The winter sport of curling and the summer sport of golf are very different disciplines, but they are very similar in so many ways.
In fact, many of the top curlers in Canada are not only elite curlers but good golfers too. Some are professional golfers in the summer and professional curlers in the winter. That’s not just a coincidence. Golf and curling are the same at many levels. Both games are disciplines of millimetres and minutia in terms of mental and physical demands and the execution of shots. The mental discipline required for each exacting sport is virtually the same for either golf or curling. Neither is a sport where adrenaline can rule. In fact, if you lose control of your emotions, you’ll not do well at either game.
When you come right down to it, golf is all about putting, getting that ball in that little hole. Curling is all about being able to draw the button, getting the line and weight just right. When a team can make that happen time and again means they’ll win most games they play. Golf and curling are similar in so many ways.
In both games the object is to get the golf ball or curling stone to a very small point on a large playing field.
On a green, one considers the speed and the slopes and nuances of the green before putting. So too on curling ice. One must be able read the idiosyncrasies of each individual sheet of ice.
Just like a golf green, curling ice has slopes, high and low points and each sheet of ice has its weight or speed to consider before executing a shot. With golf, the speed of the greens can change during the course of a game. So too with curling. The speed of the ice changes sometimes from end to end. In both games, the player who picks up on speed change first has the advantage.
In the game of golf at the professional level the player and the caddy are a team. Together they consider each shot, discuss it and the player executes the shot based on their shared information and positive input.
In the game of curling there are no caddies. Our teammates are the ones who provide information and positive input and support, but unlike golf, the entire team plays an important role in the actual execution of each and every shot.
The game of curling is known as “The Roaring Game” simply because there has to be a lot of communication between all the players as a rock is sliding down the ice. That’s where the loud voices, or “roaring” comes in. Sweepers are told, usually in a loud voice from the skip, to sweep to maintain the speed of a rock or to influence how much the rock is “curling” on the ice.
While golf is a quiet, cerebral game, particularly during the execution of the shot, curling will be the exact opposite in terms of noise level.
In small town Canada one can hear the curling rink a block away as teams call out to each other in an attempt to make the perfect shot.
If you’re interested in seeing the game played close up, come on out to the Gibsons Curling Club any evening, Monday to Friday, at 7 p.m. You can see, and hear, “The Roaring Game” in action. Who knows, you may even want to try it. If you’re a golfer, you’ll be amazed at the similarities.
