Why golf is the greatest game i've ever played.

I found this game in the midst of a hungry, empty, and to truly even a lonely space in my life. I often wonder if that may play into this bias position almost as much as my outright obsession with this beautiful game does. Cause when someone finds you in the moment you needed them most, they kinda automatically become special right? Or maybe therein is created a feeling of true depth in connection.. The timing was too good, they said what you needed them to say, or you got to let it out and they just listened. Regardless, it elevates their position in your spirit. I think golf got that elevation to a deeper place in my soul because I really needed it. I needed a median. We all do, don’t we?

There haven’t been many thing’s i’ve done in life that have made me return over and over again with the same level of passion the way golf has. You find yourself standing over a golf ball, pulling the club back, and swinging through into your finish with that absolutely swagger lifting feeling that you just pured one. I mean, if that isn’t the essence of what drug we get off on within this game, then what is? cheers to that for real — but carrying on. For me, and i’m sure i’m not alone, I was a bit shy out there and easily frustrated especially in the early goings. Damn I mean, I used to towel up on the belt loop in full golf fits for a Tuesday 7AM round in the pouring rain on the regular only to find myself turf stuffing my clubs after a poorly struck iron shot or shanked tee shot. It’s a part of a deep process if you let it be though. Thats just a reflection of my own expectation over myself, where I was at in my game, and how mentally strong and AWARE I was to my reality. Maybe it’s different for you, and I think thats the special part of this game. Your personal experience with it, is unique and is valuable in its own right.

Settling into the actual process of becoming a decent golfer means setting aside a deeply rooted ego we all share as humans. We have to be willing to suffer in the open more than we probably ever have in our lives. The early stages of golf is literal suffering for anyone except the rare snowflakes who have perfect strokes on their 1st attempt. (We all love you, but kindly just skip over this part) So as most suffering goes, we are fully exposed for what we truly are, vein popping cuss words at a freaking golf ball or metal club, substance abusing escape artists, maybe just impatience? For others, that suffering can show incredible resilience and mental toughness, an ability to persevere through that tribulation of early golf learning. Most of us get through that, only to (hopefully only) occasionally lose control of that and find ourselves deeply distraught in the middle of an otherwise great round of golf. I find that the egoless guys and gals I play with tend to be some of the absolutely savage golfers of the group. Quiet, controlled golf, and often times a hoot after the swing (even during LOL). It’s a statement to me, that when you step back and recognize that it’s a really challenging game and it can take years of practice to ever gain true base level understanding, the game loses it’s power over you. Its now in a proper context for us all to swallow, so we don’t hold ourselves to this unrealistic standard of perfection or unhealthy habit of constant comparison of ourselves against others.. So it goes, but that’s the crack that keeps us coming back. It’s the few good holes, or the lipped out eagle putt or maybe just a solid strike on the golf ball. It’s one piece of an experience we live to have again and again.

The par train constantly reflects on how important it is to understand what we “have” that day in terms of golf ability. Some days the hosel shanks are just alive and well, other days we can’t miss the sweet spot. We all go through it. Just gotta remember that our attitude often reflects how good our game is that day, and we can flip that script and more often find good rounds if we keep our head.