While this post has nothing to do with Lucy... or dogs for that matter. I felt compelled to share it here. The story begins -
As I established my setup for the first hole on the small
executive golf course I like to play to work on my short game, I had to back
off the shot. My mind was all over the place, how many times had I been
presented with a shot just like this over the last 30 or so years that I have
been playing this game? “Many I thought
to myself”… No matter how long I play the game, there is always this little
nagging thought running through my brain - am I truly prepared? Have I
practiced enough? Is my swing good today? The thing is - you can never truly
master the game of golf – there always something that needs to be worked on or
reworked. It’s all about continuous improvement. I guess this is what draws me
to the game…
At the beginning of every year, I try to establish goals for
where I want to be with my golf game by the end of the season. Sometimes I’ve
succeeded and other times I’ve failed at my goals but they are always there.
They give me something to concentrate my improvement efforts on. In reflecting
back on my efforts to improve my game, I’ve discovered some roadblocks that
prevent me from achieving all that I want to achieve.
For me, finding and dedicating the time to practice has
always been a major obstacle. They say to truly become an expert at something;
it takes about 10,000 hours of concentrated effort and practices over the course
of a lifetime. There is no way that I have that kind of time to spend on my
golf game. But I do put in practice time and I do attempt to make it fun. Speaking of fun, the fun has not always been part of my game. If
I didn’t hit just the perfect shot or scoring wasn’t going well, I would sulk,
get mad at myself and basically adopt a pretty crappy attitude about how I was
playing. It was like emotional jetlag, I just couldn’t get past what I had just
done, which led to even more problems. I use to see this same phenomenon in
some of the students that I would train back when I was a flight instructor,
but that’s another story...
Now that I’m older and wiser and possess a better understanding of the game, I find a new foe knocking at the door - physical
degradation. My body isn’t as strong or flexible as it once was. But maybe this
is a good thing. In my youth, I could hit the ball a ton and I didn’t think
anything was out of reach (a problem in its own right). Today I find myself truly
thinking about how I’m going to manage the course to achieve the results I want.
I guess the old adage; “Old age and treachery will overcome youth and
enthusiasm” holds some truth after all.
I guess the bottom line for all of this is - golf is a game
I will never master it. It, like life, presents us with many obstacles that we
must face and overcome. To truly enjoy the game, you must put in the time to
develop skills for the level you want to participate in. But most of all, we must put
in the effort to enjoy the game – no matter what transpires on the scorecard.
This is my new philosophy and my goals reflect it.
