“Golf is deceptively simple and infinitely complex; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the mind. It is at once rewarding and maddening – and it is without a doubt the greatest game ever invented by man.” – Arnold Palmer
This quote from one of golf’s greatest players is reminiscent of Bitcoin’s journey in many ways. At first glance, these two inventions may seem completely unrelated, but they share interesting similarities. The principles of golf can provide valuable insights into Bitcoin, and understanding Bitcoin can help shed light on the complexities of golf.
In both endeavors, achieving a certain threshold of time and understanding is like gaining admission to an exclusive club. Up until that point, it can be extremely frustrating and seemingly meaningless; after that, joining that club is equally rewarding and maddening. But whether it’s the money or the game, both are without a doubt the greatest things humans have ever invented.
Most amateur golfers know how difficult it is to play consistently well. It takes hard work, longevity, courage, and mental strength that can only be forged over years of dedication. For many, it’s a lifelong journey. There’s no substitute for hitting the practice field, ball after ball. The parallels to Bitcoin’s personal journey run deep. Success in golf and Bitcoin is the product of a low preference for time, proof of work, and minimal errors.
Low time preference is essential.
Golf is a journey that requires patience, discipline and perseverance. Playing the game is not about the end goal, but about the process along the way. And that process teaches us a lot about ourselves and the importance of caring for our future.
Understanding the importance of Bitcoin is not easy. Learning what money is, what the problem with money is today, and why Bitcoin solves that problem takes time. But the fact that it is difficult is what makes it worth pursuing. After all, if it were easy, everyone would be doing it.
Worthy challenges come with obstacles, and this is nowhere better exemplified than in both Bitcoin and golf. There are false peaks of understanding where good judgment fails and hasty assumptions are made. There are snake oil salesmen offering shortcuts or “get rich quick” schemes along the way. Whichever way you interpret it, ego is just another obstacle.
Golf and Bitcoin are two adventures that require a tremendous amount of humility. Those who inevitably run into pitfalls along the way learn that neither is about the end goal, and they may never reach it. But the journey can be rewarding in its own right.
Once I understood Bitcoin, the power I gained from using it as my primary form of savings seeped into other parts of my life. I suddenly became more interested in improving other parts of my life, like my health and my relationships with friends and family. I simply became happier and, overall, 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 most other sports in that you can play it your entire life. Some sports are favored because they are meant for a short period of time, usually two years, or even a single match. Golfers know when they step onto the practice range or take their first tee that the goal is not to hit the ball the longest or score the best. Instead, the goal is to get a little better each time. The confidence gained from this approach is the foundation for having the conviction to not only survive, but thrive when the going gets tough… and it will get tough!
In Ben Hogan’s book “Five Lessons,” a bit like “Mastering Bitcoin” in golf, Hogan describes a shot he hit on the 72nd hole of a 1950 tournament at Merion Golf Club. The shot was a 5-iron from 200 yards up a steep hill onto a sloping green. The ball landed close enough to the pin to force a playoff, and eventually led to him winning the tournament.
“I mention this incident not for the pleasure of savoring the sweetness of the ‘big moment’, but because I have discovered in many conversations that my view of this shot (and others like it) is markedly different from the view most viewers seem to have. They tend to give the shot itself a sense of joy because it was taken in a stressful situation. They tend to think of it as something unique in itself, almost inspirational, you might say, because the shot was exactly what the occasion called for. I don’t see it that way at all. I didn’t take that shot then – that late evening in Merion. I’ve been practicing that shot since I was twelve.”
Both golf and Bitcoin reward individuals with a low time preference. Understanding and embracing this principle is essential to achieving better results and enjoying the game more. Faking a good swing at golf is as unlikely to happen as faking a Bitcoin transaction, but it is simply impossible. That’s why developing a strong golf game requires the same crucial ingredient as sound money: proof of work.
There is no alternative to proof of work.
The importance of proof of work in Bitcoin, and in money in general, cannot be overstated. Money must be tied to the universal truth that nothing in this world is free. And success in golf is no different.
