Skating and golf share a lot of similarities. Nostalgia, just hanging out, mental solitude, and that self vs self mindset. The ability to get away for a couple hours to clear the mind, whether it be doing a handful of frontside grinds or hitting a few 7 irons well. Both are a type of therapy only someone in it, can appreciate. The feeling of a good shot, or rolling away exactly as you imagined in your mind’s eye can get you through the next week. That three or four trick line is the same rush as stringing along a few good consecutive golf shots.
What it takes to miss a shot, forget about it, and address the ball to take another, is aptly similar to giving a trick what feels like 100 tries until you get it. If you’ve sweated out an afternoon to get that trick or clip, odds are you’ll be an alright golfer. Short memory and persistence go a long way in both. I think that’s why skateboarders always pick up golf so quickly. In skateboarding, you learn to take more losses than wins, and you appreciate those gratifying moments more than most. We’re good at setting our minds to a desired outcome and doing what it takes to get there. Above all, sometimes skateboarding and golf means just sitting around and talking shit with your friends at the end of a session or a round. Sitting on a ledge or in the clubhouse laughing with each other about the previous few hours/life. Both often turn into lifelong love affairs that the majority of us will never get really “good” at and for some reason we love it. We’re drawn to that.
My advice to anyone interested in playing golf is to do the following. Go to Goodwill, buy a set of shitty golf clubs, find a driving range, and let them fly. Your first few flushed shots and it’s the same feeling as your first kickflip in the driveway. Promise ya that!
-Powerfade
