golf course

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It Can Deteriorate In No Time At All

It doesn’t take long for a manicured lawn to deteriorate and become unrecognizable. 

It can deteriorate in no time at all

The other day I watched the Master’s golf tournament on TV. It is one of the four major tournaments on the PGA tour each year. 

The Master’s is the only tournament that is played at the same course every year. It’s played at Augusta National in Augusta, Georgia. 

Normally the tournament is held in March, but this year, because of COVID, it was postponed to November.

Though the time of year was very different, the beauty of the course is unmatched. The course was lush green and the trees had all their leaves.

The course was manicured to such perfection that even someone who didn’t like golf would pause to let their eyes drink in the beauty of the scenery.  

But what if the greenskeeper and the grounds crew just walked away one day? What if they just stopped cutting the grass, trimming the trees, laying down new pine straw? 

How long would it take for that golf course to go from a picture of beauty to a forgotten field?

I ask that question because just this morning I drove by what was once a golf course but is now completely unrecognizable as one. 

Granted this golf course would never have been in any way on a similar scale as Augusta. This was a course that was played by those who didn’t really take the game of golf seriously. You might have played it if you were not a golfer and someone twisted your arm and begged you to play.

However, the grass was fertilized and cut regularly throughout each week. They used special mowers on the greens so that it was like a carpet. 

Yet, in the matter of four years, you can not tell by driving by the course that there was ever a golf course there. 

Four years and it is completely unrecognizable! 

I couldn’t find exact dates of when the Westbrook Golf Club closed for good, but I found comments about the course from August 2016. From those comments, I can’t imagine the course was still open the following year. 

I was stunned when I drove by, I couldn’t believe the property could deteriorate so quickly.

I strained to see if I could tell where some of the fairways had been. But there was nothing that gave even an outline of where they once had been.

I had only played there a couple of times over twenty years before, but a golfer doesn’t forget how a course is laid out. 

There was no longer any layout.

Seeing the lush growth of Augusta on TV the day before, it made me sad that it took only four short years for Westbrook to fall into such disrepair. 

All the work that goes into making a golf course, a park, a green space for people’s recreation will not last long without constant care and attention. 

Here’s the thing: When you put your faith in Christ, a transformation happens to your spiritual life. The Bible says it goes from being dead to alive. However, without constant nurture and care, it will not take long before your newly transformed spiritual life starts to deteriorate to the point that it’s unrecognizable anymore. Don’t let that happen. Nurture is a must. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What can you do to attend to your spiritual life? Leave your comments and questions below.

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How To Persevere 

Sometimes we are better when we have to persevere. You know, the struggle makes you focus more, work harder, come together or rise to the challenge.

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This week my son, two of his friends and I were in a golf tournament. It was a fundraiser for Youth Unlimited Kingston (Youth for Christ). This was the same foursome we entered the year before.

Last year we won the event (you can read that blog here), and this year the outcome was the same … but that wasn’t the only thing that was the same. The weather was brutal both years!

Last year it was cold and rainy; this year it wasn’t much better … though I do remember completely changing my entire ensemble after last year’s round, while this year I only changed my shirt.

The first year no one really knew what to expect from our team, but this year people were talking before things got going. I had the feeling that people saw us as the team to beat.

As one team was driving their cart past us on the way to their first tee, we heard the comment,  “You guys can’t win this year.”  To that one of the boys casually said, without looking up from his golf bag, “We probably will.” I just chuckled to myself at the confidence.

We knew people would be out to beat us, but the boys were gamers and wanted to repeat. I was more concerned that it would stop raining so that my clubs wouldn’t fly out of my hands when I swung at the ball.

But the rain didn’t want to go away. The clouds were dark and looming even when it wasn’t raining, and when it was it made playing golf as much fun as waking up this winter to my driveway full of snow for the fifth day in a row!

But there were highlights … one of the guys hit all three consecutive shots on one hole which gave us an eagle. Then on another, when three of us had missed the green on a par 3, the fourth stepped up and threw a dart at the pin, ending up 4 feet from the hole.

And that was the story of the round. When we needed a shot or a big hole to pick us up, someone provided something special to keep the momentum going.

In the end, we were a little disappointed; we had set a big goal and didn’t reach it. But we decided nine under par was all we could do and we just hoped that it would be enough or close to it.

Go figure, the weather caused everyone else to have the same struggles, and we won by 2 strokes. Now it’s off to Wooden Sticks for a $700 round of golf for four – our first prize winnings!

Here’s the thing: In life there are times when we have to persevere through things. It’s not easy to do it alone. Just like in our golf game when three of us blew a shot, and one of us came through with just the right touch, God is with you as you persevere through the game of life to provide the right touch when needed. Sometimes it won’t be until the last chance, but persevere. Turn to God and watch Him rise to the challenge.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How have you found God there with you when you have persevered? I’d really like to hear from you; you can leave a comment below.