“Can you play a round of golf wearing headphones and write about the experience,” my editor asked. “Surely that’s not allowed under the Rules of Golf?” I retorted.
Startlingly, it is. Rule 4.3a (4) covers all the nuisances of this exceptionally odd (if you ask me) rule, but to summarise, basically don’t listen to or watch anything that will give your game an advantage. So, no music with a specific tempo beat that could help improve the rhythm and timing of your golf swing, or a calming voice to help conquer your nerves under pressure on the first tee.
I can list many things that my headphones are invaluable for, such as noise cancellation watching a movie on a flight, clarity of sound quality during work zoom calls when the background is busy, and even going for a beach run to give me an upbeat bounce to motivate my feet to move faster and freer. Golf is most definitely not one of them.
The thought of playing an entire round, ears covered, listening to something that couldn’t be deemed ‘helpful’ to my game appalled me. Add to that, my editor wanted me to do it in a competition round with a group of friends, not alone, and I was apologizing before I’d even teed off.
“I’m so sorry if I shout or ignore you today,” I gestured on the first tee as the headphones went on. I felt completely rude, but having explained the circumstances of the article, off we went. I chose to listen to a property podcast, figuring that learning something beneficial would be a good business choice, and teed off.
The first thing that was strange was not hearing the sound of whoosh and swish as the club hit the ball. The second was the difficulty I had focusing my mind on the shot in hand, when my brain was absorbed, my mind wandered elsewhere. I have never been brilliant at multitasking.
(Image credit: Carly Cummins)
The best players in the world have the mental prowess to be totally distracted by spectators and noise at all points during their tournament rounds, except right at the moment when they address the ball. That’s the champion’s winning edge that very few of us possess.
After six holes I’d already had enough. I was missing the social side of the sport, conversation with my friend. I was fed up with having to slide a headphone off one ear every time I needed to…
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