What the hell does this mean? Well the more I play, or should I say “suck at” golf, the more I realize that this game requires a multitude of athletic skills, with each skill drawing from a different sport. I believe the worse you are at golf the more you develop as an all around athlete.

How is this so? Let me explain. You see, besides the swinging of the clubs, golf offers us many opportunities to engage in other sports. For example, let’s take track and field, more specifically – the hammer throw. You can probably see where this is going. The hammer throw is pretty much launching the hammer* as far as possible. Just like when you screw up that 50 yard chip onto the green after smashing a 300+ yard drive – you launch your club as far as the eye can see.

Let’s look at another sport – soccer. When your ball is stuck behind an obstacle impeding on your next shot what do you do? Some of us hacks find ourselves summoning the fancy footwork of soccer great, Pele. Don’t give me that “Well, I chip out to the fairway” crap! You use the ol’ toe iron and get on with it. GOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAL!

All joking aside, golf season is just about in full swing across the country. Let’s enjoy the fact that we can get out there and play! This week has been pretty crazy and made me stop and think about what how lucky I am to have the opportunity to golf.

Hit’em long…yell FORE!!

* hammer throw is an athletic throwing event where the object is to throw a heavy metal ball attached to a wire and handle. The name “hammer throw” is derived from older competitions where an actual sledge hammer was thrown. Such competitions are still part of the Scottish Highland Games, where the implement used is a steel or lead weight at the end of a cane handle.