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Many people say that you should take up a hobby during your life that will be suitable for your retirement. You will have many years once you have stopped working that will need filling if you are not going to become bored and depressed. Waiting until you do retire means that you will have to start something from scratch which sometimes can be difficult.
There are of course many hundreds of different hobbies and pastimes that you could pursue, and you probably will want to try out a few new ideas. However, having a sport or hobby that you have been good at and can look forward to devoting more time than you have been able to when working is one of the good reasons for retirement.
Both golf and fishing are often recommended as they are both reasonably active outdoor pursuits that encourage the participant to go out and enjoy themselves. Golf appears on the face of it to be the better choice in this respect as it requires the participant to walk around a golf course at least getting fresh air and exercise, whereas the impression of a fisherman is often sitting by the lakeside bored, which is not so attractive.
This is not the case, a round of golf does require a reasonable walk of perhaps two miles or so when playing a round of eighteen holes. It is better exercise than none at all, but hardly as good even as walking the dog. On the other hand, walking a river while stalking an elusive fishy quarry can demand walks of many miles. Therefore, it is no good trying to judge the relative merits of either golf or angling by the amount of exercise either provides during your old age.
The next aspect to be considered is the effort that is required to undertake each. Again this will depend on where you do the sport and the approach you take. But it is fair to say that golf can be a very gentle walk round a course, interspaced with spikes of activity when the golf ball is being hit with a wood or an iron. This is a stress point at which many people have been known to suffer heart attacks - and if you are fortunate enough to manage to make it round the course, then a regular couple of alcoholic drinks at the nineteenth hole will not improve your fitness. Again the criticism of golf in favour of fishing must be tempered. If you do choose to sit for hours on end by the waterside and then suddenly you have a bite from a large fish, this excitement can be just as sudden and stressful!
The question of whether or not golf will help you to keep your mind alert must be asked. There is not much thought process that goes into a round of golf - but a lively conversation with your partners will be stimulating. With fishing the chances are that you will be on your own, with only the choice of tackle to occupy your mind.
Finally, there is the cost of each to consider. You may not be working and relying on a pension. In this case you might be looking for a sport that is reasonable in cost. Golf can be expensive if you join the top club, buy top branded carbon fibre and titanium equipment and play several times a week. However, a modest set of clubs need not cost a lot and you can always play at a "pay per game" local club. Fishing is the same, some venues are expensive and some very good ones reasonable. You may become a "tackle tart" and buy more shiny fishing tackle than you need, or you may happily fish for any species in any environment with adequate budget priced gear. In both sports the choice is yours.
There does not appear to be anything to choose between golf and fishing as a retirement sport. It will depend on whether you want to chase a little ball around a field or sit for hours by the local pond. Alternatively you might want a fantastic social sport in stunning manicured grounds, or to pursue exciting monster fish in rugged awe inspiring scenery. It is what you make of either that counts.