Becoming a professional golfer may be out of reach for most of us, but we can still take a low-time approach to improving our skills. Whether you’re aiming to become a pro or just trying to break 90, consistent effort is essential. There’s no substitute for hitting hundreds or thousands of balls on the practice field, where every shot is aimed at perfecting your swing.
Developing a good golf game is like solving a puzzle. You have to persevere, shot by shot, making incremental adjustments until you find the solution—at least for that one shot or that day. The challenge is that each new day brings different variables. You may be battling an injury, or the weather may create different playing conditions. These changes require subtle adjustments to your game, and again, you have to work to solve the puzzle.
Bitcoin mining is often described as solving a complex puzzle, too. Each block template is unique, and miners must repeatedly modify the nonce until they discover the correct input to hit the target. Doing so unlocks large rewards, but only if you can prove to the network that you’ve put in the work. This process ties the Bitcoin ledger to real-world energy usage, protecting its transaction history at a cost that can’t be forged. The result of this work — a valid cryptographic hash below the difficulty target — can be easily verified by other players in the game. Achieving a low score for a round of golf is hard, but it’s easy for your playing partner to attest to on your scorecard.
When you watch a hacker on a Saturday morning, it’s clear that the level of work required to compete at the highest level has yet to be achieved. It looks easy for a professional, but achieving that level of skill requires a significant investment over a long period of time. Winning a golf tournament takes a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck, just like mining Bitcoin.
Golf, like Bitcoin, is a game that can only be mastered through proof of work. With a low time preference and a massive amount of work invested, there is another key concept to consistently driving low golf scores: don’t make mistakes!
Don’t make mistakes
“Golf is a game of minimizing mistakes.” – Ben Hogan
Hit your tee shot somewhere on the fairway, hit your approach shot somewhere on the green, put the ball in the hole in two strokes… that’s a successful shot. Like hitting 18 holes, owning 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 fairways are between 25 and 65 yards wide. This means that you don’t have to hit a perfect putt to hit the fairway. In fact, you have a fairly wide range of shots you can hit, and that will still put you in enough position to hit the green on your next shot. The same goes for the putting green. While the width varies by course, the typical width of the putting green is about 25 yards. Again, this means that you don’t have to hit a perfect approach shot to hit the green. A wide range of shots will do. For both direct and close shots, you don’t need to hit a perfect shot. You just don’t need to hit a bad shot.
Various factors can cause mistakes or accidents on a golf course, such as wind, water, sand, rough terrain, trees, and all sorts of other hazards. Success in any round of golf depends on a thoughtful approach. Managing the course and keeping your mistakes small, so that you can recover from them easily, is crucial to achieving a low score. Perfection is not required, but tolerance for mistakes is.
The same goes for your Bitcoin journey. Risks come in the form of market volatility, adoption waves, and phishing attacks. Bitcoin “yield” products will tempt you to “drive” a little extra, and trading experts make it easy to access the well-protected flag.
But your only job when it comes to storing Bitcoin is to prevent yourself from making mistakes that could lead to losing it.
The key to managing your Bitcoin cycle is to keep your private keys in a fault-tolerant manner and have a succession plan in place. Avoid trying to time the market, trade Bitcoin volatility, or look for a few extra points of return. These are all surefire ways to drop the famous Bitcoin ball in the woods. Just keep your Bitcoin safe and your private keys private.
Final thoughts
The similarities between golf and Bitcoin offer valuable lessons for those embarking on either journey. Both are long-term endeavors that should be approached with a low time preference. The concept of proof-of-work is central to both, emphasizing that consistent effort and dedication are the only paths to success. Finally, the importance of minimizing errors in either field cannot be overstated. As you navigate your Bitcoin journey, adopt the mindset of a seasoned golfer, and make sure to always play from the fairway.
PS: If you’re a golfer who loves Bitcoin, join us at the inaugural Bitcoin Golf Championship on July 24th in Nashville!
https://bitcoingolfchampionship.com/
This is a guest post by Rocky Wold, Joe Burnett, and Trey Sellers. The opinions expressed in this post are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.