Do passionate golfers have addictive personalities?

It’s a big week ahead for me.  My golfguy and I have a bet going on right now and I’m looking to cash in on his weakness for the better things in life.

A lover of really expensive scotch, my golfguy was recently delighted to receive a surprise birthday gift from a dear friend.  She picked it up from the “locked vault” in our local liquor store (yup, it’s so expensive, you can’t buy it off the shelf). It still boggles my mind how something that tastes so bad could cost so much.

When he opened the gift and discovered the liquid gold I could see by his expression as he sniffed the aroma that wafted from the bottle, that this treat was going to last about as long as my last birdie run.  So I decided to exploit his unabashed joy by making him a bet that the bottle would be empty before the next full moon.

IF he wins, he wants another bottle of scotch.  HA!

But WHEN I win, I haven’t got a clue what to get. Obviously it will be golf related. But my golf wish list is huge and it’s impossible for me to choose just one thing.   If expensive scotch is his addiction, shopping for golf stuff is mine.

Now, I’m not a complete “B”, so I’ll look for deals and use this TGW coupon to save him some dough.  And I’ll try to get free shipping to save him even more, but still…how can I buy just one thing?  For me, golf clothes, shoes and equipment are like peanuts — you can’t just have one.

We golfers are a strange breed, don’t you think?  I truly believe that those of us who really have a passion for the game have an addictive personality.  I recently read this definition of addiction:

“The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or involved in something. A habitual or compulsive involvement in an activity.”

Yup…that’s me and golf!

But beyond golf, I love to shop, travel and drink fine red wine – three things I do habitually.  Hmm…when does  habit become an addition?  I guess it’s when you crave the habit so much, you sacrifice other important things in order to fulfill your craving.

So let’s take a look at my habits and score them on a scale of 1 to 5 (where 5 is totally addicted).

Red wine: I will sacrifice dessert and even chocolate so I can have another glass of wine at dinner (counting calories and all that crap!)  Addiction Score: 5

Travel: I often book my next trip before the trip I’m on is finished.  This gets pretty expensive when I get home and realize that my spontaneity wasn’t well thought out — Say hello to change fees and lost deposits! Addiction Score:5

Golf: I am embarrassed to admit that I have often sacrificed time with non-golfing friends so I can sneak away to the golf course.  Shhh…don’t tell them. Thankfully they don’t read this blog 😉   Addiction Score: 5

Online shopping:  No one loves to click here more than I do.  Sure, I enjoy wandering outlet malls with my friends, but there’s nothing better than finding a great deal online and fulfilling that urgent need to have it – even when I don’t need it.  I have more golf shirts, shorts and shoes than I’ll ever wear.  But I have a solution to that – every 6 months I send most of them to the Sally Ann so I can buy more.  Addiction Score: 5

WOW!  What can I say?  Not much actually…it’s not really a surprise to me.  But it’s also not something I want to dwell on.

So I think I’ll grab a glass of red wine, book a tee time for tomorrow, and then browse the web for a new pair of funky Ecco spikeless shoes or a new driver that my golfguy is going to buy me very soon :).
 
I’d look for a travel deal too, but that would be silly since I booked my August golf trip to Maui when I was last there in June 😉

Bottoms up Babe!
Golfgal

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