Golf+the+game

__**Golf - the Game**__

//Over Easter I accepted a challenge to create a metasaga about somewhere I had never been. I was conscious that if I got this wrong about a specific place I could offend the locals. I decided to create a metasaga around the game of golf. As the old saying goes " Golf a good walk ruined" ,maybe my metasaga will be a game ruined. I have never played the game but I do watch it on TV and have listened to friends share their golfing experiences. In looking at this metasaga I entered a new world, the PLANET GOLF. Join me.//


 * __The Bag__**

In the past the bag was a small canvas and leather job which held a few clubs but now it is huge. You need either a caddie or wheels to get it around the course. There are many different kinds but most are adverts for a golfing company. They contain everything the golfer needs or wants to play the game. So what does it hold?

The clubs : woods, wedges, utility clubs, irons,putters Clothes : rain gear, cap, hat, gloves, Essentials: score card, pencil, rubber, tees, towel ,umbrella Optional: snacks, first aid kit, water, spare gloves, spare shoe laces, spare socks, rules, electronic gadget

I am sure each individual will have other stuff particular to them and probably lurking at the bottom or in a pocket will be something long forgotten.

What tools or skills would be in your bag in order to carry out your work? Take a look at your work space what is optional and what is essential? What lurks forgotten in your bag or desk? What is your essential club (tool)? What heavy burden are you carrying?
 * __Questions__**


 * __The Caddie__**

The caddie is often seen as a shadowy figure who carries the bag holds the flag and wears someone else's name on their back. Many golfers play the game without one. You can carry your bag yourself or invest in a set of wheels, but that will not replace the caddie. Many keen young golfers earn spare cash by carrying bags at their local course. Being a caddie in this way you can learn a great deal from more experienced players. Once you reach the serious end of the game and championships either professional or ammature the caddie becomes a confidant, adviser and essential partner in the team. The caddie has to reduce the players workload but increase their knowledge. Their job on a practical level is to see to the clubs, bag, flag scorecard ,but the other side of the job is just as important. The good caddie has knowledge of the course, helps with advice on the next shot, is a companion and tries to keep the morale of the player high and helps them remain focussed. Many courses have rules that the caddie is not allowed to speak unless spoken to first by the player.

__**Questions**__

Who do you caddie for in life or work? Who would you apply the rule of silence to, you can only talk if I talk to you first? Who do you support in a practical way? Can you shadow someone to gain experience? Who do you trust for sound advice?


 * The pat on the back, the arm around the shoulder, the praise for what was done right and the sympathetic nod for what wasn't are as much a part of golf as life itself. **
 *  Gerald R. Ford **

__**Playing the game**__ __**1. The Tee**__

This is the area where you must hit the first shot from, the beginning of the hole. Far in the distance is the flag.You must make the right choice of club.It is here the well analysed golf swing is used.

__Questions__

What are you starting just now? Where are you starting from? What decisions do you have to make? What lies ahead?

__**2.3.4.5.6. The Hazards**__

There are many planned hazards on a golf course carefully positioned to trap an unsuspecting golf ball. Each hazard requires a different skill or club to escape. The water hazards be it stream or loch where the ball disappears completely. Bunkers where you see golfers raise clouds of sand as they try to get the ball up over the steep face towards the hole. The rough where the ball can disappear in grass, trees and bushes. The more wayward shot can even go out of bounds. In tournament play you also have the added hazard of the crowd. Many a spectator has been clunked by a ball.

__Questions__ What hazards, obstacles do you face daily? What is really rough just now? When did you last go out of bounds and venture somewhere new off your beaten track? We love the sand of a beach but hate the sand of a bunker. Is there something you hate that everyone else seems to love? Sometimes something really unexpected blocks your path. When has that happened to you?

__**7 The fairway**__ The broad green swathe of grass that runs straight towards the green. Where a good lie will help for the next shot. The perfect place to be. Your aim is to be as far along it as you possibly can get, nearly to the hole. Here you avoid the hazards and life is good. Walking up the fairway you have mental and physical space to talk to you fellow golfers. __Questions__ Are you on the fairway? How close are you to finishing something? Who would you like to walk and talk with and why? Is life good to you?


 * As you walk down the fairway of life you must smell the roses, for you only get to play one round. **
 * Ben Hogan **

__**8.The green**__ The area around the flag where the grass is like a carpet. Tended, loved , toiled over to create an almost unnatural perfect surface, where every blemish is removed.Here the golfer changes. Gone are irons and the woods and out comes the putter. Each golfer preferring a different kind, brand, make , style hoping to improve their short game. Here it is not about power but about touch. Preparations are long, studying the path to the hole, calculating the length of the shot. A hush falls, a crowd will hold its breath.Thousands of pounds can ride on the final putt.

__Questions__ How do you calm your nerves? What one area of your life would you like to change? When did you last hold your breath in hope? What do take great care of, trying to keep it perfect?

__**9. The Hole**__  Like so many things in golf, the standardized size of the hole comes to us courtesy of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, with an assist from the links at Musselburgh. In new rules issued in 1891, the R&A determined that the hole size should be standard on __ [|golf courses] __ everywhere. So the R&A discussed just what exactly that size should be. The size they decided on was 4.25 inches in diameter. The reason is that the folks at Musselburgh had invented, in 1829, the first known hole-cutter.  That first hole-cutter utilized a cutting tool that was, you guessed it, 4.25 inches in diameter. It was said to be made of an old pipe that happened to be lying about on the golf course.

SO now people all over the world spend hours trying to get a small white ball into a hole 4.25 inches in diameter. They know the joy and heartache involved in that task. Many miss by the smallest of margins.Of course the ultimate is to get a hole in one!

Questions What story do you retell again and again? What task are you really proud of? What are you aiming for? How have you recycled something that was just lying around? When have you missed out on something by the smallest of margins?

The nineteenth hole is a place to relax. Why don't you go to your 19th hole and relax for a while.