Have you ever been asked what you and your friend talked about during your 4 hour round of golf, only to pause, think for a moment, and only to be able to respond with “Nothing, really”? Don’t worry it, it means you’re one of the lucky ones.
Golf is one of those activities where you can spend hours with someone, say nothing, and still walk away feeling that you spent great quality time with them. Perhaps that’s why it has become a staple of father-son time and male bonding. Recently I ventured north to spend a weekend catching up with an old friend, one I had not seen in 6 months, and golf was on the agenda.
Justin and I met in high school, and while I can’t remember exactly how we started hanging out, I can tell you that I count him as best friend and a brother. Justin moved to Thunder Bay, Ontario with his girlfriend Catherine after college to finish a degree in electrical engineering from Lakehead University. Thanks to Facebook and texts we have remained close, talking a few times a week about life, football and golf. When we finally set a date for my trip north, Justin started planning a weekend full of golf. About a week before my flight I started getting texts from him with weather updates and tee times; I could tell he was as excited as I was. The excitement culminated with a final text that read “36 holes on Saturday. Pack rain gear.”
Golf, however wasn't the highlight of this trip. That’s because there’s no course I've played that trumps a weekend with an old friend. What the golf did provide was hours of quality 1 on 1 time where no words needed to be spoken. I like to think of it as time well wasted. Sure there were more important things to do - stories that could have been told, projects he could probably use an extra set of hands with - but on a golf course silence says everything.
Anyone with good golfing buddies knows exactly what I’m talking about. Real friends can spend 4 hours together without forcing a conversation. Sure we chat: “nice shot”, “tough break”, and a whole lot of razzing that is not quotable on a family friendly blog, but nothing is really “said.”
There are very few activities in life that can slow the hands of time like golf. So far fishing is the closest I've found. Perhaps that’s why I enjoy doing both with my dad. Busy days and all of life’s little problems fade away between swings of a club and casts of a line. Activities like this keep me sane even when surrounded by chaos, and are always most enjoyable when shared with close family and friends. Who better to share silence with than the ones you love.
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