Finding peace on the green

When I was a child I spent many, many days and evenings on the golf course doing cartwheels, being shushed and trying to stay out of the lie of the ball. I spent time begging to putt or to play a hole, then it was time to beg to drive the cart. What I would have given for an iPod or a GameBoy. Alas, I’m older than both of those inventions. 
 

In my house, we watched golf on TV, we bought my dad golf balls and tees for every major gift giving holiday. It was easy and he appreciated them (hey, it wasn’t a tie). 

Then I went to college and I didn’t golf. Maybe once a year or once every two years, I’d play a round with my dad at whatever course his was frequenting. 

I got married, and I didn’t have time or money for golf, so I didn’t play. A few buckets of balls at driving ranges, a round with a friend’s husband and a women’s league I made it to once were the only golf contact I had for 10 years. 

This past Monday, I stepped foot on a golf course. It was evening and the sun was starting to sink in the sky. The air was warm with a nice breeze to keep the bugs down. The greens were clipped, the fairways were beckoning and the flags were calling to us to come play. I took my first deep breath in what seems like forever and felt the tension and anxiety melt off. 

There is a muffled quiet on a golf course. The greens suck up the noise pollution and all that is left is you, the club and the ball. 

I wasn’t there with my father this time. I was there with my son. He was excited to learn about the game of golf and there was a learn-to-golf class happening that we could take together. Of course, I have played, but this was a chance to bond and get out of the office for an hour or two each week. I was happy to be there and we left excited about golfing again next week. I can see many future golf matches happening over the next few years. My career on the LPGA is not solidified yet, but there is hope, right?

To my parents - all those times I groaned about going to play golf with you, my grandparents and your friends, when I cursed about getting stuck as far away from the clubhouse as possible during a thunder and lightning storm without a cart, and when I spoke too loudly when someone was teeing off, it was worth all the aggravation then to know now there is a place that feels like home.