Musings From the Sandtrap

 I used to wonder if I was wishy-washy. I'd go back and forth on that, and that east-west maneuver would seem to prove I was wishy-washy! Or did it? 

It didn't. The ability to open your mind, tweak it a little according to current conditions and feelings turns out to be a very valuable trait. It means you are thinking, know how to think are adaptable to current information. You still have guy instincts and first-takes, and they may well be right, but you are not fucking married to them for the rest of your life. This is why most of us quit believing in Santa Clause when we were 6 or 7. Conversely, it's why so many of us still believe in the Biblical God, so many decades later. "You free your mind; your ass will follow". Or it won't. 

If you've been around women (and, boy, I have been around women!) you might believe they think differently than us fellas. Some do. Some don't. It's been my experience that women are every bit as good, bad or indifferent as men are. I know this mostly from my work experiences with men and women, having been in the restaurant business and construction most of my adulting life. I love to tell this story about Paul Maserati, a guy I worked with years ago. He was close friends with JD, who was our boss. Him and JD had friends in common and- dammit- they would gossip about them. Who was cheating on who, who was struggling- the usual gossipy shit generally assigned to women. One day at lunch, Paul offered up: "The little woman is going to have the girls over for a hen party tonight". 

I said, "A hen party? What do you mean- like break time?"

I don't know if he completely got that, but we didn't get along anyway, so it really didn't matter. I think my point was made. 

And the point is, these are the things I think about as I progress in my golf game. Even as skills improve, you have to make adjustments. You have to think. You have to analyze. But don't overthink or overanalyze. Sometimes it really is what it is. Man or woman, we have to see things objectively- with as little prejudice as possible- and at least use that as a starting off point. There will be changes. That's a fact. Deal with them as they come so you don't get bogged down in the past. It makes the future that much harder to handle.