On Golf and Fear

Okay, so I did the WW post and honestly....it was kinda a bust.  I posted on three different boards and got one response.  And I realized that it's not the posting that scared me.  It's the sheer size of the community that is daunting.  There must be several hundred boards on the WW site.  And some people (many people) have posted 20,000+ times.  No lie.  That's dedication.  But it's not my thing.

Now to my next fear:  a little white ball that you put in a cup with a stick.  Sounds easy, right?  OMG!  How can such a ridiculous game have such a hold on me?  GOLF.  Okay, I know what part of it is.  Take a look at where I spend as many mornings as I possibly can:

 This is the twelfth fairway at Deep Cliff Golf Course, and, yes, that is a deer ignoring me with all the confidence that I will never hit it.   The picture below is the signature hole, #2.  That cliff is truly breathtaking and is going to be featured in one of my upcoming books.

I golf by myself frequently.  There is a mountain lion that frequents the golf course, although I must say I've never seen him.  I did see a coyote once and lots of egrets and ducks and geese and deer, always.  But the wildlife never scares me.  I always feel safe and content with the forest.  It's my golf game that scares me. 

Today, my putting was good.  My long shots were pretty decent too.  But my pitching was awful. The twenty yard shots.  I'd either end up two inches short of the green or lob a long one ten yards on the other side.  But that is how golf works, I am told.  Is it the golf gods?  Like some days, the driving gods are with you and the chipping gods are not.  Some days the Great Guru of Putts cannot be bothered to push your ball "just one half turn more"?
Or is it that just as you approached the hole the earth hiccupped just enough to stop your ball one inch short? 

There is a lot to consider in golf.  The kind of grass.  How wet it is?  Is the air heavy with moisture or is the humidity low?  Is the wind in your face or at your back or any one of 360 degrees of direction it could be blowing.  Is the green uphill or downhill?  Does it slope left to right or right to left or not at all?  Did someone leave a divot?  Did a ground squirrel dig a hole?  Does a bee land in the line of your putt just after you released?  Did you hit the cart sign?  The OOB stake?   Did the tree jump out and eat your ball?  Or was it the seductive call of the water that swallowed your ball. 

Why do we love golf so much? The pros love it because they make a lot money.  Okay, I never talked to one and they probably love it for other reasons too.  But I am reasonably certain that I am never going to win the FedEx cup in this lifetime, anyway.  I am fairly certain that my husband is going to continue to beat me most of the time (and let me know about it, too).  Reasonably certain that I am not going to win the annual championship at my Thursday Ladies Golf Club.

But out there by myself, with just those deer and the sunrise, with the sound of the birds and the feel of my putter in my hand, I feel all's right with the world.  And I am NOT afraid of a little white ball.