Swing Thoughts

00:08 - Speaker 1 Hey there, this is Dick Foth with Stories from the Road. Guess what? It's summertime, it's the middle of summer, school is out, we are out and about, and oftentimes in the summer, sporting leads a charge, whether it's road tripping or hiking, or biking, swimming I mean name the sport. And of course, then there's the greatest of all challenge for a few folks who are a little off center, if I have to, if I could put it that way, people who like to golf or try to golf, like me, like to golf or try to golf like me. That's the sport that can make you shout for joy at one moment and shriek with madness on the next. 00:50 So on this summer day, I'm out with a friend putting between holes on a nine hole golf course and we have some swing thoughts. Here you go. It is a pretty warm morning, north Fort Collins, colorado, the sky is blue, a few puffy clouds and I happen to be a cool place called a golf course. I'm here with my friend Steve Harris, a cool guy, how are you? I'm here with my friend Steve Harris, a cool guy, how are you? I'm cool, you are cool, and you're actually a golfer and I'm a hacker. But before we start the engine. Well, you can go ahead and start the engine. Go ahead. Okay, here we go. Let's do a drive-in First gear. I want to know give me two reasons that you like golf two reasons that you like golf. 01:46 - Speaker 2 You know, dick, when we first moved to Fort Collins, sherry was really struggling with her health, with her MS Right, and she said, steve, you need to get out and do something for you. And so I started playing golf and it was very therapeutic to me. How many years ago oh boy, it's been about 30 years ago where I really started playing and she said you need this for your mental health, okay. 02:06 - Speaker 1 So, golfers, therapy, what else? 02:08 - Speaker 2 well, it's, it's social to me, like we're doing today with three, three friends. It's just a wonderful social activity of community. 02:16 - Speaker 1 I love it okay so when you think about golf, steve and lessons like, it's a metaphor for what you know, wow. 02:33 - Speaker 2 Any thoughts? Discipline it's a very structured discipline, you know, hanging in there no matter what, no matter how bad the shot is, don't give up. 02:45 - Speaker 1 That's interesting. Yeah, Cause I like giving up when I play golf. Well, something's wrong. I say, let's let somebody else find that. Find that ball. Yeah. 02:57 - Speaker 2 I think, I think too many times, too many times. We just want to give give up and uh and quit and just be persistent. 03:06 - Speaker 1 So discipline is one takeaway. That it's structured, you've got to stay with it, persevere, so forth. What else? 03:15 - Speaker 2 Go slow. Sometimes we rush our swing, we rush the game and just slow down. Sometimes in life we're just in such a big rush we don't take time to smell the roses, dick. 03:27 - Speaker 1 See, I don't know any other sport that is so counterintuitive, because almost every other sport you're thinking attack, break, go for it, kill it. And I tell people that's my swing thought kill that sucker. And it never works, it just doesn't work. No, so go slow, go slow In life, everything. So we have two lessons. Well, that's my swing thought kill that sucker. And it never works, it just doesn't work. No, so so go slow, go slow in life, everything. So we have two lessons discipline, which means perseverance, among other things. Slow. What's another one? Wow, wow, wow, wow. I don't know what that one means did, we did, we talk about patience yeah, we did, we did. 04:08 No, no, we didn't. 04:09 - Speaker 2 You go ahead. Yeah, patience, patience with yourself and patience with other people that you're with, and just the whole process of staying patient. 04:21 - Speaker 1 In this sport, you're competing with the course, you're playing the course Right. You're competing with yourself and the five and a half inches between your ears, uh-huh. You're competing sometimes with the weather, with the wind or the rain or the heat or whatever. And then, lastly, you might be competing with somebody else. That's right, but it's a good kind of competition all the way around. 04:45 - Speaker 2 Exactly, exactly Helps fine-tune you right, exactly, exactly, helps fine-tune you right, exactly, fine-tune you in the area of patience and yeah. 04:53 - Speaker 1 What if I don't want that? Well, I should shoot hoops, right, I would take a pickleball. So when you swing a golf club, steve, talk to me about rhythm. 