Over the years we have distilled the essence of some of the best golf lessons. We will be featuring a variety of these and will archive past “lessons” in case you missed some and be happy to send them on.

For us, the essence of golf is that it is truly “the game of life.” There are lessons for every aspect of the rest of our lives. The popularity of the game, and the passion of its devotees, is perhaps without equal.

As we hang out at the 19th hole, we will explore ways to increase our enjoyment while decreasing our score.

WHY DO YOU PLAY GOLF?

Here’s an exercise that will help you understand some of the reasons while you play the game:

If you could have anyone who ever lived join you on the first tee to fill out your foursome for a round, who would those three people be? Think about why you picked each one. +

(For the non-golfer, the exercise would be, if you could invite any three people who ever lived to dinner, who would they be - and why did you pick each one?)

This exercise could tell you a lot about why you play the game and what gives you the greatest pleasure. We’d love to have you send on your answers - e-mail would be best - and we will share them around.

One noted writer, M. Scott Peck who has written many books including “The Road Less Traveled,” in his book “Golf and the Spirit” (from which we shall be quoting from time to time), states that the reason he plays golf is because it is humiliating. Even more than that, because it is mortifying. “To be mortified is to feel so humiliated that you would rather bury yourself deep in the nearest sand trop than ever show your face on a golf course again.”

So why do this?

Peck believes that golf is a highly useful spiritual discipline. That in doing battle on the golf course against your own personality - in emptying yourself or yourself or practicing kenosis - one can achieve spiritual growth. So now, when you take off to the links, you have a most compelling reason!

I like to think of golf as the game of life. In each round there is contained each and every element which compose our daily lives. And, they are compressed into the three to five hours one is on the golf course. So, besides spiritual growth, there is the additional element of total personal understanding and ability to cope with the ups and downs of everyday life. It is like having an appointment with a minister, psychiatrist, physical therapist, counselor and mentor all rolled into one (or maybe they are the ones who fill out your foursome).

At each moment in the game of golf, you are called upon to evaluate who is here, now. You are called upon to take into consideration all the elements of nature, all the elements that man has made, your partner(s), the competition, your training, your goals and expectations, your physical state, your mental state and so on. Just like the “real world.” Yup, it is the game of life all right.

Question: What do they call a mulligan in Scotland?

Answer: Three!

Here are some “rules of the game.” They relate to the “spiritual” aspects of how to hold the game - and, they certainly could be utilized in how one deals with the rest of life:

1. Be attentive to the hazards ahead of you, but empty yourself of your fear of them;
2. Strive to do your best, but empty yourself of your concern with your score;
3. Learn from every mistake, but empty yourself of any shred of self-hatred for your imperfections;
4. Compete, but empty yourself of shame that you are not measuring up;
5. Play to win, but if you fail to do so, empty yourself of any remorse;
6. Remember every good thing that you have been taught, but in that fraction of a second when your clubhead is connecting with the ball, empty yourself of all your remembering. It should be a “no mind” moment without ripples;
7. The secret of golf is to take advantage of the space between the shots - know what it is you want to do, see it - then do it.

Golf is a play of exquisite balance. Find the flow and stay in it. You can never own the secret of golf. You just try to borrow it from time to time. Golf is not so much a problem to be solved as a mystery to be lived and enjoyed.

And, there is no way you can ever “get it.”

Here is some wisdom “How to Play Your Best Golf All the Time” by Tommy Armour (Simon and Schuster, New York 1953). Pay attention - it’s good stuff!!

• Winners: What distinguishes the winner from the also-ran is the fact that the winner made fewer bad strokes than the rest. So it is not solely the ability to make great shots that makes a winner, but the essential quality of making very few bad shots. Bad shots can come from either faulty execution or bad judgment. There are two sound rules for low scoring:
  1. Play the shot you’ve got the greatest chance of playing well; and
  2. Play the shot that makes the next shot easy.

  Learn to play the type of game that fits your capabilities. Don’t try shots that only Tiger Woods & Company can make regularly. Every golfer can score better when he/she learns his/her capabilities and plays within them.
  Remember, golf is a comparative game. That is the marvelous merit of golf’s handicapping system. It is perhaps the only game where players of disparate skills and capabilities can play on a field that has been leveled. So, if you play to a standard that is within your capabilities, the handicapping system will take care of the rest.

  All golf is divided into three parts: the strokes, the course, and the opponent. Dealing with your opponent is a matter of strategy, psychology, and reaching down for that special extra effort. If you can shoot the heart out of your opposition by playing, in critical situations, shots better than you normally make (or even better than you really know how to make) you will most often be a winner.