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

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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:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. You are responsible for your own performance. No one is going to tackle or block your shot.  You are competing against yourself.
  4. You will be better than some and worse than others and practice (ie hard work) is the only way to improve your performance.
  5. 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:

  1. 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'.
  2. 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'.
  3. Club: Check the distance and select an appropriate club for the lie of the ball and shot you are trying to make.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. Stance: Settle into the stance appropriate for the shot. Make certain to remember to breath :-).
  7. 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.
  8. Ready: Check both your position and your mindset for the shot.
  9. Aim: Check that the club face is aimed correctly, look at your target in front of the ball and ... take another deep breath.
  10. 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

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