05:06 - Speaker 2 You know, years ago when we were on staff at a church in Pueblo, an old guy in the church he was tremendous golfer, very consistent. He said, steve, think word rhythms. And he gave me this word smooth backswing, smooth swing, smooth swing, just a word rhythm like that instead of smooth swing that's like. 05:25 - Speaker 1 that's like, what's that? Karate kick, yeah, kid, kid off to the left, swiping the wax or whatever. Wax on, wax off. Okay, so what do you think about the fact that if you play 18 holes of golf, which takes a year and a half, but it isn't as bad as cricket, that's right. Let's just say, what do you think when you think 18? 05:50 - Speaker 2 holes. Sometimes I start thinking nap oh, okay, yeah nap. 05:55 - Speaker 1 How about 18 chances? See, I like it because I get 18 chances to start over. 06:01 - Speaker 2 You get 18 chances to do it. That's right. Yeah, sometimes nine holes, I go, man, I wish I had nine more. There you go. 06:09 - Speaker 1 We finished nine holes and you did well, steve. Well, thank you, dick, and I did beautifully on that one hole, but next time I'm going to do it. No, I saw three holes. Well, okay, all right, so I'm paying for your round the next time when we go. I've liked you all along. So, as a takeaway, one wrap-up thought here in terms of being on the course, what comes to mind? 06:35 - Speaker 2 I think again the community. I enjoy getting three guys together to play. I love going out as a single. I am not intimidated by that. I like meeting with, just going out as a single and teaming up with two or three guys, and until they ask me, what do you do for a living? And then you've got to tell them Does that shut down? 06:55 - Speaker 1 the conversation. Sometimes they quit cussing. Well, there's that. Do you still hit the ball straight, even though they found out you were? 07:05 - Speaker 2 discovered. Yeah, it kind of rattles my cage a little bit, but I always wait for that question to happen. But I love teaming up and meeting new people. 07:13 - Speaker 1 And their comment probably is well, that's what I always thought pastors did golf four days a week, yeah, you just work Sunday. Okay, I'm leaving now, stevie. 07:22 - Speaker 2 Thank you, dick, it's been a great day. Buddy, bye-bye, buddy bye-bye. 07:32 - Speaker 1 Well, as we wrap this brief podcast up today, uh, I want to wrap it this way. You know, I've I've heard hundreds of golf jokes on the golf course and I've heard fun stories and crazy stories about golf. But here's one you may not have heard before. When I went to Washington DC when Ruth and I went, I was 51 years old, had never picked up a golf club, never really thought about it, and through a series of moments I was encouraged to do that. And the person who helped sort of get me into it was a fellow named Doug, and he had a wonderful way of sharing his life and sharing his faith with guys that he played golf with. He would play golf with people of all ages, of all ranks in life, but because he was in Washington DC, a lot of times it was government leaders or business leaders or international friends, and it wouldn't be unusual that he might, on one hole, as they're coming down the fairway, say you want to place a little bet on who's closest to the pin on the green when we hit this next shot? And you know, guys who play golf well, would take that right, and oftentimes I guess guys do that where they win five bucks or whatever it is. But he said so here's the deal If you, fred, his friend, if you get closest to the pin, I will buy you the best dinner in this town. You pick the restaurant, I will pay for everything. And Fred would say so what do I pay if you win? He said well, you don't have to pay anything. 09:07 But there's some ancient writing, just a sentence or so, that I'd ask you to memorize. That's it. Well, I can do that. Well, 75% of the time, I'm guessing Doug would be closest to the pin and then he'd share with them the ancient writing, which would be something like this One of them might be you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Or I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies. So you have these guys who would never think a religious thought like that, who would never set about to memorize something like that, who end up memorizing that and it gets embedded in their brain and, who knows, might get embedded in their heart. I think if you're going to be a betting person, that's not a bad trade-off right there. So well, that's all we have for today, god bless. Have a great week, thanks for subscribing and we'll catch you next time. Bye-bye you.