“Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complex; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is rewarding and maddening at the same time – and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented.” – Arnold Palmer
This quote from one of golf's greatest players is in many ways reminiscent of Bitcoin's journey. At first glance, these two inventions may seem completely unrelated, but they share interesting similarities. The principles of golf can provide valuable insight into Bitcoin, and understanding Bitcoin can shed light on the intricacies of golf.
In both endeavors, achieving a certain threshold of time and understanding is like gaining entry into an exclusive club. Until that point, it may seem extremely frustrating and pointless; and after that, it is equally rewarding and crazy to be a part of it. But whether it is money or a sport, both are undoubtedly the greatest inventions ever made by mankind.
Most amateur golfers know how difficult it is to play consistently well. It requires hard work, longevity, patience, and mental toughness that can only be achieved through years of dedication. For many, it is a lifelong journey. There is no substitute for hashing out ball after ball on the driving range. The parallels to the personal bitcoin journey run much deeper. Success in golf and bitcoin is a product of low time preference, proof of work, and minimizing mistakes.
Low time priority is required
Golf is a difficult journey that requires patience, discipline and perseverance. Playing the game is not about the final destination, but about the process along the way. This process teaches us as much about ourselves as it teaches us the importance of thinking about our future.
Understanding the importance of Bitcoin is not for the faint of heart. Understanding what money is, what the problem with money is today, and why Bitcoin solves that problem takes time. But the fact that it is hard is what makes it worth pursuing. After all, if it were easy, everyone would do it.
Meaningful challenges come with obstacles, and both Bitcoin and golf could not represent this better. There are false peaks of understanding where good judgment is missed and hasty assumptions are made. There are many vendors along the way offering shortcuts or “get rich quick” schemes. And any way you spin it, ego is just another obstacle.
Golf and bitcoin are incredibly humbling endeavors. Those who inevitably experience obstacles along the way learn that each is not about the final destination, and in fact, they may never find a destination. But that journey can be incredibly rewarding in itself.
Once I understood Bitcoin, the power I got from using it as my primary form of savings started to seep into other parts of my life as well. I suddenly became more interested in improving other parts of my life, such as my health and my relationships with friends and family. I simply became happier, and generally, more optimistic about the future. It’s a feeling that reminds me of a quote from Bobby Jones, one of the greatest golfers to ever play the game,
“The most important shot in golf is the next shot.”
Golf is different from other sports in that you can play it most of your life. Some sports are highly time-priority in that they are optimized for a short period of time, typically a few years or even a single game. Golfers know when they step onto the practice range or the first tee that their goal is not to hit the longest drive or score their best score. Rather, it is to get a little better each time. The confidence gained from this approach is foundational to having the conviction necessary to not only survive, but to thrive when the going gets tough…and it will be tough!
In Ben Hogan's book, “Five Lessons”, a book I consider similar to “Mastering Bitcoin” but for the game of golf, he describes a shot he hit on the 72nd hole of a tournament at Merion Golf Club in 1950. The shot was hit with a 5 iron from 200 yards onto a green sloping from a severe hill. The ball landed so close to the pin that a playoff ensued and he ultimately won the championship.
“I mention this incident not for the pleasure of relishing the sweetness of a “big moment,” but because I have found in many conversations that my view of this shot (and others like it) is quite different from that of most spectators. They tend to glamorize the actual shot because it was hit in a pressure situation. They see it as something unique in itself, something almost inspired, you might say, because the shot was exactly what the occasion demanded. I don't see it that way at all. I didn't hit that shot at that time – that late afternoon at Merion. I had been practicing that shot since I was twelve.”
Both golf and bitcoin reward individuals with a low time preference. Understanding and adopting this principle is essential to achieving better scores and enjoying the game more. Creating a good golf swing is as possible as faking a bitcoin transaction, it simply can't be done. This is why developing a strong golf game requires an element just as important as sound money: proof of work.
There is no alternative to proof of work
The importance of proof of work in Bitcoin and money in general cannot be overstated. Money must be tied to the universal truth that nothing is free in this world. Success in golf is no different.
