There are few things in life more maddening, more anger-inducing, more cause for a string of under-your-breath obscenities than flubbing a second shot after a beautiful drive off the tee on a par 3.

Golf, as they say, is just another four letter word.

But this sport, unlike any other, is something that you can do for your entire life. My grandfather played golf literally until the day he died, which was after a heart attack somewhere on the back 9 of the course that they played at regularly.

Golf was supposedly invented by shepherds hitting stones through the countryside while herding their flocks through the seasons. Don’t know if this is true, but I don’t care, because it’s romantic enough to be considered truth. That, and it was on Wikipedia, so it HAS to be true.

But I digress, there’s a point to all this golf talk.

For me, I’m not a very introspective guy. I’m not self-reflective, I don’t sit around thinking about why I do things or why I am a certain way I just am. But I’m also not a mindless person either. I can put two and two together.

So it was mildly surprising when I made the correlation between golf and anger in my life. The example I gave at the beginning is basically how I am personality-wise. I chug along doing things until I had a road block, and then I get mad, and drop the project, or whatever it is.

It took me 30 years of my life, and a couple of rounds of golf to realize this.

Tee off the first hole, good drive…. line up at address for second shot, flub it, and spend the rest of the perfectly sunny, beautiful day using my 7 iron as a ax; wielding it over my head HOPING to hit someone in the temple and make me feel better for shooting a 9 on a Par 3.

Basically, if I mess up, don’t get near me.

So, where does that leave me?

Well, besides hurrily burying that old man I accidentally bludgeoned to death on the 5th hole, it makes me realize that i need to appreciate that I’m even able to play the game at all. And that game is called, “Life”. And it stars me, as me, and you as you…. and it’s brought to you by…….. no no… i’m joking.

But all kidding aside. I should slow down, and realize that it’s not how I play the game, it’s the fact that i play at all.

Someone once said that 95% of success is basically just showing up. Obviously that person didn’t play golf, because there’s a lot to it and it takes a lifetime to learn. But hey, doesn’t everything that’s worth it’s salt difficult?

So, next time I tee off, I’m bringing a index card and keeping it in my back pocket for those second or third flubs up the fairway on a par 5.

And on both sides, it will say, “Hey, quit complainin’. Atleast it’s sunny.”