Hope Springs Eternal

Everybody says that the start of the baseball season is when hope springs eternal, and that's probably true for all baseball fans and their teams.  For me, the start of the golf season is when hope springs eternal.  What will this season bring?  Will I finally get a hole-in-one?  How will I play in competition?  What type of hat should I wear to protect my balding head?  Lots of questions.

The golf season officially began for me today, with my first 18 hole round.  I actually had a "soft opening" on Thursday when I went out and played 5 holes before dark.  Being a member of a club is going to be great!  The fact that I live only 8 minutes from the first tee means I can do things like go play a few holes when I have an hour.  While Thursday was only a soft opening, it was good to swing a little bit before playing today. 

My friend Jared is also a member at the little 9 hole club that I joined, so we tee'd off at 11 am today.  We're going to try to play most Saturday's.  Jared and I are very equal in our golf games, so it's good for us to play together, and we have a friendly rivalry.  It only took 3 holes today before Jared called me a name...after my first, and only, birdie of the day.  Mostly though, we enjoy getting out there, telling some jokes, and rooting for each other to play well.  The birdie I made was my first of the year.  Jared posted his first birdie of the year on his Facebook account right after he made it.  Since I don't have a smart phone, or a Facebook account, this is the best I could do.  Anyway, back to golf...I played 9 good holes today and 9 bad holes today, and that was really secondary.  It was just so good to be out there playing.

My goals for this golf season.  Well, number 1 is to get better...at 30 something now, I have to improve my short game and my mental approach because I'm not getting any younger and I don't get time to practice like I would need, to really get a lot better.  For the mental approach, I'm trying to realize that golf isn't that important.  At times, it borders on an obsession for me, and sometimes I play like it's an obsession.  But really, I'm never going to make a living playing golf, so it's just not that important.  Nobody is going to care whether I make 18 pars or 18 bogeys, but they will care if I'm not a good father or husband or friend or coworker.  So, I guess it's about realizing what is truly important.  That doesn't mean I'm not going to try to do my best each time out, but if I don't, it's not the end of the world.