TheWorst Golf Shot

“That’s the worst golf shot I’ve seen in my life!”

Years ago, I was invited to go on a summer weekend golf trip to Arizona by my friends Eric and Matt. I initially declined the offer, telling them I was not a good golfer. However, they persisted selling me on how much fun the trip would be and that the courses would be empty because no one would want to golf in the heat of an Arizona summer.

When we checked in for our first tee time on Saturday morning, Matt walked up to me and said “I have good news and bad news. The good news is we are all set to tee off next. The bad news is the pro shop is adding someone we don’t know to play with us today.” My level of anxiety shot through the roof.

We teed off on the first hole and I sliced my ball into the rough on the right side of the fairway. When we located my ball, I noticed there was a green electric utility box just off to the right from my ball position. I wanted to just take a penalty stroke as I was worried about hitting the box with my second shot. I was reassured by Eric that I was good to hit. I made contact with the ball which hit off the utility box and then hit the stranger we were playing with in the stomach. He exclaimed, “That’s the worst golf shot I’ve seen in my life!”

I share this story, because my 16 year old son is on the high school golf team and is actually a good golfer. In fact, I enjoy going to watch him play in tournaments and we regularly watch PGA tournaments together.

So, how can I be such an awful golfer while my son is actually good? I might add that my wife Michelle does not play golf either.

I believe it comes down to three things:

1. He has a passion and love for the sport. He plays golf 7 days a week and now has a job teaching younger kids to golf this summer.
2. We signed him up for golf lessons when he was young so that he would learn the right way to golf vs. my method of loading up my golf bag up with sleeves of golf balls. It is critical to understand the fundamentals of something before diving right in and winging it.
3. He remains calm and focused in the face of adversity on the course. If his ball goes in the water or a sand trap, he takes a breath and focuses on his next shot instead of dwelling on the past.

It’s important to find your passion, learn the fundamentals and to remain calm and focused on the future.