obvious typographical and grammatical errors will be corrected at the discretion of The Fourth Tee.  You also expressly represent and warrant that, by submitting any photographs or videos to The Fourth Tee for Tee Talk,  you have the legal right to share or distribute any and all such photographs or videos for reposting by The Fourth Tee and you grant The Fourth Tee the right to repost such photographs or videos in the manner stated above, without reservation or recourse.