The Joy and the Hope in the Golf Journey...
I have long believed that golf is in many ways just like life. I still remember the week that one of my golf writing heroes, Sam Johnson, wrote about golf being nothing like life...I think he used the word preposterous to describe that thought. Obviously that hit me because I ended up calling him on the carpet back in 2010. While I realize that golf, on a professional (or entertainment) level may not be like anything we can relate to (the fame, money, talent, etc), I do believe the game itself provides us with many opportunities to make choices and deal with situations that may not always be fun. My friend Greg Grote (2Putt), made a great point that the decisions we make on the golf course may not have near the importance of issues and choices we have to make in "real life", and at times it might be fun to go for a low percentage shot because it won't be the end of the world if we miss it. So while the choices we make on the golf course may not have a critical impact on our lives, I truly believe that just making those observations on what is important and what isn't can come from our time on the course.
My hope is that anyone that steps on the golf course takes to heart that the foundation of the game is honesty, best effort, and an opportunity to build our character bank up.
My hope is that anyone that steps on the golf course takes to heart that the foundation of the game is honesty, best effort, and an opportunity to build our character bank up.
www.erikcompton.com Two time heart recipient Erik Compton has had quite the golf journey. At the age of 12, Erik learned the game of golf and had his first heart transplant. Six years later, in 1998, Erik was the Rolex Junior Golfer of the year and the #1 ranked junior player in the United States. Compton played college golf at the University of Georgia and turned pro in 2001. According to his web site, Erik played on the Nationwide and Canadian Tours through 2007, having a T2 finish on the Nationwide and 2 wins and an Order of Merit title on the Canadian Tour. Then in 2008 Erik's heart was failing again and was forced to have his 2nd heart transplant. After the surgery Erik first thought he'd never play professional golf again, but less than 6 months later he was playing in the PGA Tour Children's Miracle Network event at Walt Disney World, finishing 60th. His journey took some time, but in 2010 he made it to the final stage of Q-school which gave him status on the Nationwide Tour. From there he had enough success to earn PGA Tour status in 2012. With a 60th place finish in the FedEx Cup standings in 2013, we will be seeing Erik on Tour again, hoping he'll find is first PGA Tour win this season. I'm rooting for him!!
Every week in my inbox I get 4 daily devotionals from the Player's Devotional. I found this through reading about Ben Crane (and those crazy Golf Boys videos). Crane, along with many others associated with the PGA Tour and golf share in the scripture and thoughts. Many of the devotionals have given me pause for reflection and comfort in knowing that our challenges, our successes, and our journey is never meant to be experienced alone. I highly encourage you to sign up for the weekly devotional via email or stop by their website.
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