PIN HIGH
Golf As Life
Story I
Michael LoRé
Tobacco Road Photos | BrianOar
GOLF ISN’T JUST A GAME. Nor is it solely a sport. It’s a lifestyle. It’s an obsession. It’s a way of life. From its earliest roots in Scotland to today’s technology-backed iterations, golf represents something unique to each person who has ever picked up a club. Golf can offer a much-needed reprieve from the modern-day rat race. It can provide valuable quality time among family and friends. It can scratch a competitive itch, especially for former athletes. It can be a never-ending quest for perfection. Ultimately, golf is the great equalizer. Whether your annual salary is $3 million or $30,000, you’re a famous actor or Kindergarten teacher, or are from Toronto or Timbuktu, golf doesn’t discriminate. Golf is man vs. nature. Nothing more. Nothing less. I first started playing in high school, not only because I wasn’t good at baseball, but because I knew golf would be a valuable tool later in life, regardless of what profession I got into. Hardly a new
or unique perspective, I’m glad I picked up that old set of Spalding Executives from my friend’s father and began my life-long relationship with golf. Like many, the game has periodically come in and out of my life, but it’s always there in the background. Golf triumphantly returned to the forefront for me personally and professionally over recent years. Golf granted us an escape from so much uncertainty during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic and we haven’t looked back. As we approach 2025, golf is more popular than ever. Not only is the game growing, but it’s evolving and changing. Your stereotypical golfer of yesteryear is now the minority, with influences injected into the sport, culture and fashion from far beyond the clubhouse. Golf is cool. Golf is young. Golf is diverse. Sure some still believe golf should be played at a country club with tucked in collared shirts and stiff khakis, but opportunities created by venues including Topgolf, Five Iron
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