Going The Distance, But No More...

I remember growing up and playing golf with my grandfather. I remember how he always took great care of his equipment cleaning the clubs after every shot and then again when we returned home. He was always ready to play and his clubs were spotless.

I really enjoyed playing with him and I also enjoyed hitting plastic golf balls in the backyard. I would go the the end of the yard and he would be close to the house. With plastic balls I could easily hit the house and have the balls bounce back to him using an 8 iron.

Gramps played using his favorite club, a 7 iron. I would hit the ball over his head and it would hit the house and bounce off of the patio and back into the front of the yard. He would then have to walk over to the ball. Sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right. I wasn't the best at hitting the ball to him.

Maybe my memory has faded a bit over time but it seemed as though each of his shots landed at my feet. I never had to walk more than a step or two. Every shot right at the target, not too short, not too far. Every shot.

Thinking back now I know I didn't capture the importance of what he was doing. While I was trying to hit the ball over his head I never practiced with the focus on hitting the target. It wasn't until some time after he no longer was around that I thought back about our afternoon sessions and then understood what he was trying to teach me - by example.

Each shot he hit was getting the ball to the hole or target. Not too short, not too far. Every shot was an example of getting the ball close to the hole. Going the distance, but no more...

Thanks for reading.

Larry - the weekend golfer.