Scoring More Than Par

Golf is more than a sport.

Golf is the type of activity that can lead you down tree-lined fairways and into the serenity of winding rock canyons.  It can cause you to endure the lay of the land as well as come face to face with the majesty of God's creation.

All the while, you learn just how feeble your humanity really is in true perspective.

Just look at your scorecard after a round of golf.  Even on your best day, you may not make par on every hole.  It's a reality for many of us weekend golfers.  We do not excel on each and every hole.  We may do better on par 3's than par 4's.  We might do better on executive golf courses than others.  We just might not being having a good day.

Our business may be just like our golf game.  We may not make every move with precision.  We might get hung up on whether to swing a big-headed driver or play it safe and lay up with a long iron.  How we decide to make certain moves will lead to how things play out based upon the given conditions.

Remember Kevin Costner's blunder in Tin Cup? He took too much club and it cost him.  He went for it rather than playing it safe.  He wanted all of the gusto, but it ended up costing a penalty when his ball rolled into a water hazard.  The same thing happens to us as we go through the the course of life.

God wants us scoring more than par.  He wants us trying our best with obedience to His instructions.  If we stay in His Word and in communion with Him, we can stay on course.  That is more than scoring par on every hole.  That is spiritual success throughout this life.

Par for the Course

"Golf has probably kept more people sane than psychiatrists have."

- Harvey Penick

You learn about it from golf aficionados and connoisseurs as you play more and learn more about the game. Duffers know a lot about it. Many from course to course across the country and throughout the world swear by it. Some simply never heard of it.

It is Harvey Penick's Little Red Book: Lessons and Teachings from a Lifetime in Golf, a timeless classic that speaks beyond sports and offers insights into life itself. Harvey Penick, who began his golfing career as a caddie, shares a variety of life lessons and wisdom for golfers of every level. The book is often referred to as "The Little Red Book" and Penick also wrote The Little Green Book.

I love golf. It frustrates the heck out of me and I always say that I'm done playing- somewhere around the 12th or 13th hole as I stare at my scorecard. Yet, I always return. I keep coming back. I love the challenge of the game.

Businessmen, entrepreneurs and clergy can learn a lot from golf. Many play for fun and others play to relax. Golf teaches us that we don't have it all and that we have to adjust our approach as the conditions around us change. For starters, golf requires us to adjust to awkward hand positions and stances based upon where the ball is located in relation to the hole. Golf teaches us how to evaluate our options and make calculated decisions.

Grab a copy of Harvey Penick's Little Red Book: Lessons and Teachings from a Lifetime in Golf or The Little Green Book. He shares timeless wisdom that may not cure your wild slice but can certainly aid you in approach some critical decisions in the life and with your business.