"Putt"-ing golfers to the test

Women’s magazines are full of these tests that claim to determine what type of personality or thinker you are by the way you use your lipstick or how you answer some questions about your family and friends, or choosing a certain animal that best represents you. From the sleep position you take, to which ear you hold the phone up to, the insight generated from these loaded questions proclaim to define you as right brain and logical or left brain and creative, or introvert versus extrovert or passive-aggressive. People love these tests, or enneagrams because many are eager to find out more about themselves and others.

Can analyzing how you play golf and why you play do the same? It could then be amusing to discover how you view the game or whether you do/don’t line up a putt determines what type of golfer you are. Addict? Passionate lover of the game? Habitual wagering “crocodile”? Or just a fan of Tiger Woods?

Addicts just love the game, they want to play every day and can’t get enough of it. They love hitting that golf ball and the way it makes them feel. But then again, adrenaline junkie or masochist? What questions can we ask to find that out? Does putting six balls into the water hazard make the successful shot even sweeter, or do you just beat yourself up the rest of the game over those extra 12 strokes?

What about the equipment junkies, who covet every new club out there that promises better scores. Are you more a hands on kind of gal who just loves the nuts and bolts of anything, and therefore the equipment reviews and the instruction pages in Golf Digest?

Are you a fan of the tournaments and the celebrities who play it? Following every tournament telecast, your dedication to the pros is legend, but dragging that loyal body off the couch and down to the driving range, that’s another matter indeed.

Or are you the aesthetics guy who loves all the different courses, their design and their beauty? Collecting the logo balls and scorecards of every course played, keeps the wonderful memories of these experiences tangibly recorded in their books.

Then there is the golfer who has little desire to see the world, and is content to play the same course every week, with their regular group of flight mates; the tidal ebb and flow of wagers as they move to and fro between parties provide the thrill that keeps the players coming back for more.

Which brings us to the cerebral golfer, more fascinated by the philosophy of the game and its mental challenges, analyzing the way people play golf in order to find the similarities in how they live their lives. The psychology of the game fascinates the inquiring mind who is keen to see if a Zen approach really can whittle the high handicapper’s scores down to a Zero.

Could asking questions and doing some analysis allow us to find more about ourselves in order to make us play better golf or more enjoyable golf? Maybe. But just like in school, there were some who aced the exams, and some who just hated tests and only wanted to PLAY! It’s up to you.

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