You’ve been hoping to hit 300 yard drives, break par, play on the Seniors Tour, or just to win a friendly game of Nassau each weekend. You’ve focused intently on achieving those dreams. You’ve practiced every day for the last month and when you step out onto stage at the 1st tee, you begin strangling your hopes and your grip. Your drives dribble off the tee or spray everywhere except onto the fairway. You double your efforts. Grip the club a little tigher. Try to muscle through. The ball boomerangs into the parking lot. It’s a vicious circle and you end up leaving the course beaten, exhausted, and vowing to quit the game – AGAIN. On the way out, the pro give you a tip and says, “Let it go.” What does THAT mean?
Uses of the phrase might include. The house looked atrocious because, someone said, the prior owners had “let it go.” The father watched as his daughter walked down the sidewalk with her date for the evening. There were lots of things he wanted to tell her, but he realized that he just had to “let it go.” The youngster stumbled up the stairs eager to show his new-found prize to mom. When mom saw the multi-legged bug crawling in the young man’s hand, she pointed toward the front door and screamed, “Let it go.” So, what just exactly what DID the pro mean?
Unpacking the phrase a bit, we might define the words as:
- “Let.” Allow. Release. Give permission to.
- “It.” Result. End point. Hopes for birdie or par. Great score. Image.
- “Go.” Start. Unfettered. Freedom.
Putting them together you have “Set your hopes free.” Let them fly.
Want to swing better? Forget the results and swing with abandon. Let it go. After all, the ball has to land somewhere.
