"Golf has probably kept more people sane than Psychiatrists have"

A large number of my family were/are golfers. My Grandfather, who lived in Scotland, played every day. It helped that he lived across the street from a golf course in Glasgow. He also played regularly with his friends at the famous "Old Course" in St. Andrews. My Mother learned to play from my Grandfather and she was a very competent golfer. She scored two holes in one over the years, one of them with her 2 iron! She would constantly tell me to take up the sport. "You will be a natural" look at the rest of the family and she would list off all the names of cousins who were club champions and junior club champions and remind me how great my Father was at any sport he took up. Being a teenager means not always listening to your parents. I wanted to do my own thing and it involved equestrian, not golf. When we would go to Scotland in the summers to visit my Grandparents my Mother would always suggest that I go with my Grandfather to the golf course and my Grandfather would happily take me with him and let me practice putting on the practice greens as he stressed the importance of a good short game. Looking back I should have listened to my Mother and Grandfather as we would have been able to play together during my teens and 20's. We would have had quite a few years to spend playing golf together.

My foray back on to the golf course occurred last July when I was roped into playing for a corporate event with colleagues from work. The event was at the very swank Eagles Nest Golf Course. Both my Grandfather and my Mother must have been looking down from above that day and just shaking their heads whispering "with that swing! maybe she is adopted". Now, granted Eagles Nest is not a beginners course but I was simply awful! Something had to be done! I had to become better at this game (wee scunner can be quite competitive) So,I decided to sign up for lessons. When I mentioned to two of my girlfriends that I was planning on taking lessons they were both extremely interested and mentioned that they have always wanted to learn how to play but were afraid to go alone. For the past year we meet each Sunday at 10am for our hour lesson with Paul, the Golf Pro. And after our first 18 hole game together last Friday we are hooked! We are looking forward to many years of golf together to keep us active and young.

Although it can be frustrating when you are not having a good game I still find it a great stress reliever from the day to day craziness of my life. During those 2 or 3 hours on the course I find peacefulness and tranquility with no cell phones, no traffic, no horrible reminders of the tragedies that are ongoing in this world. I don't have to think about anything other than focusing on making myself a better player and enjoying the pastoral scenes all around me.

To quote essayist Robert Lynd: It is almost impossible to remember how tragic a place this world is when one is playing golf.