|
“What I love most about the game of golf”
I have had the opportunity to play the game of golf growing up as a child and the even greater opportunity to make a living from the game of golf as an adult. During this time, I have seen and hit my fair share of golf shots as well as seen and hit my fair of bad ones. I have played some of the greatest golf courses in world as well as some of the absolute worst “Goat Ranches” that you would ever want to see much less play. But as an old friend always says “I have never played a golf course that I didn’t like!” I can honestly say that I agree. Every golf course has something in its own unique way to offer and they are all a little different.
I am often asked the question “What do you like most about the game of golf?” or “What is it that excites you about the game and brings you out to the golf course?” I am just like everyone else that plays the great game of golf in that there is a lot about this game that I love. I also like hear what others have to say when I ask them the same question as the answers that I get can vary greatly from one person to the next. We are all different and we inspired to play the game by different motives. Please send me an email or give me a call and let me know your feelings on the question. I would love to hear from you.
This month I would like to share with you some of the things that keep me coming back to the game. I would like share with you those special things that I like most about the game listed in no particular order. I hope that you can relate to some of them.
- Putting on a freshly mowed green in the morning. Being one of the first groups on the course in the am when nobody else has played in front of you. This is usually when the greens putt the best.
- A purely struck wedge shot that comes in low with spin.
- Escaping from trouble when nobody thinks you have a chance or a shot.
- Shaping golf shots or “curving” the golf ball intentionally.
- Playing golf with good friends and family members.
- Visualizing the shot. Executing the shot the way that you “Visualized” it and having that shot be correct both in terms of distance and direction.
- Making birdies and eagles.
- Making “Working Man” pars.
- Playing a challenging golf course. The harder the better. (Especially true when I don’t have a scorecard!)
- Killing my driver off of the tee. “Teeing it high and letting it fly!”
- Picking a clean fairway bunker shot off the sand.
- Hitting a high flop shot that stops dead after it hits the ground.
- Watching a junior golfer walk down the fairway with his or her mom or dad.
- The feel that you get when you catch a golf ball on sweet spot.
- Playing a good skins game with the boys.
- Teaching the game to others that love the game as much as I do.
- Playing with other golf professionals.
- Hitting trick shots and showing off on the driving range.
- Watching a golf ball “hang” in the air after it has been hit.
- Playing in scrambles.
- Playing a well conditioned golf course with healthy grass.
- Fast greens.
- Playing the game without having to wait for the group in front of you to play.
- The fact that you do not need anyone else to play the game. You can play alone and enjoy the game for what it is.
- The more that you practice and play the better that you get.
- The fact that you can never master the game.
- There is more than one way to play the game and swing the golf club and there is also more than one way to be very effective playing the game.
- The fact that the scorecard does not ask you “how”. It just asks you “how many?”
- Handicaps make the game fair and different ability levels can compete against each other on a level playing field.
- In a round of golf, you never hit the same golf shot twice.
- Watching my two sons play the game of golf.
- The look on a golfers face when they hit a great golf shot.
- The fact when you tee it up on the golf course we are all in the same. It is just us and the golf course. You can be the President of the United States or the President of Smokey Joe’s Tavern it doesn’t matter.
- That it truly is a game of a lifetime.
- You never know what your next round will bring. It is always a mystery.
- Golf is a great conversational piece.
- The funny things that happen to people and their golf balls on the course.
- Watching how far these young kids coming up are hitting the golf ball.
- Watching how a golf course changes over time and the years. Especially how tree growth can change a golf course.
- The wonderful people and friends that I have met over the years on the golf course. They come in literally all shapes and sizes from all walks of life.
- Some of the best times that I have ever had in my entire life have happened on a golf course. Memories that I think of every night before I go to sleep.
I will be forever indebted to the great game of golf. It has given me more than I can have ever imagined or hoped for. Golf really has become my life and it is a life that I thank God for everyday. |
