Do You Remember?

I had a great experience two days ago hitting balls at the local driving range. There were only four people on the range at the time; one guy off to the side, a lady taking a lesson, her instructor and myself.

The lady taking the lesson was close enough I could hear their conversation. It was obvious she hadn’t played much golf but she was out having a great time. I arrived near the end of her lesson and was able to watch about 10 shots.

It was her final swing that motivated today’s post…

The first 9 I saw sent the ball bouncing along the ground, but not the 10th. She caught one square on the club face and sent it flying. The ball actually flew up into the air where it’s supposed to go. It was the best shot of the day. She screamed out, “Look, Look, I did it.” Her instructor gave her a high five and said, “I knew you had it in you.” The two of them stood and watched until the ball came to a complete stop. That was enough for the day. It was the perfect ending to a great lesson.

They slowly picked up the practice area, her four clubs and headed back to the clubhouse.

I was left smiling for the next half hour remembering her reaction to hitting that perfect shot. Isn’t there something amazing about catching one right on the middle and seeing it fly away? The sound, the feeling, the sight. It’s magical for some unexplainable reason. That one shot will keep her coming back. She failed over and over again but finally caught one just right. And isn’t that what keeps all of us coming back? Just when we’re ready to quit the game forever, we shout out, “Look, Look, I did it!” Maybe we don’t say it out loud, but we sure hear it in our heads.

What brought you to this magnificent game and what keeps you coming back? For me, it never gets old to watch the ball fly away. The sound never gets old. I never get tired of watching putts fall in the hole. A perfectly struck iron shot feels just as good today as it did when I first started playing.

Get out there this week and swing away until you catch one just right. And when you do, stand there and admire the shot until it comes to rest. It will lift your spirits and take you back to when you first began. You will be reminded of all the reasons WHY you play this wonderful game.

Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane today. See you back soon!

Mike Snyder

Twitter: @Mike_Snyder