Laughter is the Best Medicine

Generally speaking, I was a very talented player in my teenage years.  I remember playing in a junior tournament at Harley's Golf Course in Union Lake, Michigan and having one of the adults who watched us tee off on the first hole remark, "That is the most beautiful swing I've ever seen.  Don't change a thing about your swing."  All that being said, I never played particularly well in competition.  That is probably what drew me to studying Psychology in the first place.  When no one else was around I played the game beautifully and easily.  When other people were around and there was a "championship" on the line, I got nervous and crumbled under the pressure.

However, I do recall very clearly one tournament that was very different.

I had a friend in my home town who played on a rival school's team.  He was not what you would call your average golfer type.  He dressed in worn, dirty clothes.  His family had cars they were working on as projects in his driveway and his personality was a little bit different than most of the guys we competed against in high school.  He was....more laid back and more rough around the edges.

It just so happened that I got paired with this friend of mine in a regional tournament at Pontiac Country Club.  I think it was called the Waterford Open or something like that.  From the first tee box he got me laughing about one thing or another.  His mannerisms and style on the course just flipped the switch in my normally serious tone on the course.  We laughed and laughed the whole way around.  He also complimented my game and gave me support all the way around.

Almost without even noticing it, I had played the best round of golf I had played in a long time and won the tournament that day.

The funny thing about it was that it was easy.

I had gotten used to playing the game in a nerve-wracking, serious way and this was completely different.  I laughed so much that I really didn't care all that much about the outcome, the laughter was the outcome I was seeking.  That good feeling that comes with being relaxed, supported and in connection.

When I look back, my favorite golf memories are always associated with laughter.  It is about friends taking a walk in the park and enjoying each others company while they smack a little white ball around a field and try to get it into a small hole.  It's ridiculous and wonderful at the same time.