Life Lessons from the Game of Golf

 

 

I've been playing golf for less than 6 months and am still terrible at it though getting better. Most important is that I enjoy the sport, which I assumed I would but have been surprised at how joyful an activity it is for me. Also unknown when I first started is whether it would be a solitary or social activity, and I've been delighted to find that I enjoy all kinds of times on the course, whether solo or with friends or paired with strangers. How delightful!

More than the pursuit of a lower score and basking in some rare free time, the game itself offers so many great life lessons. So many aspects of the game are a metaphor for a happy and successful life. Here are just a few I've mined, mostly from the people I play with, all of whom are better than me and whose general demeanor and friendliness to me have taught me much:

1. Good shot or bad shot, you move on. I'm still the yippy dog who squeals with delight when I hit it square and curses under my breath when I shank one. But in life as on the course, having a short memory is paramount. Your mistake can't shake your next shot, nor can your success lull you into thinking you've got it made.

2. There's no progress without failure. Anyone who tries to be successful while avoiding the possibility of failing will simply not be successful. In golf and in life, the only way to get better is to try hard enough to fall hard on your face, usually multiple times and in spectacular fashion. Related to the previous point, you try, you learn, and you persevere.

3. Every place has its etiquette. I've played mostly one course in my life but people tell me every course has slightly different norms. It's important to acknowledge the existence of those norms and respect them, just like when you are a newcomer to a place or group you don't trample over it and act like you're allowed to do whatever you want.

4. It's not "practice makes perfect," it's "good practice makes perfect." Repetition is helpful to make the movements of golf feel more natural. But after a while, you have to be careful not to repeat bad habits even if you get reasonable results at first, because if you want to get good you have to be consistent, and the only way to be consistent is to do things the right way.

5. Technique > muscle. I wish I could crush it like Tiger or Rory, but hitting it square means hitting it further than hitting it hard. Related to the previous point, sheer exertion may seem like the path to length, but it's not, which may seem surprising at first until that first time you use proper technique and let equipment and physics do the rest.

6. Stay in bounds. It feels good to "grip it and rip it," but while that endorphin rush might get you a birdie now and then, it also leads to being all over the course, which runs up your score. Slow and steady often wins the race, to mix metaphors; short but straight beats long and crooked every day.

What other insights have you gleaned for life from golf?