Navigating Catholic Life - Part 5 Golf vs Life Analogy: Pay Attention!

JMJ

By Lilrizz - Personal Photo, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16381754

NTS: Journal July 14, 2022

A number of factors conspired to make me decide to spend more time golfing this year. Stress relief was the major factor. Getting up early in the morning for a 7am tee-time is, frankly, great. I was able to beat the heat of the day (which was gruelling this summer) and take a two hour 'walk' to exercise and disconnect from the issues causing my stress levels to increase.

On one of these 'walks' I realised that golf has some analogies for life:

You don't hold life in your hands, it sits there waiting for you to do something, while all the external variables continue to shift.
You need to pay attention to a lot of subtle variables to make a good shot and even then the wind and other hazards (ie. bunker) can suddenly change and make a great shot into a good shot (which I would be happy with) and a good shot into a bad one.
You are responsible for your own performance. No one is going to tackle or block your shot. You are competing against yourself.
You will be better than some and worse than others and practice (ie hard work) is the only way to improve your performance.
Sometimes the course will beat you even when you are on your game. Your best game may not be enough.

Playing on this Golf is like Life, you need to pay attention to move in the right direction, and I have made many missteps. Here's the 'process' that I am trying to follow to improve my game:

Ball: Tee-up or examine the lie of the golf ball = Know where you are or situational awareness. If you don't know your starting point you won't be able to make a plan from 'here' to 'there'.
Target: You need to look at your target and plan the series of shots needed to get to the green and put the ball in the hole. Then note the current point the your are aiming for in the drive from the tee-box. This first point may be only 12 inches from the ball in order to try to correct for a 'slice' or 'hook'.
Club: Check the distance and select an appropriate club for the lie of the ball and shot you are trying to make.
Ground your club: The club is designed to hit the ball in a certain way. You need to setup your stance etc to hit a good shot. Happy Gilmore is a fictional piece of work. As a friend said, golf is hard with a combination of fine and coarse motor control functions. Note: I have noticed that some professionals ground the club with their right hand and then setup their grip.
Landmarks: Orient yourself to the ball (distance and position relative to your lead foot), and look at your far, medium and close landmarks that will lead to the green.
Stance: Settle into the stance appropriate for the shot. Make certain to remember to breath :-).
Agility: To swing well you have to be warmed up and flexible. Maybe the warmup should have been the first step. Anyway, stretch before each shot and take a couple practice swings.
Ready: Check both your position and your mindset for the shot.
Aim: Check that the club face is aimed correctly, look at your target in front of the ball and ... take another deep breath.
Fire: Check another deep breath and take a deep breath and let it part way out (just like in other shooting sports).

In an ideal world, the ball will take the path you wanted and land by or near your target. That seldom is the case for average golfer and in life we are all average ;-).

Learn from the shot, then put it behind you. This definitely applies to golf and life, if you can't learn from the past and then leave the past behind you, then the burden will continue to grow until you are crushed.

In life, a lot of these points help us practice life and Catholicism in a more deliberate way instead of leaving the autopilot in control.

I hope this is as helpful to you as these journal entries have been to me.

P^3

Auctorem Fidei

Can the SSPX be right about the Novus Ordo? Revision: Feb 11, 2013 On another web forum, I was engaged in a rather heated discussion about the documents of Vatican II.

Morning and Evening and other sundry Prayers

+ JMJ Along the theme of P^3 (Prayer, Penance, Patience), and for my own reference ... here is a collection of Morning and Evening prayers from the Ideal Daily Missal along with some additional prayers. In this crisis of the Church, I do not think it is possible to do too much prayer, penance and have patience. P^3

Comparision of the Tridentine, Cranmer and Novus Ordo Masses

+ JMJ I downloaded the comparison that was linked in the previous article on the mass (here) . ... a very good reference! P^3 From: Whispers of Restoration (available at this link) . CHARTING LITURGICAL CHANGE Comparing the 1962 Ordinary of the Roman Mass to changes made during the Anglican Schism; Compared in turn to changes adopted in the creation of Pope Paul VI’s Mass in 1969 The chart on the reverse is a concise comparison of certain ritual differences between three historical rites for the celebration of the Catholic Mass Vetus Ordo: “Old Order,” the Roman Rite of Mass as contained in the 1962 Missal, often referred to as the “Traditional Latin Mass.”The Ordinary of this Mass is that of Pope St. Pius V (1570) following the Council of Trent (1545-63), hence the occasional moniker “Tridentine Mass.” However, Trent only consolidated and codified the Roman Rite already in use at that time; its essential form dates to Pope St. Gregory the Great (+604), in whose time the R

What the heck is a congregation of "Pontifical Right"

+ JMJ In a discussion with a friend the question occurred to me that I didn't actually know was is involved in being a religious order of 'pontifical right'. I had a vague notion that this meant they reported to Rome as opposed to the local diocese. I'm also aware that, according to the accounts I have heard, the Archbishop received 'praise' and the written direction to incardinate priests directly into the SSPX. This is interesting because it implies that the SSPX priests were no longer required to incardinate in the local diocese but in the SSPX. This is something that belongs to an order of 'pontifical right'. Anyway here's some definitions: Di diritto pontificio is the Italian term for “of pontifical right” . It is given to the ecclesiastical institutions (the religious and secular institutes, societies of apostolic life) either created by the Holy See or approved by it with the formal decree, known by its Latin name, Decretu

Catholic Culture - The Edgar Schein Model Analysis of the Pre and Post Conciliar Culture

+ JMJ So ... I was thinking ... I've used Edgar Schein's (RIP) organizational cultural model (link ) in my research ... why not apply it in a comparison between the Catholic Organizational Culture - PRE and POST Second Vatican Culture? Of course, this will be from my own perspective, I'm certain that others will think differently. 😁 Also, apologies for a rather long article. Graphic: https://mutomorro.com/edgar-scheins-culture-model/ Below is a quick mapping of the cultural factors that I could think of. Since the Church is vast and composed of millions of Souls, it is necessarily a limited cultural map. Yet, I think it will still be useful to assess what has changed since the Second Vatican Council. Additional Reading: 5 enduring management ideas from MIT Sloan’s Edgar Schein | MIT Sloan Artifacts Artifacts are tangible and observable aspects of the culture being examined. All organizations have them. Walmart has their Walmart chant, Charismatics have their spe

Tradicat

Search This Blog