The Astrology of Golf

Now, a lot of folks discount the veracity of astrology. They doubt the power of the horoscope to hone in on particular human traits. Some, even, fail to comprehend the acute insight provided by an understanding of the stars and their influence upon our lives. This is despite the scientific fact that we are made up of the same stuff as that of the heavenly bodies. So, of course, we are affected by the movement of the stars through the zodiac. The astrology of golf, is merely, another element to consider in the expanding universe.

Golf & Isaac Newton’s Horoscopes

Did you know that Isaac Newton, the founder of Newtonian science and our understanding of forces like gravity, was a devotee of astrology? The scientific establishment is always keen to hide this aspect of the forefather of physics. Yes, Isaac Newton cast more horoscopes than you would have had hot dinners. Astrology was an essential component of studying medicine at the first universities in Europe. Your doctor knew more about your sextiles and interstellar relationships than your calories and vices.

Science, Golfers & the Zodiac

“Do not throw the baby out with the bath water,” is an age-old warning about discarding old knowledge for new. Golf has much to garner from astrology in the twenty first century. You may have your GPS and launch monitoring device tucked up tight where the sun don’t shine but there is more to golf than measuring masses of data.

Why else do we have the greater part of the planet believing in invisible supernatural entities under the guise of ancient religions. The same people who may scoff at the zodiac believe in gods and miracles on Sundays.

This is a travesty of ignorance akin to thinking that you know someone from hearing their name. When the herd mentality of human beings move on to the latest trend they rarely look back with any understanding. Think of Covid, we were all cowed into lock downs and worrying about dying last week and now we barely give the virus a moment’s thought. We are not deep thinkers by design, we are grazers of information, which is why we never learn anything from history.

Astrology is not just about your birthday and what sun sign you fall under, as considered by those charlatans in the newspapers and online. No, a horoscope takes into consideration many more elements which may influence your predilections and personality. The astrology of golf, therefore, will measure more than just where the sun was in the heavens at the moment of your birth. In fact, it takes many years for an individual to grow into their sun sign and prior to that they are influenced by earlier temporal factors.

Immediately, we have already identified that there are different personality types among us. Thus, these differences may be measured by things like horoscopes. How you think and process information is not exactly the same as everybody else. We know this to be true. Identifying distinguishing factors within different human beings has been going on since time immemorial. People have always wanted to honour their unique characteristics rather than be judged as all the same. Some individuals are musical and others are not. Certain folk are athletic and others not so much. Particular people are inventive whilst others are not. This defining list could go on and on, ad infinitum, demarking the points of difference among us.

Thus, the astrology of golf has emerged from out of the mists of popular ignorance to crack a big one down the fairway. There is no cheap truth to be had here, as the science of astrology demands thorough investigation. There will be no one size fits all under the sign of when your birthday falls. Rather, all the relevant data must be consulted if you are to discern the valuable information at the heart of the matter.

We, as humanity, are embarked upon the quest to determine the smallest particles that make up matter. We have built the Large Hadron Collider at an original cost of US$4.23 billion to do so. This has been recently upgraded at a further cost of US$150 million. There are other colliders around the place and these whilst not as large were not cheap to build. Will an understanding of the type and number of particles present in your golf swing deliver the kind of outcome you desire for your golf game. How many Higgs boson does it take to change a light bulb?

These are stories made up by ancient scribes living centuries after the events purported to be true within these texts. They are salesmen selling convoluted histories designed to enchant the reader. Scientific facts do not impinge upon the beliefs of the faithful, as they insulate themselves and their families from inconvenient truths. Religions have been discredited in the minds of many, but many more believers hang onto their beliefs despite the evidence to the contrary.

Political leaders dependent upon getting re-elected have shied away from “the greatest moral challenge of our time.” Teaching our children about fictitious stories from the Bronze Age is not going to help them deal with global warming. Climatic disasters like floods and wildfires are dramatically becoming much more prevalent. The evidence for climate change is beginning to cost people their lives and properties.

Polytheistic beliefs rather than monotheistic beliefs were the norm back then. A family of gods rather than just one god was the order of the day. Our understanding of the world was based on this multiplicity of divine entities interacting with us. The idea of golfing gods fits more with the pagan understanding of things I suspect. Jews to Christians to Muslims is the trajectory of monotheism as it raced around the world taking no prisoners and slaughtering opposition and its own adherents along the way. Swinging swords and axes left no time for swinging golf clubs on the links. James the II of Scotland enacted that into law back in the fifteenth century. Astrology was how many people understood the universe and it took centuries before it fell out of favour. The concept of the zodiac and the horoscope survived through Medieval Christendom and Islam. Alchemists like Isaac Newton were fierce proponents of astrology throughout their lives. Chemistry and science emerged from alchemy and mathematics.

