Lessons from the game of golf
I have been blessed to be able to play golf for the past 19 years. I picked up the game around the age of 30 and over that time I have played some pretty cool courses, Torrey Pines, PGA Scottsdale, Trump National, Harbor Town and The Old Corkscrew to name some of the notable ones. I absolutely love being outside, on a clear sunny day on a beautiful course. I have always loved sports and have always been pretty active. Growing up I pretty much played basketball. After High School I played one year in college before tearing my left ACL. I like to think that I’m fairly proficient in a lot of things. For instance I’ve been told that I’m a decent bowler, I’m ok at table tennis, pretty decent at shooting pool etc. However out of all the sports, golf is the most difficult by far in my opinion. Anyone who has played knows its a humbling sport, it doesn’t care about your other accomplishments, how much money you have, how smart you think you are or how big or small you may be, it will humble you in one way or another. Over the years I’ve learned a lot from playing golf, things about life, things about myself and yes even things about God and being a better Christian.
Anyone who has played golf and is at all competitive knows how addicting golf can be. I was warned about this from the beginning by one of my good friends who introduced me to the sport (thanks Ray). As most would agree, I really didn’t know what I was getting myself into. Yet over the years I have met many people that I would probably otherwise wouldn’t have, and I am very thankful for that.
Here are some of the things the game has taught me over the years:
Trust - the game has certain principals that must be followed in order to be successful. For instance, I had to learn early on to believe that the club was going to do what it was designed to do. It doesn’t need me to try to help it or add something extra by swinging too hard, or being afraid of shanking a shot or mishitting a critical shot into the water for instance. I’ve always hit my best shots when I am thinking about what I want to do instead of focusing on what I don’t want to do. This is much easier said then done, in fact it all is. When the negative thing becomes more real than the positive then I normally hit a bad shot. This is what golfers refer to as playing scared! Every golfer has experienced it and it is probably the biggest hinderance from a golfer playing up to their full potential. This principal is also true in the kingdom of God. As a Christian I have to positively trust what God has said in His Word, about who He is, about what He says about me and about the circumstances I may be in. If I get my eyes on anything but the Lord then disaster to some degree will be sure to follow. Just like the golfer with his 8 iron 160 yards from the flag so is the Christian with the Holy Spirit, he has to learn that he doesn’t need to add anything or take anything away from what the Spirit wants to do, he just has to relax and trust….and boom!… you will most likely have a birdie putt!
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths! Provers 3:5-6
Staying Even - In the game of golf, a good golfer never gets too high after a great shot neither does he get too low after a bad one. During an 18-hole round there will probably be ups and downs. I have never had a round that was all highs and thankfully can’t remember a round that was all lows (though I have come close to the latter). There are times when you are in a 4-some and you will hit the longest straightest drive and you will have the advantage for the 2nd shot and then you go on to have the highest score in the group for that hole, what a bummer! There will certainly be times when you shank your drive into the woods or a water hazard, or hit it barely pass the women’s tee-box and you go on to save par and have the lowest score for the hole, what resilience and grit! Remember, the hole and certainly not the round are usually not won or loss on your first shot but it certainly can be if you allow circumstances to affect your attitude too much and too often. I am slowly learning that at best I will be a very inconsistent golfer, great when things are going well and awful when they are not. The ability to rebound is important in golf and in Christianity. To my shame there have been times I wanted to quit after the first drive of a round! I had a great warmup session and I felt great, I was only thinking good positive thoughts and yet somehow I still managed to mess up right out of the gate! How true this is with your walk with the Lord. There will be times when you read and study the Word of God, you pray and ask the Lord for help and the very next opportunity you get to glorify the Lord, you blow it! As a Christian you can’t allow circumstances to dictate how you feel, whether or not we are going to praise God or not or if we are going obey the Bible in every situation or not. We can’t quit because life is not going our way. In golf, it helps me to remember that it’s just a game, a very demanding game but a game none-the-less. In my relationship with the Lord it helps me to remember how much the Lord loves me, not for what I can do for Him or how well I behave but rather because of who He is, and that certainly doesn’t change because I sinned or mess up. Yet Jesus clearly says, if we love Him that we will keep His commandments (and that with gladness and gratitude). So we can’t take sin lightly, you and I have to repent and purpose to allow Jesus to change our hearts when we fall into sin. I purposed by God’s grace to get right back up by the grace of God and get right back to it! God’s grace compelling me to continue on to perfection! The righteous man falls seven times but rises again! Proverbs 24:16
Paradox - one of the initial fundamental principals I learned in golf is how many opposites there are in this great game. For instance, if I want to hit a high shot, I have to hit down on the ball. If I want to hit a fade shot I have to aim left and swing outside in. When putting, if the ground is breaking left I have to hit the ball to the right. To hit the ball longer I have swing bigger and slower! That last one always gets me especially if I am teeing off on a windy day. In Christianity, if I want to be great in the kingdom of God, I have to become a servant to others. If I want to keep my life I have to give it up for the Lord’s sake, and if I hold on to it, I will certainly lose it. To live eternally, I have to die to the appetites of my flesh, the natural me. If I truly love God, then I will be hated by the world. Jesus didn’t come to bring peace on earth but a sword and my enemies could be those of my own household. These are totally opposite of what the majority of people believe as well as my common sense would tell me. This is why I needed to be born again, redone completely by the Spirit of God, for the bible admonishes me to to present my body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is my reasonable service. Romans 12-1-2 says, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Also Proverbs 3:5-6 says, Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
…to be continued