So, it begins. Another golf season to occupy my weekends and test my patience. After a very wet and cold winter and spring, I kicked off the golf season with my friend and rival Jeff Gilles. The front nine was quite cold but the sun finally came out and brightened things up during the back nine.

Jennifer Riley, a former colleague, and an obvious product of some country club joined us. She didn’t score well today, but boy what I would give for her swing. My swing was a bit out of sync but I swung within myself and scored better than I played. I guess that is golf. Maybe that is life.

Have you ever noticed that when you try too hard, sometimes your goals seem to be getting farther away from you? I’ve had many instances in my life when wanting something too much has pushed me further back. It’s like swimming against an under toe. You can fight it or just go with the flow before cutting diagonally back toward the beach. Learning to let things come to you is an art.  That doesn’t mean goal-setting, planning, and hustling aren’t important ingredients to a successful life. Those build a critical framework for success. However, trying too hard, wanting too much even within that framework can be counter-productive.

That has been the issue with my golf game forever. If it is just pure desire that makes a good golfer, my game would have improved a long time ago. I over-exaggerated everything trying to improve every element of my game.I wasn’t playing within myself. Have you ever been around someone in a business environment who does things not within himself? Ackward.

The harder I tried, the less consistent I become. Now, as age and injuries are catching up to me, I’m finally letting the game come to me. Improvement. That’s life. That’s golf.