Golf Wisdom

Growing up, I was not particularly athletic.  I played some intramural sports in grade school and junior high but lost interest by the time I reached high school.  For years I’ve described myself as a fair-weather sports fan.  Unlike many of my peers, I have at best only a casual interest in sports.

That changed however as I became acquainted with the game of golf.  While I had played golf a few times in my teens, I didn’t develop an interest in the game until the mid-1980s when I found myself in the financial services industry working in an office where most of my colleagues played golf and were members of local country clubs.

Once I realized that most of my associates spent Wednesday afternoons on the golf course entertaining clients over lunch, golf, drinks and dinner, it didn’t take me long to become enamored with the concept of combining golf with my own business activities.

However, the icing on the cake came in the early 1990s when I realized that golf was something that my teenage son and I could enjoy together.  As a result, over the years we’ve developed a wonderful relationship forged by countless rounds of golf.

We’ve play some of the greatest golf courses in the world with family and friends and have life-long memories of time spent on Ireland’s Doonbeg, Lahinch and Tralee; Pebble Beach, Oakmont Firestone and the TPC at Sawgrass to mention just a few of the venues we’ve been fortunate enough to play.

Even though my handicap continues to increase as the years pass, my love of the game hasn’t diminished.  You see I learned early on that for me, golf is about building relationships…and if I play well, it’s a bonus!

I was reminded of this when a friend sent me a transcript of a speech that golf sportswriter George Peper gave at Yeaman Hall’s Invitational Tournament in May of this year.  I was particularly struck by his observations about the role that golf has played in our culture over the past century.  The link to his speech follows.  I hope you enjoy it.

Listen to the speech here