You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. (Hebrews 10:36, NIV)
People who play golf have one simple goal: get the ball in the hole quickly with as little pain and as much joy as possible.
Golf course architects anticipate the hopes and dreams of the player standing on the first tee of the course they will build. In fact, they keep that player in mind on every drive, every approach, and every putt.
Those designers have a dilemma. They don’t want the course too easy, for that would rob you of the sense of accomplishment you get with well-played shots. They don’t want to make it too hard, because that might turn you away from the game, or at least that course.
Alister MacKenzie (Augusta National) said his goal was to make every hole an easy bogey and a difficult par. A MacKenzie-designed hole can be played safely for bogey, but it takes some risk to get the reward of a par.
Donald Ross (Pinehurst No. 2) said, “An ideal golf course is a test for both the expert and the everyday player. It is my goal to bring out of the player the best golf they have in them. Golf should be a pleasure, not a penance.”
Many of us have figured out that life is a difficult par and an easy bogey, and we are playing the course to make bogey. That is no way to play.Pete Dye, one of today’s most famous architects, said, “The ardent golfer would play Mount Everest if somebody would put a flag stick on top—golf is not a fair game, so why build a fair golf course?” Ouch!
At French Lick Springs in Indiana there is a Ross course and a Dye course. The quotes above are from signs at those courses, and you feel the words when you play them. Both are great fun in their own way.
But what kind of course designer is God? What is his philosophy? And how do we respond?
I believe the line from Ross hits closest: “…to bring out of the player the best golf they have in them.” I think God wants to do that with us. He wants the best we have in us, though too often we’ve complained that God has laid out the course of our life like Pete Dye and made it “unfair.”
The bigger problem is that many of us have figured out that life is a difficult par and an easy bogey, and we are playing the course to make bogey. That, my friend, is no way to play.
Neither Pete Dye nor God wants you to fail. OK, maybe Dye does a little, but God doesn’t. All great architects, including God, want your best. Don’t settle for bogey. Put in the work, take the risk, persevere, focus on the promise, and play for par every day.
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Lewis Greer
September 11, 2019
Copyright 2019 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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