As I lay awake in the early morning hours this a.m., I took to serious thought about my golf game. This is because yesterday afternoon, we played golf with number one son…nine whole holes laid out before us as sun was going down.
The course is set in a grove of redwood trees, thank goodness because if the trees were of the leaf-dropping type, we never, ever would have been able to find our balls. As it was a few times we still had to look hard for those golf balls which tells you something about our skill levels.
But I digress.
Golf is a game of ups and downs. One minute you are on cloud nine because of a shot you pulled off. The next minute you feel like a toad for the golf shot you didn’t pull off. Golf is like life…it is voluntary. You choose to live, you choose to play golf. Golf teaches humility and if you are lucky, life teaches you humility. Golf teaches us how to lose gracefully. Okay, most of us. Our President is a golfer but he threatens to cheat to win, he threatens to refuse to concede, he is known for disregarding the rules. For the rest of us, we regard golf as a game of honor, our own honor. We do not cheat because in the end, it only hurts us by giving us a lower score… which will drive our handicap down to the point that we cannot win in a low handicap game because we cheated to win. I know this is a circular example and I wish I could explain it better for my non-golfing friends. Just trust me on this.
So, now I’m asking you to trust me and for those of you that know me, you know you can trust me. Unlike our President who lies every time he opens his mouth, seemingly. Those that I know that cheat at golf, the funny thing is, so does everyone else know they cheat at golf. Word gets around. And when you are known as a cheat, fewer people want to play with you. Who wants to play with a cheat? You have to keep an eagle eye out. How many strokes did they really take? Did they sneakily move the ball for a better lie? It takes the fun out of it and it may also have a negative effect on your own game because you can’t truly relax with a cheater.
So, you see, golf is a microcosm thing. It is a wonderful game for young people to learn if they learn the lessons of honesty, integrity and the like. I think it is the only game where a player has been known to call attention to committing a foul and then adding strokes to their score because of the foul. That is darn cool.
You know, if Trump had learned about all that and taken it to heart, we would not be in the situation we find ourselves in today. And neither would he.
For non-golfers, you may not know this but golf balls can break windows. And it is on the golfer that hit the ball. They are responsible. And most golfers are honorable enough to seek out the owner of the window or leave a note if no one is home. I’m not convinced Donald would do that. I don’t know but I’m sure it is true. (one of Bill Maher’s favorite lines).
Speaking of Bill Maher, he has been predicting that Trump will refuse to leave office. He did a montage on his program last week that went back years of him saying Trump will no go. People thought it was ludicrous. But, he was right all along. In golf that would be akin to refusing to lose a match. It just doesn’t happened. And it has never happened before in the history of our democracy, politically speaking.
Ever heard a pro golfer give an interview and call Golf Magazine a hoax? Of course not. It has never happened. Ever heard a player state that if the round isn’t completed by a certain time, that they must stop playing at that time for the match to be legit? Of course not. You get the drift by this time, I assume.
Golf is such a wholesome game in so many ways and it is beyond ironic that this man living in the People’s House, has been shown to owe $400 million today on properties that have golf courses. But, really, when will the dripping ever stop?
Jeering at a winner in golf just doesn’t happen. Cheering happens all the time for all the players because anyone who golfs knows just how darn hard the sport really is. 99% of all golfers in the world are duffers…just not that good. But that doesn’t stop us. We look forward to the next round hoping for the best, always. We tell people we are playing with that their shots were good…we never comment when the shot is bad…unless the errant shot ends up next to the pin in the in the hole!! That is part of the fun and enjoyment. It is a thrill to see a great shot up close and personal be it mine or someone I’m playing with. A good shot is a good shot. It is to be appreciated and admired. If a person hits a good shot, acknowledging it is akin to saying thank you in a way. It is just so cool.
Recently I have considered selling my clubs because of my poor play. However, having written this, I realize, I can’t give it up. I is a reminder of all that is good in this life. Playing for fun, enjoying the walk, the nineteenth hole, the challenge and yes, the honor and trust and the humility.
There. I left you all on a high note!!
Leave Comment