By nature I am as far removed from snobbery as possible and I historically associate with the underdog.   I root for the servants in Downton Abbey and I still get misty-eyed every time Rudy takes the field in the waning seconds of his last game as a walk-on football player at Notre Dame.

But, when  it comes to playing golf, more and more I find myself enjoying more upscale public and semi-private golf courses. Now, I have begun to wonder if that face staring back at me  in the mirror is the face of a golf snob?  Have I somehow become a golf elitist?  Frankly, I’m not sure, but, these feelings of golf snobbery have been creeping into my subconscious at an alarming rate this past golf season.

Maybe it’s the challenge of playing courses that are more challenging or maybe it’s just the better overall condition of these courses or maybe it’s just the ambiance, but, I generally leave these courses with the feeling that I have played on a ‘real’ golf course. And, when I go back to the low to mid-level munis or public courses, I find it harder and harder to ramp up my enthusiasm.

So, what’s the end game?  Do I keep striving like Sisyphus to get up the golfing mountain only to find myself back at same old public courses disappointed or do I take a step back and reassess my  expectations?

The answer is pretty obvious to me.  We’re all humans and I believe that it is in our human nature to want better things in life.  We’re all hard-wired to strive for the best and to be the best.  Yet, in the end,  we are all faced with limitations that force us to make appropriate compromises, but, this doesn’t mean that we can’t enjoy each and every experience for what it is.  Disappointment is a self-inflicted wound.  Failure is only real if we make it so.

So, I’ll continue to play at all levels of golf courses while admiting  that it would be nice to have the means to play only the top flight tracks, but, at the end of the day, I’ll still be out on the course chasing that little white ball around and enjoying the hell out of it.