Golf Is Hard, Breathing Is Harder

A couple weeks ago, I was playing the red course at Willow Creek's Men's Club with some great dudes.

I wasn't playing well, as I'm in a bit of a slump, but I got my first par of the round on hole 4 - a 180yd downhill par 3. So, we walked up to the next hole - an uphill, dogleg left, par 5. I had honors, so I grabbed my driver, teed my ball up and took a couple practice swings. My buddy, Judson stopped me and said that the group ahead was within my reach... because when my driver's on, it's on. So I stepped back, noticed a bunch of tees laying around the box and said, "I guess I’ll just do a little house cleaning” and started picking up tees. Judson responded, “you could also just stand here and breathe.”

And that statement was the absolute perfect metaphor for how I live my life, lol. I rarely just stand there and breathe. My brain constantly fights this, so I have to be very intentional about being in the moment.

I wound up getting another par on that hole and a bogey or worse on the rest of the 9... maybe because I forgot to just hang out and breathe.

Anyway, I've thought about this little exchange so many times and wanted to write about it, because it was a great reminder... One that I needed and probably need more often.

So, thanks for that, Judson.