The Joy Of Christmas And The Joy Of Our Great Game

“My idea of Christmas, whether old-fashioned or modern, is very simple: loving others. Come to think of it, why do we have to wait for Christmas to do that?”

   – Bob Hope

On this Christmas Day, 2020, let’s begin by stating the obvious:  Those of us who have played, enjoyed and followed this wonderful game over the course of our lives, are truly blessed.

This is a day where we should take some time to reflect on the blessings in our lives.  Those blessings may include good health, wonderful families and long-time friends.

As I look back on six decades of Christmases, I also count this marvelous game as a blessing in my own life.

Golf is the game of a lifetime.  Started as a 13-year-old on the Marine Corps base at Quantico.  The game has taken me to places I never thought I would see and I’ve met people I never dreamed I would meet.

My Little League baseball career is a distant memory.  Same for my lacrosse days at East Carolina.  Ah, but golf goes on.

The past 58 years have been spent trying to get better at a game that is so very tough to master.  Gary Player once put it quite well:  “Laddie, golf is a puzzle to which there is no answer!”

Gary got it right.  And when you consider he’s one of the living players who have accomplished the career Grand Slam, well, it helps us understand the complexity of the game.

You might notice the picture above was taken in Scotland.  Scotland has become one of the loves in my life.  There’s noting quite like her and after two trips to the home of golf, I’ve become totally smitten by her.

I was blessed to write about the game for a metropolitan daily — The Tampa Tribune — during the Golden Age of the game, back in the 70s when the likes of Palmer, Player, Nicklaus, Trevino, Watson, Floyd and so many great players went at it on golf’s biggest stages.  Sadly, newspapers are disappearing from our landscape and golf writers are virtually extinct, at least the guys I learned from back in the day.  Dan Jenkins was my idol.  He was the best of us and he often acknowledged me when our path’s crossed at major championships.

But we digress.

When you read the quote at the beginning of this feature, we think Bob Hope absolutely nailed it.

Christmas has become so very commercialized.  When you look at the first six letters in Christmas, it tells us who is the reason for this season.  Christ brought love and hope to the earth and we could really use a good dose of both these days.

Love is a tough commodity these days.  The least we can do is do our part.  Reach out to your loved ones and make sure you tell them that you love them.  The words “I love you” can be the greatest elixir on earth.

So yes, today I’m giving thanks for a very blessed life.  I’m giving thanks for our great game of golf.  I’m giving thanks for all the wonderful people I’ve met that I wouldn’t have met had it not been for “our game.”

Golf is a game for everyone and you can play it for decades.

God bless each and every one of you who take the time to read DogLegNews.  In fact, God bless everyone, God bless America.

And most of all — Merry Christmas to all.