The Older I Get, the More I Realize How Similar the Game of Golf is to the Game of Life

Some take the “artist’s approach” of seeing and feeling every shot before they hit. Some take the “engineer’s approach” of calculating the yardage, wind, lie, etc. And some are just there to have fun. 

It took me until the age of 23 to realize that the way you play the game of golf says a lot about the way you play the game of life. Growing up, I was very creative and loved to draw. Sure enough, on the course I was an artist. I visualized every shot before I hit and many times, I did not even know the yardage before picking a club. However, while studying to become an engineer, I became more analytical. I knew how far each of my clubs went on average and began to add or subtract yardage based on wind, lie, etc. I also began to realize where most of my misses were and analyze my swing to find sources of bad shots. Short left, the typical miss of a lefty who comes over the top. Just like in life, knowing where your misses are and what is causing them is crucial. Initially, so you can fix the problem and ultimately, so you can predict where you might miss and plan ahead to avoid trouble.

Thank you golf for teaching me that no matter how you play the game, your attitude is most important. It doesn’t matter if the shot fits your eye or if your calculations are correct. If you don’t believe it before you hit it, you are likely to miss your target. And sometimes, even if you hit a perfect shot, you might lip out or get a bad bounce. But don’t give up because you might jar the next one!

Tom McLoughlin