I hate golf | Adrian Chiles

I’ve been trying to quit the game for years. Just when I thought I was out, it pulled me back in … I hate golf. A good walk spoiled? The whole day spoiled, more like. As with many cases of hate, it has its roots in love. You see, I just love the feeling of hitting the ball sweetly. If you feel the same way, then you’re into golf ; if you don’t, then you’re not.

But I am, and from the moment I struck a ball sweetly for the first time, I was hooked. It happened playing my first proper round of golf, off the third tee at the Gower Golf Club. Woomph. Making hardly a sound and barely seeming to make an impact as club hit ball, off it went. And that was me. My logic ran that if I could play like that as an absolute beginner, imagine what I could do with a bit of practice. I strode up to…