Wisdom learned from Golf (part 2)

Anyone who knows me knows that I think that golf is the greatest game in the world.  In golf you are not trying to hurt fellow competitors; you are not trying to fake them out or deceive them; rather, you are relying upon yourself—your developed skills, your poise and composure, and you are competing on a level playing field so to speak—the course is the same for everyone, and if you get into trouble it was your own fault—you can’t blame your teammates or ‘the conditions.’ You shouldn't even 'blame' yourself.  So you had a 'bad day.'  Wrong; you only had a bad 4-5 hours.   

I have learned from some of the greats in the game, and some of their gems of wisdom I have independently arrived at myself.  I think I have been teachable; I hope you will be as well.  There is a satisfaction in being relevant at my age, both in my Church, and on the golf course.  I believe the following to be relevant:

·        The best players are more mentally gifted than physically gifted.  Success in golf is as much mental discipline and emotional control as is strength, flexibility, and quick reactions.  Good golf is a state of mind; it has to be in your subconscious.  Your mind makes your body do things, not the other way around. 

 

·        Desire, determination, and discipline will get you much farther than size, strength, and stamina (although those qualities are helpful in many physical contests).  If you are negative or pessimistic you fail.

·        Listen to those who know.  A fine golfer in the 1960’s and ‘70’s, Juan (Chi Chi) Rodriquez said: “My grandparents on my father’s side live to 114 and 115.  After I had a heart attack [in 1998] my doctor said, ‘You do what I say and you live.  You do what you want and you die.’ I had smoked at least three packs a day for years.” He did what the doctor said. He quit. He is still alive.

·        Never pay attention to the scoreboard or your own scorecard or the game being played by your opponent.  Just play your own game—the one you prepared for. 

 

·        If you fail on one shot, or one hole, or round, or one tournament don’t give up.  Golfers fail all the time.  You have maybe 70 players  playing in a tournament and so you could say they all fail to some degree except the guy who has the lowest score and wins the tournament.  I say that they all, or most of them, fought the good fight and finished their course.  They stayed for the duration.  There was one victor, but there were 69 other winners. 

·        A former U. S. Open golf champion, Julius Boros, gave this sound perspective after losing his young wife to a cerebral hemorrhage and less than a year later winning the national championship from Ben Hogan: “People worry so much about their games.  You can see them out there on any weekend, fidgeting over every shot as if the U.S. Open depended on it. Wind direction, downhill lie, trapped green—is this the right club, maybe a six-iron would have been better, spread the stance a little wider, recheck the grip. . . endless worry.  Your life doesn’t depend on it.  Not even your living.  No game is worth the agony that some golfers go through, and that includes a few of my fellow pros on the tour.” “Play a round of golf with me and I hope you will relax and enjoy yourself.  That’s what I plan to do.”  (Sports Illustrated, March 25, 1968, 'My easygoing game.')

Now here is my scriptural summation of the whole matter: 

     "It is good and comely [for a man]...to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh which God giveth him: for it is his portion.  For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart." (Ecclesiastes 5: 18, 20)