Month: October 2015

As I was standing on the 12th tee, looking at the landscape before me, it became clear I had no clarity on what club to hit. I was playing this course for the first time, hence the confusion. Before I called on the angels for help, a fellow player who is a member at this course, remarked “It’s a lay-up about 150 yards.”  I continued to gaze down the fairway, trying to put the topography into perspective. Were my eyes deceiving me? It seemed so much further. If the drive wasn’t long enough, the second shot was a carry over water to a severely elevated green flanked by a stone wall. It made for a very intimidating hole.

When I finally consulted with the angels, a 7 wood was their recommendation. I knew with full trust this was the correct club, but with anxiety of the unnerving hole and tenseness in my body, I pulled the shot left into a fairway bunker. Undeniably, I was trying to get everything out of the club and over swung. My next shot was a lay-up which splashed into the pond and lead to a triple bogie. Thank goodness it was a team event and my score wasn’t needed on this hole.     

This perplexing perspective made me ponder. From the tee box the hole was daunting, but as played, it became evident it wasn’t as menacing as first perceived. All that was needed was a halfway decent tee shot in the fairway, which then revealed with more certainty what was needed for the next shot and so on. By dissecting the hole piece by piece it became feasible. Golf course architects are obligated to create illusions with elevation changes, bunkers and water features to keep us second guessing and they certainly got me on this one. I can still hear them laughing!

I realized a metaphor for my life was playing through this hole. Looking at the finish (of a project, life’s dream) is overwhelming and could create stress and apprehension—or even the F word…fear!  By taking one shot (baby step) at a time using focus, intention and the angels to navigate the terrain, keeps it fun, on target, and transforms the perceived challenges into illusions. Oh, the confusing delusions of the mind!

Here’s the angels’ recap…

“Know that your full power lies in the now and getting too far ahead of yourself, worrying about the outcome will diminish  your creativity and imagination by setting your sights on something out there (distant green) in the future. Instead we recommend visualizing the hole like a road map, plotting your course from point A to point B and only focusing on that segment of the trip. The journey will unfold with twist and turns, doglegs and rotations, bringing you to your desired destination, embracing enthusiasm instead of dread. Golf’s a course, not a destination.”

 

As I head out to the course with my intentions set for the round, I know I’ll return with an anecdote or two….the Angels never disappoint. Sometimes the message is evident on the walk home and often others need to percolate. There are times when I start writing believing it’s going in one direction, and I am led another way which I never imagined. I must admit, I’m the first to benefit, and it’s always what I needed to hear.

The anecdote below was in the oven longer than most and it wasn’t until this morning, during an aha moment, that I realized what the golden nugget was and the message came forth, naturally with many twists and turns. Here’s the Angels’ recap…

“After a perfectly struck second shot, Denise’s ball rolled to the edge of a pond, making for an awkward stance. The ground was very firm due to lack of rain and her ball rolled further than planned. Adam Atomic the Physicist Angel was on day off…just kidding!  It was actually another one of those valuable tests we conjured up to reaffirm an important principle. In the past, if she hit a shot well and got an unfortunate result, she would be upset. So we threw a test her way to make sure this was no longer the case.

As she walked towards the water’s edge, she was relieved her ball didn’t go into the pond and thanked us (great start!).  Since she used the club we recommended, as well as the target line, she was baffled as to why the ball was in such an awkward lie. With this stance, her feet were behind the ball, making for a challenging shot. Being over impulsive and zealous to make this shot work, she pulled the club we recommended but failed to discern the shot we were advising. You guessed it; the ball went into the water. Her predominant focus was to hit a one in a million chip shot over the water, instead of conferring with us prior. Our suggestion was to chip the ball sideways back into the fairway giving a sensible approach shot onto the green.

We realize that golf is a game of moving forward, but sometimes going sideways is the best (and only) option. When the ball is laterally passed in basketball, soccer, volleyball or football, it is perfectly fine. So why do golfers frown upon this, when it may be the only optimal alternative? Is it embarrassing or despicable? There are no pictures on the scorecard, so we’re puzzled.

This is a valuable lesson to take off the course when focused on a desired outcome. Taking that precious moment to be mindful and pause before acting is by far the most valuable advice we can offer. Sometimes going sideways serves as a metaphor for life, depicting a roundabout, scenic route or not-as-planned path may benefit in the long run. You’ll never know what surprises await or what gifts we have up our wings if you take that heavenly detour.

We, however, do not advise moving the ball sideways in bowling—alley hopping is glared upon—even here in the angelic realm! Chess anyone?”