Broadcaster Adrian Chiles has declared he is 'done with golf for ever', citing a long-standing love-hate relationship with the sport. Chiles, who started playing in his early 30s, recounted his frustration with the game's unpredictable nature, where a novice can hit a sweet shot but struggle to repeat the feat.
Despite taking hundreds of lessons and dedicating extensive practice, Chiles found that any improvement was haphazard and felt like a 'different iteration of failure'. He described how good shots would only deepen his mood, fearing they would draw him back into the game and make subsequent poor shots feel worse.
The decision to quit golf permanently was made one Saturday in Pitlochry after 'eight holes of tragicomic ineptitude'. Although he played the ninth hole 'like a master', he was not swayed. In the 20 years since, Chiles has played only a dozen times, stating that playing with no expectation makes it 'more tolerable, but only a little'.