It’s Easier Said Than Done!

As you’ll recall from my last blog I was able to piece together an ugly par on the par 5 fourth hole. Now that I’m off the schnide (whatever the hell the schnide is), I’m thinking about putting a couple of pars
together – like back to back. Number 5 is a
short par four, which is basically a driver, wedge… Piece of cake!

Not so fast Governor! Why is it in golf that we sometimes make the easiest holes the hardest? Is it because we allow our minds to relax a little bit and we maybe get a little lackadaisical? Or is it because we start to get cocky and think “I’ve got this hole”. Whatever the
case I’ve found that there’s no such thing as a “slam dunk hole” on the golf
course.

I guess that’s why it’s important to stay humble – in life and in golf. I suppose if you are Tiger Woods you don’t have to be humble (although he’s been humbled recently as a result of his indiscretions off the
course). But if you’re a hack like me,
don’t get cocky because the golf gods will knock you off your pedestal real
fast.

This can happen in life as well. In 2007 I exited the corporate world to go out on my own. While I knew this was going to be difficult, I had no idea how difficult it would be. You don’t just print up some business cards,
make some phone calls and get consulting gigs!
There are all kinds of challenges not the least of which is figuring out
how to make money! My Dad once told me –
“Nothing worthwhile in life comes easy”.
He was a man of few words but his words were always right on.

I guess the message is, don't ever take anything for granted. Stay humble and work hard. Don't assume because it appears to be easy it's going to be easy. Of course we are all familiar with the assume cliche yet sometimes we are guilty of doing it because we are human.

I shouldn’t be getting too heavy while playing this lovely dog leg right par 4. I manage to hit a pretty solid tee shot, which leaves me in position “A” about 110 yards from the middle of the green. The pin is back so I have to gas
a pitching wedge if I want to get it hole high. I hit my purest shot of the day and the ball
hits above the pin and sucks back to about 4 feet from the hole. I have a slight feeling of euphoria as I tell
myself “ I can play this game”.

When I get to the green I notice the ball is not quite 4 feet, it’s probably more like 6 feet. The rest of the guys in my foursome are all on the green but farther away so of course I
wait for them to putt and none go in. I promptly step up and hit what feels like the
perfect putt coming off the club face and sure enough it drops to the bottom of
the cup for a birdie 3. I’m holding back
the fist pump because I read somewhere that it’s not good to get to high or too
low during a round of golf.

Now I’m really on a roll – two over after 5! I’m gaining confidence and starting to believe that I’m going to put a decent score on the card at the end of the round. Life is good and so is golf. Suddenly I can hear the birds chirping and I can feel the warm sunshine on my shoulders… I think this is called being in the
moment!