My first game of golf this year revealed some changing trends in how the game is played.

This week I had the rare opportunity to play golf with my son. … There is something special about sharing the same passion with your kids, especially if you can participate in that passion with them.

It was just the two of us, so we were paired with another twosome who turned out to be a couple of grade nine high school students.

The first thing I noticed is that they both had pull carts and were not carrying their golf bags on their shoulders.

I wasn’t too surprised because, after all, they were both just turning 15 this year, and when they turned sideways sometimes I lost site of them. They were good kids and I marvelled how they were able to hit the ball as far as they did given their measly frames.

The fact that they were pulling their clubs contrasted to Mike and I who were carrying our clubs … a decision that came after a discussion on whether we should rent a cart or not.  

Usually Mike likes to ride a cart around the course but he is starting to change his opinion about that. He now likes to walk because you get into the game more, rather than rushing around bombing from shot to shot in a cart. 

This is the way I have always liked to play golf. You actually feel like golf is the primary purpose of your outing. 

When you take a cart, golf becomes secondary to all that happens in the cart – things like almost losing a passenger when you hit a ditch really hard, or turning really fast and almost stunt driving with two wheels off the ground.

This doesn’t happen much, but the driving takes away from thinking about your next shot and all the possible factors that need to be considered like wind, the lie of the ball, whether you must fly the ball to the hole or let it bounce up the green – things like that. 

As Mike’s view of taking a cart has changed, my view has softened. 

Walking around an 18 hole course, carrying my clubs on my back, wears on my muscles and joints so that by the time we’ve reached the 18th hole, I feel like an old man.

My preference now is to pull my clubs but not carry them.

Another thing I noticed was that, as the round continued, the young guys started hitting the ball farther. Mike would bomb his drive way past mine, but in the early holes I would outdrive the young kids by a good margin. By the last few holes though, they were hitting the ball as far or farther than me.  

I think as I got tired my distance started to suffer. 

All in all I think I’m re-evaluating my approach to the game. However, I still have a slight edge over my son in the scoring department. 

Here’s the thing: Life doesn’t always stay the same; things change. We can either accept those changes or resist them. Accept and embrace the changes that God brings into your life because He will walk with you through them.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What is the biggest change in you from 10 or 20 years ago? Leave your comments and questions below. 

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