Well, we are still here, albeit now allowed to go out to the course and drastically improve our putting as anything brushing within a foot of the the hole is obviously in (ahem). The weather has been ridiculously good this last few days, and it's been great to see so many people out enjoying the course. This week, Timaru, however, has made the global stage. Thanks to a mistake made when recording an answerphone message. A very simple mistake that any of us might have made, and one that has had social media in stitches. While it may have caused the person in question, and the local cinema owner a certain amount of embarrassment, it is a glitch that hasn't harmed anyone and has improved the mood of literally millions across the globe. It brought to mind a time when I was unfortunate enough to be sitting next to a Sales Manager at a company do (bear with me) who liked to pose everyone he met, the same question: "What would you do if you knew you wouldn't fail?" Clearly, the guy is not a golfer. Obviously I got the premise, the idea is that it is only our fears that stop us achieving our dreams, however, I couldn't help thinking that this was a complete load of rubbish for a number of reasons: Firstly, our dreams might be unattainable - for example, I would love to go into space (and ideally, return), but I don't have the eyesight to be a pilot for a start (I checked), or the intellect/millions of dollars worth of training to be an astronaut; and as I am not a billionaire with the resources to fund my own personal bit of orbit-skimming, it seems extremely unlikely to ever actually happen. Secondly, most of us will never have the the necessary skills/attitude or even the luck to achieve our dreams - despite the really quite ridiculous amount of time I spend on a golf course, how much I have spent on clubs, lessons etcetera, I have come to terms with the fact that I am never going to play in the Ryder Cup (unless they are really, REALLY, short of players), nor am I ever going to terrorise the Aussie batsmen at the Gabba in the Ashes (an absolute certainty when I was a teenager) Thirdly, while the younger generations have all been sold a dream that with minimal effort, they will get whatever their heart desires - they are the "Now Generation", wanting everything instantly (and I see this at work a lot, when first time house buyers want the same house that their parent have without realising all of the arduous steps, the hard work, their parents had to go through to get there). The reality is that, if you look at the numbers, you soon work out that it is only the smallest percentage of a percent who do become famous/top sports people/billionaires/pop stars, take your pick. And that leads me to my final point, and this is the biggie in my mind, as golfers we all appreciate that failure is a part of everyday life and if you ever read any biographies, without exception, everyone who has achieved something HAS FAILED ALONG THE WAY! Failures/Mistakes are the lessons life provides to help us on our way, and we Floggers (& golf really does feel like that sometimes) make plenty of mistakes every time we pick up our golf bag - frankly, picking it up can feel like the first mistake on some days. No, the trick to my mind, is to learn from our mistakes, and not to be afraid of making them. The idea that we can achieve anything without failing takes away the very real sense pride of that very real achievement. Suffice to say, I didn't think much of that particular Manager So, to the poor lad who has made the top of the global giggle chart, I'd say don't feel too bad about it, and to his boss I would say, let him have another go, because you can guarantee that he won't make the same error again! Stay safe stay kind, and fingers crossed we will start to return to some sense of normality this week or as soon as possible Steve |