The Golf Course Asks Two Things from its Players. Patience and Acceptance.
Bobby Jones once said, “you get bad breaks from good shots, good breaks from bad shots, but you must always play the ball where it lies.”
The golf course only asks two things from its players. Patience and acceptance. Patience can be defined as the ability to tolerate trouble, delay, or suffering without getting angry. 18 holes can be a long and grueling 4-5 hours of your day so you must be patient. When I say must, I mean it. The best swing of your entire life could be the next one, you just need to be patient.
Secondly, the golf course is designed in a way to bring hazards, penalty areas and undesirable locations, in play at all times. We simply just have to accept what the course has to offer. Acceptance can be defined as a willingness to tolerate a difficult situation. I believe this translates perfectly to a round of golf. You’re going to end up in the bunker sometimes, you’re going to miss the fairway sometimes, and you’re definitely going to miss putts you thought you should have made. The answer here is to accept these as a reality and move on to the next shot in your round.
The reason people struggle with golf is because they too often dwell on the past. You’ll hear guys talking on the 15th green about a missed putt from the first hole of the day. The ability to move on and continue forward with your round is the key to success. Not only is this true with the numbers on your scorecard but also with the level of happiness you decide to leave the 18th green with that day. Did things go your way? Did you finally break 90? Is there a birdie on the scorecard today? Whatever it is, carrying those victories with you proves to be super beneficial instead of dwelling on what went wrong or what could’ve been.
I met a guy one round at Bethpage Red. A fantastic public track ranked in the top hundred in the country for all golf courses. It’s a beautiful layout and tons of fun to play. The random player I got paired up with that day seemed a bit off. Like something was lingering in his mind and getting in the way of his swing thoughts. By the 7th green I asked him if everything was okay. He had told me that his stepson had committed suicide the week prior. A recent college graduate who had the whole world at the palm of his hands. The stepfather told me I was the only reason he had gotten out of bed that day. He had never met me before but knew that showing up to play golf would guarantee getting paired with somebody else and he would be able to escape his horrific reality for a little bit and enjoy a day on the links. After spending a week bedridden, golf was the only thing that got him out of bed that day. I like to remind myself of this story whenever I’m playing because it puts my life into perspective a bit. This stepfather, although struck with the brutal news of his step-sons passing, trusted the golf course to provide him some room to be patient and accept what his new reality was. The game has so much to offer, you just have to be willing to cherish what it can bring to the table for you and always be thankful for the opportunity to be alive and playing.
If you’re still reading this, all I ask is that you find some time to put the game into perspective and remember why you’re playing in the first place. It’s a game designed to reflect life’s intricacies. Find time to sneak some fun in there as well. Whether you’re packing a cooler for a weekend with the boys or sneaking in a round by yourself late afternoon, please try to remember that if you take care of the course, it will take care of you. Both mentally and physically.
Although I can write about golf all day, I’d rather be playing so you can find me on the first tee. Good luck friends and hit ‘em straight.
Thomas Glynn
