Since I’ve been “retired” I’ve had the opportunity to play a lot more golf. I’ve grown to really enjoy it, not because I am very good, but because you have the chance to be in great weather (most of the time), play with friends and family and get some quality exercise (especially when you walk a lot looking for your ball in a wooded or desert area)!
A few weeks ago, we played in a golf scramble which was ‘best ball’. That type of golf is especially enjoyable to me as it’s more of a team activity. The four people in your group all hit their first ball from the tee box but then after that first shot, everyone on the team hits the ball from the place where the best shot (from all four of you) lands. You can immediately become a much better golfer than you might be all by yourself that day. It truly changes the game from an individual sport, played together, to a synergistic team activity.
Since that particular game, I’ve been wondering why life can’t be more like that? Wouldn’t it be great if when a task needed to be accomplished, we gathered a group together and used the best of what each person had to give to accomplish the goal? I realize that happens at times, which is great, but I sure think it could be done much more often, don’t you think?
I love what it says in Thessalonians 13-15…
Get along among yourselves, each of you doing your part. Our counsel is that you warn the freeloaders to get a move on. Gently encourage the stragglers, and reach out for the exhausted, pulling them to their feet. Be patient with each person, attentive to individual needs. And be careful that when you get on each other’s nerves you don’t snap at each other. Look for the best in each other, and always do your best to bring it out.
Interestingly, I ran across a book, “The Winning Way in Life and Golf”, written by Dr. Morris Pickens, one of golf’s top sports psychologists and performance specialists, who’s helped elite players win pro golf’s most elusive championships. Dr. Pickens has worked with some of the best in the game of golf, such as Zach Johnson and Davis Love III.
The marketing of the book online really caught my attention (and yes, I ordered it, so more to come on this topic for sure).
It said… “Listen to their behind-the-scenes stories of how his advice not only transformed their games and led them to receive golf’s top prize, but how his biblically grounded, spiritually inspiring tips enhanced their personal lives as well.
I’m in!
In the short time I’ve been playing golf, you certainly see in others, and experience yourself, a wide range of emotions in a very short period of time. One minute you’re hitting a great shot and the next minute you’re struggling to get your ball out of the rough or out of the sand. And just like I said earlier, we have a(nother) great analogy for life.
I don’t want to give a lot of the book away here, but just for a teaser, here’s a few thoughts that Dr. Pickens shares – he calls them The Four R’s of Success:
Refocus:
No matter how secure we think we are, challenging circumstances will come up out of nowhere and knock us off our balance. In golf, a bad shot may ruin your otherwise perfect plans to make birdie, a score one better than par. (Par is the number of strokes an expert golfer is expected to need to complete an individual hole, or all the holes on a golf course). The only things that matter in life grow out of commitments.
We make commitments to our friends, our families, our passions, but the most important commitment we have is to God. If we wake up every morning and set our focus on God, we’re less likely to get caught up in our own problems and more likely to find strength from the Lord to be the best that we can be.
Routine:
Consistency is the ideal virtue in golf. One of the most difficult parts of the game for aspiring players is becoming comfortable enough with your technique to decrease the variation in your shots, like hitting way to the right or left, in order to better focus on strategy.
React:
Both on the course and off, not all the shots we take are going to pay off.
How we react to our circumstances is a way to truly measure the strength of our faith.
Today’s song is “Love Can Turn the World“, performed by the Gaither Vocal Band, (back in 2012) and The African Children’s Choir. It is a wonderful testament that “If coal can turn to diamonds, and sand can turn to pearls, if a worm can turn into a butterfly, then love can turn the world”. And sorry, once you listen to this one, you’ll be singing it over and over again!