Old habits never die…
Throughout my life, I’ve been subjected to criticism that I have a one-track mind, focused solely on the sport of golf. My immediate defense against such ridiculous accusations is to quickly rattle off a lengthy list of my many varied interests, refuting these unfounded judgments and exposing the breadth of my character.
I love photography, enjoy painting, like to travel, appreciate history, relish in thoughtful discussions and get a kick out of creative writing. If you were to ask me, I’d say “versatile, multi-faceted and well-rounded” would be my more accurate descriptors.
Just because I enjoy taking pictures of golf courses, painting iconic golf holes, visiting great golf resorts, studying the origin of golf, talking about the latest golf news, and chronicling whatever golf thoughts pop into my mind, is no reason to call me out for being uni-dimensional.
Even my wife says I am fully consumed by the sport and questions why I insist everything in life has to relate, in one way or another, to golf. If she tells me a friend of ours isn’t feeling well, she winces when I share “that’s how I felt after the triple bogey I had yesterday.” When she expresses her happiness because our grandson is doing well in school, I tell her “it’s like the elation I sense when I have back-to-back birdies.”
Admittedly, I’m somewhat confused as to why golf isn’t everyone’s “cup of tea,” but a recent happening has given me pause to once again consider the remote possibility that there actually is more to life than golf. During the 2025 Open Championship Scottie Scheffler, said “playing golf is an unsatisfying venture,” and questioned “what does it matter, what’s the point?”
It was at that moment I made the steadfast decision to make a U-turn in my life, determined to find a new activity to pursue that was the absolute antithesis of golf. And that, my friends, is how I discovered bocce.
After all, you can’t think of a sport that’s more different than golf — no custom-fitted equipment, no lost balls to be replaced, no out-of-bounds, no waste areas, no sand bunkers, no uneven lies, no water hazards — surely, bocce will be the anti-venom to my being snake-bitten by the game of golf.
Reveling with anticipation in my new-found world of all-things-bocce, I was ecstatic knowing the days of criticism of my single-minded golf-narrowness would finally be over.
As the first game began, I slipped on my FootJoy glove, tossed some grass in the air to determine wind speed, plumb-bobbed my watch to check for the break and sighted my rangefinder to assess distance. As part of my pre-shot routine, I slowly waggled the small, yellow pallino ball, finally releasing it, while screaming “bite, get down,” as it neared the back wall. With my playing partner standing by my side, holding the remaining balls to be played, and offering strategic tips for placement of my next shot, I whispered “stay down, slow tempo” as I smoothly rolled each sphere. As the game progressed, I rode an emotional roller-coaster, expressing optimism, immediately followed by frustration, justifying misplaced shots due to slow surface speed, poorly manicured playing conditions and unpredictably gusty winds,
In the end, I sadly discovered that although it was a valiant attempt, I really wasn’t able to lose my obsession with golf — I just found a way to downsize it and play it standing still.
Rich Bernstein is a resident of Sun City - Hilton Head. Rich has been experiencing the joy, challenges and frustrations of golf since his selection as the 6th player on his 5-player high school golf team.
