Good Walk Ruined? Part 3

The game itself… caught me unawares.

I had all sorts of notions of what it would be like. I mean, I had seen the movies where guys wearing really ugly pants cursed violently and threw their clubs. Some guys grabbed their clubs and snapped them in fury across their knees. You know, the frustration, the anger… agony or ecstasy riding on every shot… that “ruined walk” we were talking about. However, what I came to understand about the game, was so much more than that. What I came to realize about the game is so simply said… and holds so much weight…

The next shot is all that matters. This was a very, very profound realization for me. Sure, you have to be practiced and you have to understand the rules. You have to have technique. You have to be equipped with a full range of the proper gear. You need to have some knowledge of the course. All of that is so very true.

However, when you stand over that ball… when your body and mind are cocked and loaded, all that matters is hitting the ball right then and there. The last shot is in the books. It is history. You make adjustments. You learn from your mistakes. You play the ball where it lies.

When I began to understand this, the game just sort of… opened up. It took on a transcendent quality. It became a metaphor for life. When I realized this, when this clicked, the game became more than a walk in ugly pants. I realized that I could really grow to love this game… that it was becoming more the “game of kings” that I had heard about.

You see, in life, we all have a past. All of us. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t have things which bring them pleasure when they recollect them, and those things they might wish they could forget; experiences we would ache to re-create, and those shots we would like to have back.

The past is the past, though, and all we have is this moment… today. Yesterday might have been a heartbreaker, maybe this morning was off in the rough, you might have blown it even just an hour ago, but each interaction, each decision brings opportunity for redemption. You have to allow your experience to color your choices, but you have to live in the here and now. You have to focus and take THIS shot. You have to play life how it lies.

And this is the way in which I think golf becomes the “game of kings.” I used to have that dismissive, cynical attitude about this phrase, too, because I associated golf with pomp and the stereotypical, condescending upper classes. So naturally, the self-inflated royalty would gravitate to this kind of game, wouldn’t they? They of the exclusive, racist, sexist golf culture! Pompous jerks! Ha!

I was wrong primarily because I did not understand how profound the game is, and the corresponding nature of true leadership. A leader is not perfect, and all of his decisions are not perfect, but a great leader is not held hostage by his past. He must make the best decision that he can, every time, with the skills, wisdom, discipline, experience, and resources at his disposal. The situations that he finds himself confronted with are rarely simple, but mostly complex and difficult. The point is, though, that the leader still has to lead… he still has to take the next shot…

And it is these insights... these realizations… about the game that make me think it is worth playing. Golf can be overdone, it can be all of those negative things we sometimes envision about it, BUT it can also be a reflection of something larger and even noble. It is these attributes that make we want to get on the driving range, and onto the fairway.

FORE!

A Good Walk Ruined? Part 2

As the tournament drew near, I had to deal with the reality that I had to play with a group of guys with much more experience than I. I was worried over whether my team was going to consist of ultra-competitive guys who would grow quickly frustrated with the inept new guy. I was worried with even being able to hit the ball off the T… much less working from the fairway and putting… I was really a wreck worrying over this.

When I finally arrived, with my rented clubs and my company shirt, the team was a fun, positive, very gregarious group of guys. They were thrilled to offer tips and see me show improvement through the day. We played a type of game in which our score is a team score (not scored individually). So, if I were to hit a bad shot, it would not effect the score of the team. This also proved to be of great relief to me.

Once the anxiety was set aside, I began to experience the game. It is funny how much more we experience in life if we let go of anxiety, isn’t it? Another blog for another time!!

But as I began to breathe the morning air… smell the course… drink in the vibrant fairways… feel the spongy greens under my feet… not just as an observer, but a participant… it was more than I would have expected. It was more than a game, but an experience.

So in this way, I was getting a feel for this “walk ruined.” It was so, so far from that. I could begin to see how, in some way, these courses could hold the same therapeutic value you find in Japanese meditative gardens. The crafted greenery… the beautiful scenery… all of it. But really, this is only about the environment, or the playing field, and not the game itself.

The game itself, though, is something different altogether…

Good Walk Ruined? Part 1

Golfing.

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Yes, Golfing.

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I went Golfing today.

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So, what does that make you think of when I say it? What is your reaction to this declaration?

Well, I can tell you that over these years, the way that I would have responded has changed.

Back in the day, if someone were to mention golf in a positive way, I would have scoffed. I probably would have dismissed the game outright. You know, to quote Twain, something about a “good walk ruined.”

As time passed, my flippant attitude softened a bit. Maybe age was a factor. When you are young, it is so easy to divide the world into two camps: namely, awesome and stupid. Age brings with it shades grey, and the world does not seem “quite” so polarized.

As time passed, I also began to read a little more about the game… began to learn about it… read essays and stories written by those who love it. Catching a glimpse of someone else’s love might have helped to soften my resolve a bit. It’s never that easy to be calloused when confronting someone else’s passion. Funny how that works…

As time passed, I spent a handful of hours on the driving range, and rode along for a few rounds with others who were playing. I could begin to see the appeal, the skill involved, and the enormous challenge of it. Since I have none of the gear for golfing, though, I still stayed an arm’s length away and did not try to actually play a game of my own.

Then, a few months ago, I was put in a position where I HAD to play a full 18 holes. You see, I am a sales rep, and our company sponsored several teams in a key local tournament. Without debate, I was expected to be an active participant on one of those teams…

As a salesperson, I am not usually a big fan of making a fool out of myself in front of potential clients, so the thought of playing my first game with them was not an attractive one. However, there I was, and there was no way out of it.

(Look for part 2)