Al S. Mendoza
All Write
A FUN golf tournament usually consists of one round, or 18 holes.
But one round of golf ordinarily takes four to five hours to complete. That’s because you need to play 18 holes to form a round.
Four hours is quite long, especially when you think in terms of concentration.
Few people have the knack for total focus.
Smokers have low tolerance levels. They can’t last four hours without a puff.
Many drinkers, too, are like that. They hate golf because it keeps them away too long from their drink. That’s why it’s not uncommon to see one drinking beer at the halfway tee house.
Still, most smokers can maintain their focus in golf.
But not many drinkers.
And the reason is obvious: A ciggie can help one keep still but not a drink. A puff steadies, a drink dizzies.
Golf demands that we keep still, that we stay focused through 18 holes, up to the last putt.
Let the gulp wait while our golf is on.
One minor flaw in a golf swing could be fatal, leading to a disastrous round of golf.
One loss of focus could result in a flawed stroke.
And one flawed stroke could bloat your score in just one hole.
Unlike basketball and other ball games, or even practical shooting, golf requires us to score less in order to win.
Less strokes, more chances of winning.
I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again: Golf is one of the most difficult games ever invented – if not the most difficult.
You score a birdie in the first hole, you stumble into a double bogey in the next.
Rarely can you repeat a good shot in golf.
For example, Tiger Woods, the world’s No. 1 (separate his womanizing from his golf talent, please), scores a hole-in-one, OK?
Now, I bet you, he won’t repeat that feat right after the fact even with 100 balls at his disposal.
He himself would not wager 10k from his pocket against your million dollar bucks.
Reason: He knows he can’t xerox it.
Only God can make a hole-in-one and God has never been a showboat.
He answers a prayer only but once.
When He’s going to answer mine, I have no idea.
The only thing I know is, He loves to work in mysterious ways.
You need no total focus to decode that.
(alsol47@yahoo.com)