Golf Professional /Poker Players

dvh · #1 04-25-2007, 04:28 PM

I must say that i am impressed with the golf category on the forum. I have noticed there are quite a few golf "experts" including quite a few Golf Professionals. I am a PGA Member from the Wisconsin Section and started playing poker about 3 years ago. I know that I can tee it up with members from my course and recive a very solid ROI but I actually would prefer to sit down to a 4 hour session of poker and risk more varience rather than play golf with very little varience. I also take solace in knowing that I can beat Phil Ivey more times in golf than he could beat me in poker (you can't go all in in golf!)

I am wondering what the draw is to poker related to the draw to golf. For me it is two things- I am a student of both games and they provide a great challenge to become proficient at, and money won is so much sweeter than money earned. With both I also find that the more you learn, the more you realize you don't know.

Anyone else find obvious parallels to both games?

xf1000 · #2 04-25-2007, 05:39 PM

Great Post! I played the mini tours for about seven years and was in the Pga as an apprentice after my playing days and I agree 100% with you. The more you learn, the more you realize you don't know is absolutely true and I truly love the challenge of both games.

CubicZirconia · #3 04-25-2007, 05:58 PM

I've found both games to be "two steps forward, one step back, two steps forward" kind of games. That is, sometimes when you change the way you play, you sacrifice short-term results in the name of improving in the long run.

Evan · #4 04-25-2007, 06:07 PM

In my opinion the biggest similarity is that they're both games where a central aspect is the inability to master them. Of course you can say that you can't master baseball or basketball, and that's true. However, golf and poker have that idea more heavily rooted in their core. I think the people that enjoy both tend to enjoy that challenge, as you mentioned.

Also, golf is a game that can be lots of fun regardless of your physical condition and lots of poker players tend to be less than optimal physical specimens.

Ron Burgundy · #5 04-25-2007, 06:13 PM

Golf is a great game to gamble on. It's also an individual sport, which the antisocial poker players tend to like.

Hass · #6 04-26-2007, 12:34 PM

I am also a PGA member from AZ. The Two steps forward, two steps back thing is great. They are both so challenging, and there is no point in either one where you can say, "I mastered this." Every time you play golf it is different, even if you play the same course everyday it is a new challenge, same with poker. If you played the same people every day it would be still always be a challenge.

I also like that they are both individual, as I'm not a big fan of playing team sports.

ghostface · #7 04-26-2007, 08:14 PM

You can't really be a student of basketball or baseball. They dont take a minute to learn and a lifetime to master. Golf and poker are two of the few games like this.

Acein8ter · #8 04-26-2007, 10:15 PM

Both are VERY challenging. You can always continue to work on your game (golf & poker) to get to the next level. (And there's always someone better than you)

You can make both of the games different everytime if you want. The makes for a lot of diversification which makes them both interesting.

You can play at different courses - easy/hard, different clubs, scrambles, tourneys, 2 man, play different shots like a knockdowns, fades, draws, etc...

In poker, cash games, tourneys, S&G's, MTT's, HU, shorthand, higher limits, etc...

TobDog · #9 04-29-2007, 12:13 AM

I am also a PGA member(Southern Cali) and found poker seperate from golf when I discovered it(1999, same year I got membership, YEAH) anyway, I found that I was bit of a hot-head in my younger golf days, poker has actually taught me the patience of not only golf, but life. I understand that if I am playing in a tournament and dont exactly play my optimum, it is not the end of the world, I still have a family, house, kids, and all the [censored] I have purchased from my hard work through the years, my life is not going to change, I dont have the lottery mentality, I know that if I plug away, daily, I will have a little more than before, I learn a little more about life every day.

tobdog

limon · #10 04-29-2007, 04:47 PM

it comes from a mentality where you just want to move at your own speed. in golf you dont have teammates to slow you down. same in poker. plus both can be done for a lifetime and require no ridiculous physical gifts. it also has alot to do with gambling it used to be you found alot of poker players in pool halls as well.