There is something incredibly humbling about learning to golf.
You can hit one shot and briefly convince yourself you’ve finally figured it out.
Then you walk ten feet to your ball and completely forget how golf works.
As someone who’s still learning, I’ve discovered that golf teaches you a lot more than how to swing a club.
Here are five things being a beginner has taught me.
1. You’re Allowed to Be Bad at Something
This sounds obvious.
It’s surprisingly difficult in practice.
As adults, we naturally gravitate toward things we’re already reasonably good at.
Starting something new means willingly being inexperienced again.
Golf has forced me to become comfortable with that.
2. One Great Shot Can Keep You Coming Back
Golfers will understand this.
You can have a questionable round, hit one beautiful shot and suddenly think:
“Okay. Maybe I CAN do this.”
That little bit of progress is addictive.
3. Stop Comparing Your Beginning to Someone Else’s Middle
When you’re surrounded by people who have played for years, it’s easy to feel like you should be better.
But they were beginners once too.
My goal isn’t to play like someone who’s been golfing for 20 years.
It’s to play a little better than I did before.
4. Enjoy Where You Are
Golf courses can be ridiculously beautiful.
And sometimes I’m so focused on the next shot that I forget to actually look around.
It’s a pretty good metaphor for life.
We’re constantly thinking about what’s next.
The next goal.
The next accomplishment.
The next thing we need to fix.
Sometimes you need to look around and realize you’re already somewhere pretty great.
5. Keep Showing Up
Some days you feel like you’re improving.
Other days?
Not so much.
But improvement isn’t always obvious while it’s happening.
So I’m going to keep taking the lessons.
Keep playing.
Keep learning.
And probably keep losing the occasional golf ball.
That’s part of the quest.
— Vee
Life Quest with Vee