One Swing Philosophy — What Golf Taught Me About Life

I went to the driving range today, just as I had planned. And something amazing happened. My full iron swing was coming back. My wood and driver swings were also starting to feel natural again. As I hit ball after ball, I suddenly realized something I had forgotten for a while. Golf gives you back what you practice. I think I had become a little too proud of myself. Because of my finger pain, I hadn't been able to practice properly for quite some time. Yet I kept playing rounds, and somehow, I was still able to enjoy golf. I even had some surprisingly good shots and scores. So, for a while, I started to believe: Maybe I don't really need to practice that much to enjoy golf. Today, the driving range reminded me that I was wrong. Golf is not a sport you can truly enjoy without practice. Especially for an amateur golfer. When you stop practicing, your swing slowly disappears. And when that happens, a round of golf that should be fun can become surprisingly painful. Golf is such a ...

After playing golf for a long time, I think every golfer has had this thought at least once: “I think I've finally figured out my swing.” I did, too. For a while, I was playing pretty well even without practicing much. My shots were good, my swing felt comfortable, and I started to become a little too confident. At one point, I honestly thought: “Maybe I've conquered my golf swing.” Now that I think about it, that's hilarious. 😂 I mean, I'm an amateur golfer! If Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, or Adam Scott had heard me say, “I think I've conquered golf,” I wonder what they would have thought. They might have looked at each other and said, “You conquered golf?” 😳 And then quietly thought, “This woman must be joking.” 😂😂😂 The more I think about it, the more ridiculous it sounds. But that ridiculous thought taught me something important. Golf is not an easy sport to conquer. When I stopped practicing regularly, my shots slowly became less consisten...

These days, I find myself playing golf with this small group at least twice a month. If we include our 9-hole games, I sometimes see them almost once a week. I didn't plan it this way at first. Actually, when I first joined the group, I thought they were a little too loud and playful for me. I wondered, “Hmm… I wonder if I really fit in with these people.” 😂 But the more I got to know them, the more I realized something. They may joke around a lot, but they are all serious about golf. Most of us are in our early 60s, give or take a few years. We are at similar stages of life, and we have a similar love of golf. More importantly, they are good people. They have good manners. They look out for each other. Sometimes, when we run into each other at the driving range, someone will even offer me a cup of coffee. Those little things mean more to me than they might realize. Our band leader is another reason I enjoy this group. He is quick-witted, confident, and has a way of ...

This early morning, as usual, I was getting ready to take my two dogs, Rich and Ruby, for a walk. But when I opened my front door, I suddenly froze. There was a dark pile lying right in front of the entrance. I was scared to look at it closely. Honestly, I thought it might be a dead cat because it was about the same size. I didn't pick it up. Instead, my mind was already getting busy and stressed, imagining how I was going to deal with a dead animal first thing in the morning. Then I turned on the light. And guess what? It wasn't a dead cat. It was my golf wear! 😂 After yesterday's round, I had hung all my golf clothes on the laundry line in the side garden. I must have been too tired to remember to bring them inside because I still had to teach until 9 PM. Apparently, one piece of clothing had fallen from the laundry line. And Rich had found it. He must have carried it all the way to my front door and stayed with it through the night. But the most surprising part? Rich di...