There is a sport that is designed to frustrate each of us. In the end, it is a rather strange sport involving a group of sticks and hitting a ball around a course to get a ball into a hole. It is of course golf but what a humbling sport.
When I was young and full of swagger I believed I could change the world. I didn't realize all I had to do was to be me. We decided one summer to conquer golf with a friend. We worked together at a fast food restaurant and our shifts always started at 3 or 4 PM. It was the start of summer and we decided our goal was to break 100 by the end of the summer on a golf course. Ah, we were young and naive! We found a nearby golf club which had a summer day deal and signed up for the summer. Every day we played two full rounds of golf. That means we had 36 holes of golf every day and we did not use golf carts. We walked. Day after day we were out developing calluses on our hands and hitting our golf balls.
Finally during the last week of summer just before school started we both hit our goals on the same day. I shot a 92 and he shot a 96 and being young we stopped playing golf. I have rarely played since then.
I wanted to talk about golf because the Masters golf tournament is on television. It is one of the 'big' tournaments and I have been watching. I realize that the players are so talented on getting a golf ball to do what they want it to do. Yet in the end nature and the golf stroke and the ground all conspire to produce the results. In the end no one really has any control over the game. The professionals will hit a ball that will hug the edge of the cup and not fall in and they just stand and stare trying to will it into the cub! What a humbling game.
When I married the second time I decided that I wanted my wife and I to have a common experience so I thought I would introduce her to the game of golf. We had a small golf course near our home called a pitch and putt. It was only nine holes and all of them were par 3 short holes. I thought I could get her hooked on the game and we could end up playing on a weekly basis. I forgot the goddess of golf!
We approached the first hole which was a 97 yard part three with no bunkers or trees. She stood at the tee and took a swing and topped the ball which took off like a wild animal across the landscape. The ball bounced and bounced and came to a stop 4 inches from the hole. She tapped it in and told me that golf was a game that seemed way too easy. By the time we got to the sixth hole the goddess of golf helped her find sand traps, water obstacles, and blocking trees. It helped that she 6 putted one hole. She vowed at the end of the round we would never play again - and we didn't.
So I write about golf but this is just how life goes. We must realize there is a flow to life that is beyond our control and our job is to go with the flow. Ride the waves and enjoy the scenery. Be humble because in the end you will be. But enjoy yourself because this is still a grand adventure!
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