Planetary bodies like Mars meant something to those who had been brought up with thousands of years of cultural understanding behind them in relation to the family of Greek and Roman gods. The richness of that understanding with all its nuances evoked the power of those stories. The Iliad was the most important story underpinning the whole of the ancient Greek civilisation. Achilles starred in that poetic narrative like an iconic legend casting longer shadows than any war hero, pop star, or movie character had ever done before. Mars was the god most responsible for Achilles and all he stood for. Mars has a lot to say about your golf swing. Lifting the lid on the font of knowledge available via the astrology of golf is like opening Pandora’s box. Are you ready for both the good and the bad to be released like the force of nature in springtime?

We live our lives under the auspices of archetypal stories, whether it be the story of Science or that of Jesus, Mohammed, Abraham, Krishna, or one of the many other divinatory narratives. Why not expand your understanding – to stand under –  some polytheistic golfing gods? Mars might rule your golf swing and comprehending what is happening to Mars in your horoscope or transits may assist in your golfing journey. A hell of a lot of American pro golfers like to acknowledge the Christian god and Jesus for their golfing triumphs. The astrology of golf can only enrich our experience of the mysteries of the golfing journey. Ares or Mars, the Greek and Roman names respectively, is the god of courage and war, usually, depicted with a weapon. Our connection to the 14 clubs in our golf bag seals the deal when it comes to placing Mars at the forefront of your considerations when it comes to playing competitive golf. Golf is a battle, as those who have played competitive golf well know. It may be mainly a battle with the course itself but it is a battle just the same. Ares fought naked and was a nasty piece of work at times. War is not about comfort and ease. It involves violence and brute force. Mars is not the only stellar influence on our game by an means but the competitive spirit must be strong in golf if you are to succeed and overcome what opposes you. In nature everything else wants to f*** you, fight you, or eat you! Welcome to the Martian world.

You want to dig down into the zodiac placement of Mars in your natal chart. What Sign is Mars in? What House does Mars reside in within your horoscope? What other planets does Mars interact with in your chart? What angles do these relationship take and what are the nature of them? There are important positions like the Ascendant and Midheaven and their opposites in your natal chart. How does Mars interact with these 4 points? Build a nuanced picture of Mars within your zodiac. Check out the sign of Ares and the 1st House what is happening here? Spend some time with all things Martian in your natal chart. Get a feel for the full flavour rather than any flippant superficial reading of the situation. Move on to transiting Mars once you have immersed yourself in the full spectrum of the native influence.

My Mars is in the Sign of Virgo in the 4^th House. It is conjuncted by Uranus and Pluto. It squares another stellium of planetary bodies in Sagittarius in the 7^th House. I share these with you to give you some idea of my own exploration and understanding of these positions in relation to my golf swing and characteristics. Virgo is a sensitive earth Sign, the virgin. This makes Mars wear caution, which is not a favoured aspect of the war god. It can bring some refinement to the physical nature of Mars, which I have found assists via the biomechanical analysis of my golf swing. It is not a natural fit for the fiery Mars, however, and it has taken time to surrender to this approach and find a way forward. For too many years I flailed away with brute force in a vain attempt to overpower the golf swing. This was my Jupiterian grand trine on my rising enflaming this inclination as well. It was a dismal failure which resulted in frustration over many years. The conjunction with Uranus and Pluto brought erratic and unseen power to my efforts, which I struggled to channel effectively into my golf swing. My natural inclination was always to try and hit the ball harder and faster without much consistent success. The 4^th House is the domain of the home and my residence has always been littered with golf clubs, bags and bags of them. Golf has gradually taken over my house with putting greens in the living room, chipping areas here and there, and plans for launch monitors and golfing studios. The square from Venus, Mercury, and Moon to Mars can create discord from the relating planets with the masculine action parts of me. This can impact upon my ability to retain connection with my swing during the round if things get too chatty in my four ball. Outside forces can distract the sensitive Mars placement too easily making me thin skinned. Getting to know your vulnerabilities can greatly assist your competitive abilities out on the golf course. You know what to look out for and what situations to avoid where possible. There are many more dimensions to my Mars placement and related Martian influences but I will refrain from including them here but this can give you an idea of what is possible to discover through investigation.  

Robert Sudha Hamilton is the author of The Golf Book: Green Cathedral Dreams.

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