âIt is better to offer no excuse than a bad one.â â George Washington
That pearl of wisdom from the age of wooden teeth and wooden woods remains as apt today as ever. Thereâs no excuse for poor excuses. Not at work. Not at home. And never, ever on the first tee.
Youâve probably heard them all. Perhaps youâve even used them.
âMy backâs a little tight.â âI didnât have time to warm up.â âI havenât swung a club in weeks.â
âMy dog ate my driver.â
OK, we made up that last one, but itâs no lamer than the rest.
In golf, as in life, excuse-making is a form of self-protection. Itâs also a brand of self-deceit. But youâre not fooling anybody else.
When you start whining before youâve struck the dayâs first shot, other golfers in your group will see right through you. Theyâll know that youâre trying to have it both ways by setting yourself up as either a dogged victim of misfortune or a heroic underdog. In fact, youâre neither.
If you play poorly, you might feel lousy but no one is going to throw you a pity party. And if you play well? Thatâs even worse.
Your partners will think you were trying to sandbag them.
The only time first-tee excuse making is acceptable is when youâre explaining conduct that might affect the group. As in: âSorry if Iâm moving slowly here. My gout is acting up.â
Or, âMy daughter is supposed to hear from Harvard admissions today. I apologize but I might have to take her call.â
But excuses for your own performance? They are, in a word, inexcusable.
Maybe you really do have a bad back. Maybe you really havenât swung a club in weeks. Maybe your dog really did eat your driver.
Congratulations. We all have our woes. No one needs to hear about them.
Golf likes to call itself a great game of honor. It never claimed to be a great game of empathy.
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