What Could Have Been?

I always love watching golf on Sunday afternoon for many reasons. One, to me it is completely relaxing. Two, if you ever watch a golf match, there are some amazing commercials to catch. If you watched any of the PGA Championship, there were a number of commercials with kids playing golf and not exactly loving it. One girl says she hates the game, while an older man walking with her tells her to be calm and swing easy. The moral, hate never works on the golf course! It's a life lesson. Golf is a life lesson. It teaches people that no matter what happens on the previous shot, there is always another one to make up for a mistake. For others, it teaches them how to relax and enjoy the talent that they have. In my case, every round, every shot and every winner reminds me of what I could have done. Many people have said that I am extremely talented when it comes to golf, and maybe they're right. But for me, it was never about the competition. I never liked competing when I was on the golf course. For me, in later years, it was a chance to get away from the world. You see on the golf course, if you're good enough, you can make any shot go anywhere at any time. In life, you'd be lucky to have one thing go your way in any given day. But not golf. Golf turns men into children. Don't believe me? Go play golf with your friends, and watch as one of the chips in for an eagle or drains a 45-foot birdie putt that dipped left and right. Watch them jump up and down and shout until everyone else is done. Listen as they taunt you for the rest of the afternoon with every chip or every putt. Feel their emotions come pouring out for at least 10 minutes. The beauty of it all; it can all change with one swing. That friend of yours that just made the miraculous shot, well, he's also the one that just: lost a ball, hit a duck, missed a 2-foot putt...TWICE, broke his 9-iron on a sprinkler head and drove the golf cart into a sand trap. You see, it's not about winning or losing, it's about who comes away with the most balls after 18 holes. Bragging rights only go to a certain few on the golf course, and if you're one of those lucky few, than my friend, you deserve a drink. So if you haven't tried it yet, go play. Play all day and night, and who cares if you lose a few balls? Who cares if you shank a few shots here and there? Most of all, who cares if you've never even been out there? If people don't want to wait, let 'em play through. Enjoy every round, every shot and ever minute of the beautiful game. Trust me, what you learn on the golf course will stay with you for the rest of your life if you're lucky. If it doesn't, let the others play through.

-Dave

P.S. When you're ready, come talk to me and we'll see just how good you think you are. I mean, people think I'm talented for a reason!