Just did an intake of a new resident. Literally here with nothing but the clothes on his back. Very nervous.
It's not that much different from the first tee. Players feel pretty exposed and naked as they stand there. Anxious. Some downright fearful.
But in both cases there is also excitement.
Here and there, words of encouragement abound. After all, there is so much hope and opportunity ahead as one next shot after another is taken. We focus joyfully on what is ahead, not lamenting the past.
Golf mirrors life. Life mirrors golf.
I finally made it up to see Highland Links, the 1939 Stanley Thompson design near the northeastern tip of Nova Scotia, and even with high expectations, the natural beauty of this place surprised me.
Thompson’s masterpiece takes golfers on a dramatic tour of the rocky shores, river valleys and mountain cliffs of Cape Breton Highlands National Park. The scenery is off the charts, and each hole offers its own beauty and challenge.
Highland Links has been called Canada’s Cypress Point, but I feel like that does the course a bit of a disservice - the similarities are few and far between, and the differences in the way the courses look and play are substantial. Thompson called this his “mountains and ocean course,” which I liked and found more appropriate. In truth though, Highland Links is not easily comparable to any other course - such is the uniqueness of this course and setting. 🇨🇦
They removed CD/DVD drives from devices.
They made physical media tougher to find and use.
They ditched the expandable storage in phones.
They steered us into streaming subscriptions.
They made always-online the norm.
They turned unlimited internet into a necessity.
Then, they slowly upped the price on everything.
Ownership quietly became renting.
The last couple loops have had some intense fellas. Had something to say after every shot. Vibe was negative. The other caddie got worked over pretty good on one of the loops. Hard to watch.
Today I had the exact opposite kind of loop. One guy said, "I'm just gonna try to hit it where you tell me to hit it." I was relaxed. He was relaxed. 77 on the card!
But the moment that really sticks out is when one of the guys was in a bunker. His wedge literally snapped on his shot.
There was no big reaction. No woe is me. No anger. He simply went to his bag, got a different wedge, stepped back into the bunker and hit a really good shot.
He was playing Whistling Straits with his buddies on a gorgeous weather day. Why let something ruin it? He certainly didn't!
It was a great day!
It won’t end when he expires. It won’t. It may be even MORE dangerous then. However, to never have to see that prick talk again…will be like water to a dehydrated man in the desert.
I love when album covers do this. You know, there’s a debate about sound quality and listening experience across the formats. But for artwork, you can’t beat an LP. A big part of why I enjoy collecting records is down to the artwork, and wee touches like this are class.
Here is the cycle in golf:
I am struggling out there.
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I am playing better than I am scoring.
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I am playing great.
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I am scoring better than I am playing.
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I am struggling out there.
As you get better in golf this never goes away you only get better at navigating and understanding it.
In case you forgot, we live on a planet where lightning turns sand into glass, dolphins give each other names, the ocean glows in the dark, and rain has a scent before it falls. You stand here with a beating heart, a steady moon above, and a world quietly, absurdly beautiful.