Anyone that knows me, knows I love golf. It is something I have had in my life now for almost 30 years and it is something I hope to have for 30 more. For starters, think about that. What other game can you play for 60 years?
I started playing when I was about 14, mainly because by brother and father played and seemed to enjoy it. I remember getting my first set of Northwestern clubs from Sears and taking them across the street to the park and hitting balls. I remember the first one I hit and I remember hitting it well and thinking, this isn’t so hard! This may have been the biggest lie I ever told myself, yet I was hooked from the start.
I have played a lot of golf over the past 30 years. It’s been a steady pace of anywhere from 15 rounds a year to 50 rounds a year (twice). I have never taken a year off, and it has crept deep into my DNA. So what is it about this game that drives people to the brink of destruction, only to come back the next day?
You can always get better. Even if you are the best player in the world, you can get better. Hell, that could be a reason Tiger hasn’t won a major in 10 years. He had the best golf game the world had ever seen. Won 7 out of 11 majors, was winning 6-8 times PER YEAR, and yet was driven to get better. He changed his swing for the third time and was never the same. There is something about a fire hydrant in there too, but who knows, it might have been his insatiable drive to get better. Or a different insatiable drive, but I digress.
I am someone who is constantly seeking ways to improve anything. I look for ways to improve my business, improve my role as a father and as a husband. I consume books about these things and constantly am thinking of ways to better myself. Golf is perfect for me this way. I can always be learning something to improve my game and that will NEVER change because you can’t perfect the game.
I’ve read books, videotaped my swing, watched videos, read autobiographies of golfers, you name it. I love it! I know my swing very very well. It is part of me. When I hit a shot well, it is because 14 things all went right in the course of about 2.7 seconds. If I hit a shot and it’s not so good, I can usually identify it immediately and work to correct it on the next swing.
Another reason I love it, is it is a forced time out. It is 4.5 hours, on a beautiful piece of property where I am playing a game I love, with either people that I have chosen to be with, or alone. It is quiet, it is calm, it is a time I can actually be with my thoughts. I enjoy playing golf alone as a single. I enjoy walking the course, thinking about your next shot and talking myself through a bad stretch.
My favorite time to play is at dawn. Being the first one on the course is the best! There obviously is no one in front of me, so I set the pace. It is always cool in the morning you aren’t fighting triple digit heat and dehydration. I have played so early, that we used to hit our first shot and we would all go, “shhhhhhhh!!!” and have to listen where it landed and head in that direction because it was so dark. It was usually light enough by the second tee box to follow your shot.
Golf has been very good for business for me as well. People like to do business with people they like and have shared interests in. So what better way to get to know someone than spending 4 or 5 hours doing something you obviously have in common. It breaks down barriers and walls very fast.
I am an aggressive player because I want to the hit hero shot. I want to hit the 3 hybrid and carry it 225 over water, juuuuust over the tree and have it roll up onto the green. Because, why not? I am not playing for money and I want to be able to tell that story after the round that I hit that shot. Now, I am not a stupid player. I know where my capabilities lie and won’t try a shot I don’t have a chance at. I still want to post an admirable score.
For years I chased my holy grail of breaking 80. It took me 25 freaking years to do it. It got to the point where I would stand on the first tee box and say today is the day I break 80. Then if I didn’t get out to a hot start, which I rarely did because I put pressure on myself right out of the gate, I would flounder and shoot a 44 on the front with no shot at breaking 80. So I learned to throw that expectation out and just go out and enjoy the round. With that attitude, I have broken 80 three times now in 4 years.
I could break 80 more often, even frequently, but I am allergic to putting. I am terrible at it. I can bomb it off the tee, his wonderful approach shots with a nice little draw, but for the life of me, have no confidence over a 4 foot putt. It is unnerving and I am not exaggerating when I say I am giving up 4 strokes a round on the green. I just don’t care enough or have enough time to practice my putting. Who wants to practice putting!? There’s another rub. The thing that is most important to your score, is the most boring to practice. The game can be maddening!
In any case, the Open Championship starts this week. I felt the need to write a little about why this game is important to me. My kids are starting to play and hopefully they will love it as much as I do. I can think of very few better ways to spend time with them, then on a beautiful day, playing a game we love. It truly is a wonderful game.
