4 Life Lessons I Learned From Playing Golf

I believe golf is the greatest sport on earth. I mean seriously, there aren't many things I look forward to more than the weekend of the Master's.

15:09 17 August 2020

Unfortunately, I didn't start playing golf until my early twenties, around 20 years ago. But in the last 20 years, I've learned many lessons from the game of golf. My purpose here is to share with you 5 of the top lessons golf has taught me that I use just about every day of my life.

 

1. Practice is the key to getting better

 

If you want to get better at something, you've got to practice. For a few years, I was playing golf two or three times a month. I had a great time, always making sure I was playing with good company. But I wasn't getting any better. I'd hit some great shots, some mediocre shots, and some terrible shots. Overall, I would play decent, every time, without improvement.

 

I committed to getting better. I bought a season pass at a driving range that was on my home from work. I decided that every Monday after work I'd stop at the driving range and spend 30 minutes working on one or two clubs. I also was sure to rotate which club(s) I practiced with, giving each club equal attention. I ended up improving more in 6 months than I had in the previous 4 years. Practice truly is key to improving.

 

2. It's important to be on time

 

You never want to show up right on time for your tee time. Preferably, you're there with plenty of time to check in, lace up the shoes, get in a few chips, putts, and drives, and get situated in your golf cart. Some courses won't let you on if you are late for your tee time, or they'll force you to sit around, hoping some other louse like you shows up late or doesn't show.

 

Being on time shows respect for those with whom you've made commitments, and it shows you value whatever the commitment is. And when I say being on time, I mean being early. There are any number of things, including traffic, needing to get gas, being misled by Siri, etc. that can lead to you being late if you haven't planned to arrive early. And if you show up too early, you can always pull up the greatest golf shots on YouTube.

 

3. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and backtrack

 

Every year I play with a number of strangers, hot shots, that believe they can hit a miracle shot from any number of terrible situations. Maybe 1 out of 100 times do these fantasy shots actually work. The rest, they end up two, three, or more shots worse off than if they'd have just gotten themselves out of the situation, even if it means hitting backwards.

 

I learned many years ago that 99% of the time, my score ends up better if I can swallow my pride, suck it up, and hit the ball out of the trees or horrible rough 15 yards backwards but onto the fairway. Sometimes in life you've just got to swallow your pride and get back to a place where you're sure of your footing and avoid a much worse situation.

 

4. Everybody has got their own opinion, and they all could be right

 

No two golf swings are the same. Every swing has different nuances and aspects that make them unique. There are also a plethora of different types of golf balls, clubs, tees, etc. any of which might be the perfect fit for you, but may not work well for somebody else.

 

There are no shortage of golfers out there that will be more than willing to share their opinions on what they consider to be the best golf equipment or the best way to swing, as if it is THE truth and anything else is inferior. As with just about anything in life, these are just opinions, that may very well be the truth for them and their game, but something entirely different might be what's best for you.

 

Conclusion

 

Golf is a sport that is riddled with life lessons if you can be perceptive and self-aware enough to catch them and learn from them. Remember how important practice is for progression. Be on time to show respect. Sometimes the best way forward is to first go backwards. And keep in mind that these are just my opinions. Yours may be a little different, or they may be entirely different. But they're no less valid. What works for me and makes me happy may make you completely miserable, and vice versa.

 

One thing I think we can all agree is a universal truth though is that Master's week is one of the greatest weekends of the entire year! You can visit https://www.golftreasury.com for our reviews and recommendations of some of the best golf equipment and training gear on the market.