Becoming a professional golfer may be out of reach for most of us, but we can take a low time preference approach to improving our skills. Whether you want to become a pro or are just trying to break 90, consistent effort is essential. There is no substitute for hitting hundreds or thousands of balls on the driving range, the goal of every swing is to improve your shot.
Developing a good golf game is like solving a puzzle. You have to keep trying, swing after swing, gradually adjusting until you find the solution – at least for that one swing or that one day. The challenge is that each new day brings different variables. You might be dealing with an injury, or the weather might create different playing conditions. These changes require slight changes to your game, and once again, you have to solve the puzzle.
Bitcoin mining is often described as solving a complex puzzle. Each block template is unique, and miners must repeatedly change the nonce until they find the right input to hit the target. Doing so yields great rewards, but only if you can prove to the network that you have done the required work. This process connects Bitcoin's ledger to real-world energy use, keeping its transaction history secure with incredible cost. The result of that work – a valid cryptographic hash below the difficulty target – can be easily verified by other players in the game. It's hard to achieve a low score for a round of golf, but it's easy for your playing partner to verify your scorecard.
When you look at the average hacker on a Saturday morning, it's clear that the level of work required to compete at the highest level is not accomplished. The pros make it look easy, but achieving that level of skill requires significant investment over a long period of time. Winning golf tournaments requires a lot of hard work and a little luck, just like bitcoin mining.
Golf, like Bitcoin, is a game that can only be mastered through proof of work. Along with setting a low time priority and putting in a massive amount of work, there is another key concept to pursuing consistently low golf scores: don’t make mistakes!
Don't make mistakes
“Golf is a game of minimizing mistakes.” – Ben Hogan
Launch your drive somewhere in the fairway, hit your approach shot somewhere on the green, and put the ball in the hole in two putts…a successful par. Like shooting par on 18 holes, holding Bitcoin is simple in concept, but not easy in practice. Both require avoiding mistakes rather than achieving perfection. The key to success in Bitcoin and golf is simple: don’t make mistakes.
Most golf fairways range in width from 25-65 yards. This means you don't have to hit a perfect shot to hit the fairway. In fact, you have a pretty wide range of shots to hit, and this will put you in enough space to hit the green on the next shot. The same applies to the green. Although it varies by course, the typical width of a putting green is about 25 yards. Again, this means you don't have to hit a perfect approach shot to hit the green. A wide range of shots will do. For both driving and approach shots, you don't have to hit a perfect shot. You just have to not hit a bad shot.
Many elements on the golf course can cause mistakes or accidents, such as wind, water, sand, rough ground, trees and all sorts of other hazards. Success in any round of golf depends on a thoughtful approach. Course management and keeping your mistakes small, so you can easily recover from them, are key to achieving low scores. Perfection is not required, but error tolerance is.
The same is true in your journey to Bitcoin. Threats appear in the form of market fluctuations, waves of adoption, and phishing attacks. Bitcoin “yield” products will tempt you to “overswing your driver” for a little extra distance, and trading gurus make it easy to go for the well-guarded flag.
But your only job when it comes to holding Bitcoin is to prevent yourself from making mistakes that could cause you to lose it.
The basis of your Bitcoin course management is keeping your private keys in a fault-tolerant way and having succession planning. Avoid timing the market, trading Bitcoin volatility, or looking for a few extra points of yield. These are all almost surefire ways to throw the BTC ball into the woods. You just need to keep your Bitcoin securely and keep your private keys private.
final thoughts
The similarities between golf and Bitcoin offer valuable lessons for those embarking on either journey. They are both long-term goals that must be pursued with little time priority. The proof-of-work concept is central to both, which emphasizes that consistent effort and dedication are the only paths to success. Finally, the importance of minimizing mistakes cannot be underestimated in any field. As you move forward on your Bitcoin journey, adopt the mindset of an experienced golfer, and make sure you always play from the fairway.
If you are a golfer and love Bitcoin, join us for the first Bitcoin Golf Championship on July 24th in Nashville!
https://bitcoingolfchampionship.com/
This is a guest post written by Rocky Wold, Joe Burnett, and Trey Sellers. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.
