When I was a kid growing up and my Dad would start venting his frustration with us kids going totally whacko – my mother would always say that his language was so bad it would turn the air “BLUE!” Well, yesterday while playing with a group of very frustrated golfers, the air certainly began to turn “BLUE!!” even shades of purple!
It was just one of those days. The weatherman told us the temp would be in the mid 60’s and there was a good chance of rain. Our group met on the first tee, each of us dressed in rain gear, and ready for a wet round of golf. I was in one of those one piece sweater/shirt things… warm enough on a cool day, stifling on a hot one. It didn’t take long before the temperature both on and off the course began to rise.
First, the sun came out after all, and the humidity began to rise. Before we made it to the end of the first hole all four of us had removed our jackets and I began to sweat. Despite my best efforts to aim correctly, my third shot out of the rough, landed far across the fairway, up a small rise and deep into a patch of poison ivy. I don’t know about you, but I will not go near poison ivy. No matter how careful I am, I always get infected and it spreads like wildfire. Even if I could have found my ball, I wouldn’t touch it. Covered with the evil poison ivy oil, it would surely spread the itch everywhere. I had to declare the ball unplayable, and went back to the spot from which I hit my last shot, — then continued from there. Needless to say that first hole was not one of my best, and as we continued to play, things did not improve.
During the round, each of the four of us got into trouble at one time or another. The heat of the day started to take its toll. My playing was getting worse… only one par. But I did have a couple of good hits, which only made me all the more frustrated. If I could hit the ball well once in a while, why couldn’t I hit the ball that way more often?
It finally got to all of us: the “praying” with invocations to God, his mother, his son, the angels and the saints above. God @#$%$!!! it! At one point, it was so bad, all we could do was laugh! And that was the best medicine of all.
Bottom Line:
We all want to play golf well, and we know we can do it—at least once in a while. One great round of golf convinces us that the next one will be even better and that all the “Yips” and slices and bad drives are done and over with. Unfortunately that is not usually true. One great 40-foot putt is often followed on the next hole by a three-putt. A birdie is followed by a double-bogey.
Some of the best advice on not taking the game of golf too seriously was given to me by a guy I met at a driving range in Florida. After hitting one more ball into the woods lining the range I was ready to turn the air “blue!” with my frustration. The fellow turned to me and said, “Aren’t you glad you don’t have to do this for a living?” And that is exactly true.
Golf is supposed to be FUN!
No matter how you are playing, be glad you are outdoors, under the sun, playing with pleasant companions and enjoying the fact that you are healthy enough and wealthy enough to afford the time and the green fees!
So, if the air turns “BLUE” once in a while… laugh it off. And look forward to the next round. Things are bound to get better. Honest.
What do you do when your putts won’t putt, your drives won’t drive, your ball gets lost for the fourth time and your score is heading south?
