Golf after rain
Every Wednesday I golf with 3 other guys who have been smacking a little ball around for over 60 years. I’m the newbie. I’ve been golfing on and off for about 14 years. But for the last year and a half I’ve golfed every week... and something shifted.
I meet up with them and we walk six miles, laugh about our shanks and share stories of our week. A shank is when you hit the little white golf ball, about the size of an egg, and instead of going where you want it to go, it flies far off to the side, into the trees, and hides in the tall grass or under a bush. I shank a lot. But that’s not what shifted...
We play here in beautiful Santa Cruz. The weather is almost always sunny and warm. I tell my wife this is actually exercise. She doesn’t believe me. But that’s not what shifted...
When it does rain here, it gets pretty soggy. The dust turns to mud and it takes a while to dry up. Usually people avoid golf when it rains, or when the golf course gets muddy. But me, I’ll go out rain or shine. My buddies, on the other hand, they don’t.
And the last 4 days have been solid rain. But the weather report had a glimpse of sun on our day, today. I’m giddy with excitement. But my friends, they’re a bit concerned. They text our group chat about how wet it will be. How soggy it will be. The mud. The possibility of rain.
And this is what shifted: I realized I’m not “golfing” anymore. I’m living.
In my mind all I was thinking about was playing in the mud, hitting a ball around with a stick, looking for Easter eggs in the bushes, listening to my friends tell stories and every now and then, facing the sunshine. That sounds a lot like heaven to me. It’s the kind of day I want to live every day!
I texted them back, “I’m in! 😎👍”
They all return the 👍 with a few grumbles.
So I’m off to golf with my friends. We are all in and there will be some mud, but I’m sure there will be much more laughter.