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The challenge of golf: Newcomers learn to harmonize body and mind

by Lisa Strobel22. July 2018, 4:11 p.m

"Caution: Flying Balls" is written on a sign. "Stay by my side and nothing will happen to you," golf referee Bernd Milant warns me. Together with me, a trainee, he enters our newspaper, the driving range, the practice area, at the Breitenburg Castle golf course. There he wants to give me my first golf lesson. Apart from a few elegant minigolf shots, I'm still a real newcomer on the golf course.

"In any case, you shouldn't wear high heels, they make holes in the lawn," says Bernd Milanant, slipping into his special golf shoes. He then throws several orange golf balls onto the lawn and pulls a club out of his pocket. We are joined by a lady dressed in a fashionable golf dress – she doesn't wear high heels either. "By the way, today is Ladies Day at the golf club," says Milant. Very good - I think to myself, then I won't blow up the men's round with my non-existent skills. Instead, the first heat records are broken. Nevertheless, Milant cannot be stopped. "There's always golf. The only time I don't go out is when there's a thunderstorm," he says. Before that happens, let's get started: put your hands firmly around the racket handle, put your feet shoulder-width apart, bend your knees relaxed and position the clubface towards the hole. Instead of being relaxed, I stand stiffly on the green and have long since forgotten what to do next. Oh yes, hit the ball. Not easy. "More physical activity," Milant calls out to me. I swing the club more with my wrist like in miniature golf, rather than with a skillful swing from my shoulder like in golf. I do not give up. At least I hit the ball, just not the hole.

In another exercise, I'm supposed to throw the ball in a high arc through the air to the goal instead of rolling it. So, full concentration - keep your arm stretched, grip firmly and swing from your shoulder. I rock the racquet back, it transitions forward - and then I hit.

"Finally," I call out. The lady across the street also heard this outcry. “The beauty of golf is that we are not separated by nets. Golfers play together and get to know each other better during a game,” says Milant. What looks like the player is just shoving a small ball across the field turns out to be psychological warfare.

A golfer always plays against himself and only last against the others, says Milant. The difficulty is in balancing body and mind. “And yes, the cliché is true – golfing is an expensive hobby. But with membership, every player on land, i.e. on a well-groomed lawn, is involved.” There are also few signs of wear in golf – except perhaps on the balls.

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