One of my pet dislikes is when money is spent on so-called research by scientists, only for them to come up with what was already blindingly obvious, or if in Thailand the not so obvious.

You may have come across a recent example of this. Sports psychology researchers at Exeter University in the UK have pronounced that a happy home life can make you better at golf. They found that the emotional support a golfer receives off the course is directly linked to the quality of his performance on it. They measured the level of support that 117 amateur male golfers received in their personal lives (I wonder how?) against the quality of their game.

Those with more emotional backup performed up to 24 per cent better;  how many strokes is that? “We often speak of the ‘moral support’ sportsmen get from their friends and families, which helps their performances,” said Dr. Tim Rees of the University’s School of Sports and Health Sciences. “Perhaps, then, it is not surprising that golfers benefit from good social networks off the course. What was surprising to us was the extent to which this affected their performance”.

Obviously, there were no Thai golfers in the study, but it would be interesting to see if the same conclusions hold true. Maybe I will commission my own informal study at next weeks Bangkok golf society outing. Since TIT, I expect the opposite might actually apply.  Many a Thai wife is known to like the peace and quiet they get when their “husband” or person who takes care of them gives them the day off (freedom to do whatever). Now, during those long days when you are golfing with friends at a Thailand golf course or even better when you decide to take an extended Thailand golf trip with your mates, you can only wonder what the misses is up to at “home”?

So there you have it then. Please feel free to show this posting to your spouse, partner, mistress, friends, or family, or perhaps to all of the above, so that they truly understand the importance of how they treat you to your golf game. I will leave it to you to interpret precisely what is meant by “emotional support” and “good social networks”. Just don’t email in with complaints afterwards, I’m only the messenger!

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