The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork…. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. (Psalm 19:1-4, ESV)
Ask the uninitiated about the game of golf, and they might say, “Golf is a quiet sport.” In some respects, that’s true. Even the casual fan knows that when a player is over a putt, the crowd should remain quiet. Commentators frequently whisper out of respect for a player’s need to concentrate. Caddies on various tours are constantly “shushing the crowds” so their player can hit. Certainly, if we compare it to other sports, like basketball and football, golf is a “quiet sport.”
There is, however, another side to this story. Golf can be a noisy sport too. Think of the roars you’ve heard at The Masters through the years, especially the ones on a Sunday afternoon. Is there anything more electrifying than those roars?
No one is going to argue that the patrons on these “hallowed grounds” are irreverent for cheering. Those roars communicate. We immediately know that someone has birdied or eagled thirteen and/or fifteen by those roars. We might hazard a guess as to who is charging, but we know someone is going low. Those roars, properly understood, are praise for excellent execution under intense pressure.
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Whether it’s choppy waves of the Atlantic lapping the seashore at Kiawah or the mighty waves of the Pacific bashing against the rocks of Pebble Beach, to those with “ears to hear,” golf expresses transcendent sounds echoed from heaven to earth.
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Golf is a noisy sport for other reasons as well. The sound of a putt falling into the cup must be one of the most beautiful sounds in all the world. It is not loud, but it is magical. You’ll know what I’m talking about if you ever heard Hogan hit a persimmon driver. Think of those times when you heard someone compress a five iron. For the avid golfer, there is simply no more wonderful “noise.”
Of course, some sounds are entirely unpleasant too. Hearing your tee shot ricochet inside a thick stand of pine trees sends an ominous message back to your forlorn soul. Overall, though, the various sounds of golf are considered “music to our ears.” Whether it’s choppy waves of the Atlantic lapping the seashore at Kiawah or the mighty waves of the Pacific bashing against the rocks of Pebble Beach, to those with “ears to hear,” golf expresses transcendent sounds echoed from heaven to earth.
Of all the sounds heard on a golf course, none is more significant than the voice of the One calling the golfer to Himself. According to the Psalmist, God’s voice is heard everywhere. Creation is stamped with His signature. This is not to say these signs can’t be ignored.
Also, this is not to suggest you should hear an audible voice like the one Ray Kinsella (played by Kevin Costner) heard in the movie Field of Dreams; rather, it is to remind each of us that the omnipresent God always communicates through His creation in myriad ways.
Those who live entirely on the horizontal plane of natural phenomena miss God’s “still small voice.” What and how he communicates through his creation to his creatures can be very different, depending on where a person is in the journey of life.
The famous hymn, This Is My Father’s World, perhaps, captures it best:
This is my Father’s world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres
This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.
Scripture clarifies the message of creation. In God’s Word, the Spirit tells us that his mercy, forgiveness, and redeeming grace are on offer to all those who repent and believe in his Son—Jesus Christ.
Prayer – Father, speak so loudly, so clearly, so unrelentingly that those who have yet to surrender will bow their knee this very day.