I remember 
when I first introduced my boys to golf – I honestly thought I may have been wasting my time. They were both into sports such as football, baseball, basketball and soccer…more active, team sports. But I was wrong. They both enjoyed it. And while I wouldn’t say either of them has developed a love for it, they certainly do like to get out and play if I ask them.
But yesterday I discovered, now that I’ve begun to suck them into this addictive sport, I can use it to my advantage. I can use golf as a weapon of sorts. I can leverage their enjoyment of the sport to get things done. How you ask? Well, they enjoy golf just enough for me to get them to accomplish things around the house so they can hit the links with me! Example:
I awoke yesterday morning to find that one of my boys was off to Six Flags with a friend of his. The other was up early, already with his face buried in a video game. But I had plans to end that. I asked him what he planned on doing for the day since the weather was so beautiful. He tells me, “I think I’m going shopping with mom,” to which I replied “Do you really want to do that?” He replied to me with a look of intrigue that he didn’t have anything else to do. So I said, “How about a little golf?” His response, “Yeah!”, confirmed that I had him right where I wanted him.
See, his bedroom was a disaster. He has this habit of hiding his dirty laundry anywhere that it will fit – under his bed, in his closet, behind his door…anywhere. That, along with anything else that doesn’t belong where he has it, was all over his room. So I put his want to play golf to my advantage. “You want to play golf, you have until I get out of the shower to have this room clean or we’re not going.” And you know what? It worked! I wish I started him playing golf sooner, because nothing seemed to work that well previously!
My point here is, I found another use for golf. Besides just being a form of entertainment for me, it’s also a tool to get my kids to get their chores done! So if you have kids, and you have yet to pass the game down to them, what are you waiting for? You could have a cleaner house, your kids could have cleaner rooms and it all works out to you spending time with them out on the golf course! It’s a win-win situation! Well, that is until they figure out that I’m going to take them anyway…
Swing ’til you’re happy!
