I’m writing about how my golf game has improved, and how I’ve made progress by means of:
- Purpose
- Practice
- Perseverance
- Performance
Yesterday I wrote about the importance of the decision: purpose. But there’s an old riddle: “Three frogs sat on a lily pad, and two of them decided to jump off. How many frogs are left?” Answer: “Three. The two just decided to jump off; they didn’t actually do it.” So decision or purpose is not enough…
Today, let’s talk about practice.
I have always been well aware that to get better at golf (or anything else) one has to practice. I met a sergeant in the Air Force who told me, “I go out to the driving range and knock out 200 – 300 balls a day.” I knew then that I would never be a good golfer! And I’ve always been able to play “adequate” golf (by my definition) without the range. Not this year.
My friend (and blog reader) Tom wanted us to play more golf, so our first meeting was on the range – remember, I hadn’t played since 2017! So I hit 25 balls on the range, got one lesson, and then Tom and I met for a disastrous nine holes. Afterward, I told him, “We can’t play next week, I have to get some time on the driving range.”
So two months, 30 visits to the range hitting 1300+ balls, and nine practice rounds later, and I could see progress. But there were times when it wasn’t easy. Tomorrow I’ll talk about perseverance.
Train yourself for godliness. (1 Timothy 4.7, ESV)
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. (1 Corinthians 9.25, NIV)