Thoughts on Golf (Part 2)

Last week, I wrote about my fascination with golf and the lessons it imparts: humility, perseverance, the importance of being focused in the moment, and on savoring and enjoying each step, each stroke, each putt. On the same day I wrote my piece last week, my wife surprised me with her first ever Ladies Golf Championship win in the San Beda Law Golf Club tournament. I am sure this milestone will further inspire her and make her love the sport even more. Instrumental to her good score was her ability to make consistent good swings, as well as her wise club selections during the game.

Wise club selection. This is important. It bears emphasizing that one’s golf bag is equipped with several clubs, and each golfer uses these various clubs in the course of the game. In each bag, there is usually the driver, fairway woods, hybrids, irons, wedges, and a putter. Each has its unique loft, shaft length, weight distribution, and shape. Each has its unique utility and value, too.

The variety of golf clubs for a golfer’s utilization brings some reflections. Firstly, in life, as in golf, you need a different tool for specific and different situations. A golfer do not use a driver when a ball is in a fried-egg lie in the sand. A wedge, on the other hand, will surely not suffice if you need your ball to clear a 210-yard water hazard. In life, as in golf, you need to wisely use the right tools to get out of tight situations.

For each golf shot, especially the challenging ones, you need to know the line, angle and needed trajectory, and accordingly use the correct club to achieve your target. In life, as in golf, you must be fully focused on your objective, trust your pre-determined and well-studied move, and just go for it.

In life, as in golf, you need to carefully study your environment. In determining a shot during a game, you must evaluate your situation: measure the length of the grass you are in, check the lie of the ball, know the direction and strength of the wind you need to contend with. It is only after then that you determine the appropriate shot to make.

In life, as in golf, you cannot allow yourself to be distracted or curtailed by hurdles and difficulties, including the noise and cacophony of useless gibberish around you. As a golfer, you cannot allow yourself to be intimidated by the bunkers, water hazards, cliffs, and ravines. Instead, you should boldly set your sights on the green and trust that your best shot will get you there.

In life, as in golf, you must know when to make a more conservative move. As a golfer, you will not always be in the best position to attack the green. It is thus advisable to adjust, wisely manage the situation, take a lay-up shot, and make the best up and down.

In life, as in golf, the journey is always best enjoyed in the company of friends. Every social golfer knows that, more than a good score, it is the time spent with friends, enjoying a good laugh, and having a couple of drinks after a game that make a golf day lovingly memorable. Indeed, what good is a hole-in-one if there is nobody there to witness you actually accomplishing it? Also, a funny goof in the golf course becomes more indelible when your best buddies are there to playfully sass you about it.

In life, as in golf, you become a true gentleman not just by what you say, but (more importantly) by what you do. The walk must match the talk. Golfers declare their own penalties in the course of the game, not necessarily because somebody saw it, but because it is the truth, it is fair, it strengthens the friendship and trust among fellow golfers, and quite simply, because it is the right thing to do.

In life, as in golf, you will make mistakes, you will falter, you will not always hit the ball perfectly, but there will always be a second shot, an opportunity to recover and redeem yourself.