How many times have you hit the links wishing you had stayed home? For most players, especially those who do not play as often as they would like, this is a rare occurrence. The joy of golfing does help many players done rose coloured glasses; yet, there are times when on course or outside influences tip the scales towards walking off the course. In many cases, the decision to leave is not taken lightly. Regardless, leaving the golf course was the best decision and I have made that decision a few times myself over the years. Have you?

The plethora of reasons for leaving the course are too numerous to list. The reason is that each unique to each golfer and cannot be judged by others. Understanding that staying or leaving is a personal choice, I do have three reasons that I believe overshadow all the others. They are not complicated, but delve into the heart of the matter. But first:

Have you ever walked off a golf course during the middle of your round? #golfchat

— The Grateful Golfer (@TheGratefulGolf) October 26, 2023

The top reasons for leaving the golf course are pretty straight forward. The first is weather. Any sign of lightning or extreme weather will chase me from the course very fast. I do not hesitate and boot it for safety. However, I will try to avoid this:

The second reason I leave is extremely slow play. This has happened about a half a dozen times over the many years of play. The worst was at my home course of Circle Pines in Borden, Ontario. I finished the first hole and noticed 6 groups waiting the the par 3. There was no way i was going to way an hour to play the second hole, so home I went. Slow play is a round stopper for sure. So, I avoid rounds that play like this:

Lastly, a call from home. I rarely keep my phone on. Unless I know of something that might pop up, I do not need the distraction. One time however, long before cell phones, I was tracked down on the 12th hole by a worker at the course and was given a message to come home immediately. Of course, I stopped playing and headed as quickly as possible to a phone. My wife informed me that our house was being invaded by wasps. Yup, wasps. I packed up my stuff and drove the 5 minutes to home.

As it turned out, the wasps were coming from behind my electrical panel. At the time of my arrival, there were about a dozen of these little pests in the house. After removing them, I addressed the root of the problem. So, I sealed all the holes, drilled a small hole and sprayed wasp eliminator in the hole. They were not happy, but the problem was solved.

There are many other reasons that lead us to the conclusion of leaving the golf course mid-round. Each is unique to the player and should not be judged. Life happens to all of us and making the call of heading home is never a bad thing. Because:

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!