Are you a golf widow? Yes? Dont worry, you are not alone. No one can know for sure how many golf widows are out there. Spending weekends and holidays alone while your spouse is taking each chance available to play the game loved by so many can be tough on any marriage. The question is what are you going to do about it? Theres no easy answer but here are a few tips you should consider if you want to keep your spouse in your life.

The thing about marrying a golfer is that you initially have the choice unless your spouse discovers the game after you say yes. As with any relationship, you should have a good idea of what you are getting into before you agree marry this person. So, assuming you know that you are marrying a golfer, you should expect that each weekend your newly found spouse probably will be on the links during the entire golf season. Depending on where you live, this could be a significant amount of time.

Should you expect a life of lonely weekends and time to yourself? It all depends on how much your spouse loves golf. Its hard to explain to a non-golfer the powerful addiction of this crazy game. Its probably a given that the thought of taking up golf has at least crossed your mind before you entered into your marriage. If you werent impressed or cant understand what the big deal is, you may be in trouble. It can be a very difficult situation because on one hand, you want your spouse to enjoy their free time even if its on the golf course. Things go astray because there is a fine line between allowing your partner the time to enjoy their hobbies and the flip side of too much time being spent away from you and your home.

How you deal with this new found challenge can be the difference between staying together and not. The best and easiest way to make everyone happy to set clearly defined boundaries that both of you agree upon. Say for example that you both agree two rounds of golf each week is enough. Obviously you need to be flexible and on some occasions, your spouse might play once or not at all, and on others he may play 4 or 5 times in the same week. As long as consistently over time it all works out to both of your satisfaction, you should be able to get along great. Keep in mind that there should be a trade off of some sort. Make sure if he has a 4 game week that you at least get a nice dinner out of that or that his duties around the house dont fall behind. Make it work in such a way that it can be fun and enjoyable for both of you.

An important consideration is that once you agree to a mutually beneficial arrangement, making your partner feel guilty each time he heads off the course wont help anyone involved. Encourage him and take advantage of the fact that you are in a relationship where you talk to each other so openly. This is not to say that your boundaries are written in stone either. Revisit them as often as you need but in a way that is productive and not as a confrontation.

It is possible to stay married to an avid golfer with a little bit of effort and concessions from both parties. Revisit your agreements frequently and regularly discuss how things are working out for both of you. Tweak and adjust as you need as your personal situation changes and you can enjoy a long and productive life together.