Does the World Hate Golfers?

My "home" driving range abuts a fairly busy road - not some multi-lane expressway or even a state highway - but a heavily-traveled surface road. Put another way, travel on the road is just slow enough that anyone driving on it gets a good look at the folks on the range and just heavy enough that you get a pretty good sampling of traffic in any given range session. Spend enough time there, and you're sure to see your fair share of flat tires, speed trap victims and even the occasional fender-bender. But you'll also hear your fair number of "fore!" shouts coming not from the adjacent fairway, but the road - this in addition to loud, prolonged honks having nothing to do with the cars on the road and an abundance of "you suck" screams that trail off very distinctively one way or the other depending upon which direction the car is traveling.

Over the last year, it's become clear that anonymous passersby take a very real joy - or at least satisfaction - in screwing with golfers. Never have I heard "airball!!" shouted from a random vehicle while playing basketball on a roadside court. Nor do I imagine too many joggers being subject to "don't trip!" taunts as they make their way down the street. Yet you can't spend an hour at this driving range without hearing those equivalents and then some hurled at the line-up of golfers doing their thing. You get the sense that not only do the drivers/passengers of these cars want to witness a golfer failing, but they want to play an active role in that golfer's failure.

It's evident that the world at large harbors some sort of animosity towards golfers - an animosity it goes out of its way to voice. And I have to concede that I get it. I'll often say that I love golf but hate golfers. It remains a sport largely inaccessible without a not insignificant degree of financial commitment and the sort of career/lifestyle that affords you the luxury of good chunks of leisure time. For the guy struggling to find an hour to get to the grocery store in his day, I can sympathize with the frustration he might feel when confronted by the fact that some individuals are able to take five hours out of their day, drop 150 dollars on what amounts to a long walk and not bat an eye. And it doesn't help that most golfers lavish in being able to play up that aspect of the sport.

There's another blog post growing out of this phenomenon for sure, but in the meantime - golfers beware: there appears to be a world out there waiting for you to fall flat on your face.