I'm grateful for golf. My passion for the game has given me so much. Golf led me to my career working in education. Golf has provided thousands of hours of enjoyment - fresh air, exercise, the opportunity to spend time with old friends and meet new ones. As the late teaching professional Harvey Penick titled one of his instructional books, And If You Play Golf, You're My Friend.
I started playing the game as a boy when I discovered my Dad's old Spalding Bobby Jones golf clubs in the back of the shed. An older neighbour saw me hitting balls around the yard and invited me out to play nine holes on a local golf course. I immediately fell in love with the game. The glory of striking a ball and watching it fly through the air towards the target. There is satisfaction to be found just in making good contact regardless of where the ball ends up.
Golf is a humbling game. In many ways, it is a microcosm of life itself offering adversity and achievement, frustration and joy. There is a saying that you learn more about a person's character in eighteen holes of golf than working with them for a year. I've learned to find joy in the simple pleasure of playing the game rather than worrying too much about my score. Often I don't even bother to keep score.
I'm grateful to have golf as part of my life.