Last Saturday was one of those picture book days. Carolina blue sky. Crisp morning air straight from Colorado. Beautiful green golf course like you might find in Pennsylvania. And, 36 guys out for some fun and fellowship. Our annual church outing.
Like most casual outings, the game of the day was a scramble with Callaway scoring. With my game not quite up to par, I felt at ease. As our foursomes were called I noticed something different this year. The foursomes were all mixed up. Dads and sons were put into different foursomes. Younger players were mixed in with older players. Everyone was playing with someone they might not know all that well. I quickly noticed that one group seemed particularly loaded with what I believed to be the better golfers. At first I was a bit taken back and wondered how it would fly. Most importantly, how could we win?
In our group we had…
Thinking back on it now, I must confess that I remember one guy worked in construction, another for a defense contractor, but I can’t remember what the third guy did. One guy mentioned his wife and children were spending time in the Carribean. But, I don’t remember much about the other two guy’s families except that they had them. I do remember my frustration trying to play well.
Hmm…
In their book The Mulligan, Wally Armstrong and Ken Blanchard talk about how most golfers say that they play the game to have fun, fellowship with their foursome, and enjoy exercise and fresh outdoors. But, if my game isn’t so good can I really have fun? When my drives dribble off the tee, how do I take the focus off trying my own inability to take a decent swing and ask my cart mate about his family? Sure, the flowers smell great unless I’m wading through them trying to find my ball.
Armstrong and Blanchard suggested that if my goal is to impress my foursome and the rest of the outing then my priorities are mixed up and I’ve already lost. However, if I focus on having fun, getting to know my playing partners, and enjoying the scenery, then I’ll achieve my goals and maybe even play better along the way.
Sounds like golf. Hit down to make the ball go up. Play like it doesn’t matter to play better. Wonder if these ideas work with family life or fellow employees? Hmm….
