That's my favorite foursome. The cute one is my caddy.
We are headed to Scotland today, the birthplace of modern golf. As one who loves golfing and watching golf, it’s really too bad we can’t make it to St. Andrews.
The modern game originated in Scotland, where the first written record of golf is James II's banning of the game in 1457, as an unwelcome distraction to learning archery. James IV lifted the ban in 1502 when he became a golfer himself, with golf clubs first recorded in 1503-1504: "For golf clubbes and balles to the King that he playit with". To many golfers, the Old Course at St Andrews, a links course dating to before 1574, is considered to be a site of pilgrimage. In 1764, the standard 18-hole golf course was created at St Andrews when members modified the course from 22 to 18 holes. The world's oldest golf tournament in existence, and golf's first major, is The Open Championship, which was first played on 17 October 1860 at Prestwick Golf Club, in Ayrshire, Scotland.
There are lots of great movies about golf too. A recent one is Tommy’s Honour, the true story of a father and son who were very much integral into the story of the British Open and our current game of golf. You will love it, even if you don’t golf.
While I love the competition and sport of golf, that’s not what I love about it most. For me golf is social, it’s about time with friends, and family. I abhor the thought of golfing by myself, but I can’t wait for that perfect foursome with my three sons, or some of my best buddies.
Jordan Spieth won the British Open in July. He did not complete the career Grand Slam at the PGA Championship in July, but his good friend Justin Thomas did. They celebrated together again.
Many of us in Northwest Iowa are Spieth fans, partially because his caddy is Michael Greller. Michael’s parents are some of the amazing people I got to work with at Northwestern College. I have no doubt that Michael, and Jordan will represent their
family and their faith well in such a public arena.
The Spieth-Thomas back-to-back majors is reminiscent of the Open-Open trade-off achieved in 1996 by Steve Jones and Tom Lehman. The two brothers in Christ had encouraged each other with Scripture verses as they competed against one another. Tom Lehman is a Minnesota native and we have this quote from him on our wall. “Listen to what God can say to you through the game of golf.”
You can learn a lot through golf; things like honesty, etiquette, sportsmanship, humility, etc. Sorry, I’m droning on about golf, and many of you probably don’t have any interest in golf. You do however, need friends and ways to build your bond with family. For me one way is golf. I hope you can find your course to deeper bonds with friends and family.
The Bible does not talk about golf, but here are a few verses I think certainly seem to fit what golf does for me.
Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.
Proverbs 22:6
Teach a child how to follow the right way; even when he is old, he will stay on course.
Proverbs 27:17
In the same way that iron sharpens iron, a person sharpens the character of his friend.