Here is my first piece of advice on how to avoid becoming a golf widow. It's going to be the least popular, so let's get it out of the way. Ready? Take a lesson. Go to a golf course close to you and take a lesson. You don't need a set of clubs. They will have a set you can rent. If they don't, head to another course that does. Sign yourself up for at least half an hours worth of instruction. If you already play you can skip this post. If not, listen up. Chances are before 10 minutes have gone by you are going to be very frustrated. Tiger makes it look so easy doesn't he? But it's not. It will take you several tries to just hit the ball. Then it will only go about a foot. Or it will go straight up a mile, and come down right in front of you. Or it will careen off and hit the person on the range next to you. Then try putting. No matter how carefully you aim, the damn ball seems to have a mind of it's own, huh? That hole starts to seem awfully small doesn't it? So, based on that half hour, how long before you think you would be ready to actually play 9 holes? The point here is to have an appreciation for what your Golfer does each time he leaves you for 4+ hours to play a round. It's much easier to write the whole thing off as a stupid obsession if you think of him out there effortlessly driving and putting. But if you try it even once you will understand that, even if he has a handicap greater than his age, it takes practice and skill to play 18 holes. And an appreciation of the effort involved is the first step in avoiding referring to yourself as a golf widow.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that there is a danger involved in this. There is a chance, however small, that after that lesson you will tell yourself 'Just two more swings and I would have had it.' Or, 'I know what I was doing wrong with that last putt. The next one would have gone in.'. In which case you may as well walk back into the pro shop and sign up for a series of lessons, and buy yourself some clubs. You are hooked.