When women first consider golf, one of the driving factors is to have the opportunity to spend more time with their other halves, especially if that other half is always on the golf course! But I always offer a warning that they can’t automatically expect this time together on the course to be idyllic. Often sparks can fly and people are often very exposed on the course emotionally, making for delicate ground when it comes to being a harmonious pair when walking the fairways. It’s worth noting the following 7 potential challenges.
1. Testing Tuition
When one half of a couple thinks they are Butch Harmon’s protege and tries to fill your head with 12 swing points they caught recently on YouTube, this can be a recipe for disaster. I teach a few couples where the husband is incredibly patient, informative and I often hear him encouraging his wife like he’s giving one of my lessons. Impressive stuff. But more often than not, nobody likes to be corrected by someone who’s just bombed it out of bounds or didn’t wash up their cereal bowl that morning. It’s a similar vibe to being told how to parallel park having done it successfully for decades. You get the gist. And breathe. Be encouraging to each other, but make a pact that you don’t offer advice. If both would be grateful for a nugget of relevant information during a disastrous round, then perhaps have lessons together. Then, if you request the help of your loved one mid round, they will know what advice to offer to help save your score.
Often advice given out by your other half about your golf can go down like a lead balloon
(Image credit: Katie Dawkins)
2. My Game Or Your Game
Who gets to play the most golf? Let’s face it, you won’t be playing golf together all the time. Some golf-mad couples will have a portion of their diary dedicated to their individual and joint golfing schedules. Some play a lot of golf together, but competitiveness can sometimes come as a surprise. Catherine plays off 9 and said “It was a shock discovering Sharon (5 hcp) would theoretically push me off a cliff in a competition, yet only hours before was telling me how much she loves me. When the chips are down on my golf I get zero enthusiastic encouragement, just silence. It’s awful.”
Childcare in a golfing couple can be a big challenge, who gets to go and play and who stays at home with the baby can cause resentment. The simple solution is to get the kids playing too! Early days can be a struggle especially if the…
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