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EconTalk

Golfing Alone (with Gary Belsky)

5/4/20261 hr

No rush, no noise, no one else on the golf course: solo golf is an entirely different game, offering physical, mental, and spiritual benefits that playing with others can't. Listen as author and former editor of ESPN The Magazine Gary Belsky and EconTalk's Russ Roberts discuss how golfing alone can create flow, develop physical mastery, and enhance self-awareness. Along the way, they explore what makes golf different from other sports, what it reveals about our character, and why even non-golfers may love its solo version for the lessons it imparts about life.

Clips

Pros vs. Amateurs, One Thought
Play Without Keeping Score
Flow State, Rented Clubs, Best Round
Analog Golf In A Digital Age
Dance Like No One’s Watching—Golf
“That’s A Golf Shot”
Four Strokes To Fame
Tradition Isn’t What You Think
The Clean Caddie Comeback

Transcript preview

First 90 seconds

  1. Russ Roberts· Host0:00

    [upbeat music] Welcome to EconTalk, conversations for the curious, part of the Library of Economics and Liberty. I'm your host, Russ Roberts of Shalem College in Jerusalem and Stanford University's Hoover Institution. Go to econtalk.org where you can subscribe, comment on this episode, and find links to other information related to today's conversation. You'll also find our archives with every episode we've done going back to 2006. Our email address is mail@econtalk.org. We'd love to hear from you. [upbeat music] Today is March 25th, 2026, and my guest is author Gary Belsky. This is Gary's third appearance on the program. He was last here in April of 2016, talking about the origin of sports. His latest book, and our topic for today, is Solo Golf. Gary, welcome back to EconTalk.

  2. Gary Belsky· Guest0:56

    Oh my God, very glad to be here. Can I ask you a question?

  3. Russ Roberts· Host0:59

    Oh, sure.

  4. Gary Belsky· Guest0:59

    Is there like a... Do you have like a thing, um, like Saturday Night lives ha- Saturday Night Live has, where if a host has, you know, hosted five times they get a jacket? Like w- you know, I know that there have been people who've been on many more times than me, but is there a threshold in which they, you know, we become kind of part of a club?

  5. Russ Roberts· Host1:17

    Sure.

  6. Gary Belsky· Guest1:17

    The EconTalk club?

  7. Russ Roberts· Host1:18

    Yeah, well- I'd like to...

  8. Gary Belsky· Guest1:18

    Can we make it three?

  9. Russ Roberts· Host1:19

    [laughs] Well, three, and then plus if you've won, say, the Masters, you get a green jacket.

  10. Gary Belsky· Guest1:25

    Oh, yeah.

  11. Russ Roberts· Host1:26

    Um, so you've only got... You're halfway there. You've got the three appearances.

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