For a weekend golfer, the inherent appeal of the game lies in the sense of possibility. Holing a lengthy putt on the 18th to take the match off their buddy, striking a drive pure, or sticking an approach shot next to the flag, amateurs’ travails are peppered with glimpses of glory. Hitting shots that would make the pros happy (or at least not turn up their nose) is not a foreign concept for most; instead it is the shank, the duck hook and three-putt sprinkled in-between that halt progress and inflate the handicap.
Few sports give the novice the chance to experience their highs in the same way as the professionals like golf does; even the concept of a handicap is designed to level the playing field to ensure players with a vast array of ability can compete against each other in a given competition.
Since its resumption around the world at different times and with varying levels of ‘normailty’ almost every professional sport has embraced some level of change. Liverpool won the Premier League for the first time last week and couldn’t celebrate with their doting fan base, the AFL has shifted to hubs around the country with shortened matches, while Test cricket is taking place behind closed doors- and bio-secure ones for that matter.
In the emergent post-COVID era, professional sportspeople are returning to the amateur experience; playing before crowd less stadiums and for reduced pay-cheques. The professional save for the ability of course has been thrust back into the world of the weekend warrior imbued with a passion for their game, and not a whole lot else.
(Elation for amateur sportspeople; Melbourne Uni CC win the club championship and celebrate together last year)
So, when Jason Holder led his West Indies side to victory in the first Test match at the Ageas Bowl, or when Ben Stokes played a heroic man-of-the-match performance in the second, they celebrated as park and club cricketers do; saluting and celebrating with only their teammates. When Jon Rahm last week claimed his fourth career PGA Tour victory and the world #1 golf ranking, he did it the same way a 10 handicapper might claim the Saturday members’ competition; with a shaky back nine and with the polite support of galleries replaced by the doubting voice that happily exists in any athlete’s head.
(Despite the lack of crowd support, Ben Stokes' mammoth effort last week will be remembered as one of his finest performances)
The inherent beauty in all this, of course, is that the significance of these achievements is not diminished as a consequence of the topsy-turvy environments in which they take place. Instead, teams and individuals who succeed in this period will be remembered for their resilience and enduring capability to overcome the obstacles that have and will continue to present themselves.
While every aspect of society has endured turmoil over recent months, the subsequent rallying of the sporting community at all levels in the face of the pandemic has been heartening to say the least, invigorating and essential to say the most. This period has demonstrated that the appeal of sport; the love for the game that sustains and unites amateurs and weekenders in lower levels of competition, is what has allowed it not only to resume- but to thrive in current pandemic climate.
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