CUTE SHOES & BALLET SHOES

These are a few of my favorite pair!

Ahhhh...Sunday afternoon on the course! Life is sweet! However, yesterday wasn't as sweet as it usually is. My golf game was a little off...or should I say a LOT off!. I've noticed since my back surgery last year, my swing has changed. A friend used to say I had a pure swing. Now, would he say it was "sour?" YUK! Anyway, I'm still trying to work out the mess I create every so often on the course. I keep telling Jimmy I need to take a lesson. However, to tell you the truth, I really don't want to. Reason being...I don't want some golf pro to change my grip or rotate my hips different or whatever he may tell me to do. I don't know why I feel that way...I guess I just want to do it myself. (The hard way?)

See, I have this theory about golf. It's like ballet. Yes gentlemen, "ballet." Now don't go all bonkers on me...it really is a lot like ballet. When I said this to Jimmy, I thought he would throw up! Men! Then when I said it to this friend of ours in California (a scratch golfer who is on the board of Calloway golf), I thought he would fall out of his chair laughing! And Bruce (Litezkie that is)...don't even bother to think about it....it IS a lot like ballet.

See, when Jimmy is not playing well, he thinks it's the clubs. So he goes and buys a different kind of club in order to compensate to the type of swing or game he is playing. He wants the "club" to suite HIS swing and speed. Whereas I, on the other hand, believe that one needs to learn to play consistently with the club they have (meaning...hitting it down the middle of the fairway, with good distance, good height and roll), and THEN get new clubs to tweak and improve or go to the next level.

In ballet, a dancer "feels" her body in each position as she steps out into it, holds it and releases to another. If she is doing a single turn, she only does a single, not a double, until she has perfected the single and THEN and only THEN does she move on to the double turn. But she must FEEL secure in that single turn enough to move on to the double. A ballet dancer can feel her body in each position and the balance to hold that position for however long is necessary. She knows exactly when to release that hold to move into the next position. She doesn't rely on new shoes to hold her feet strong, or a knee brace...she only relies on feeling and assurance she can go forward.

In golf, it is not how strong a person is...a golfer's strength is in his body rotation. He can feel it as he comes through the ball with the hips. A golfer does not so much swing with the arms but the arms come through as the hips swivel from back to front. It is one fluid motion. That motion has to be smooth in rhythm. Like a dance. In fact, many golfers have knee problems because of this rotating movement. But it is beautiful to watch when it's done correctly - just like a dance. And, it is soooo powerful.

When I danced, I liked to figure out what I was doing wrong by myself. A dancer always practices in front of a mirror. You can see yourself in the mirror and see what you are doing wrong. But there are times when a dancer performs turns and she can't see what she does wrong. In those cases, she needs a teacher to "spot" her and give her direction. A golfer doesn't have a mirror. He must rely on "feeling" the movement - fluid, smooth, rotating through, in order to know what he is doing wrong. That is why a golf coach's eye can serve as a golfer's "mirror."

Since I gave up dance after I had children, I took up golf in order play with my family of all men. I have really enjoyed it. Now however...I am a little frustrated. That pleasure has turned to work. Yet, each time I make a good shot, feel the rhythm, make a long putt or pitch it over a tree...it's like completing a triple pirouette (turn on one leg). Like being able to hold that position for one last extra moment before releasing. There's that adrenaline. It just keeps me coming back.

You know, dependence on God is like ballet and golf. We try so hard to do things on our own. We want to play the game of life in our own way with our own tools. Sometimes, we change the tools to try and make them adjust to our life style. Other times, we try on our own, in our own strength to achieve the goal, working it out in our own way. Either way, we just don't cut it. But when we rely on our "coach" (God), He can see what we need: if it's a change in tools from Him, or a new attitude (way to grip) or a new direction (view of His way). He's the ultimate coach, all knowing, all powerful and one that will lead us to victory in our lives.

So today, I am thankful for those "cute (golf) shoes" and those "ballet shoes" I've had the privilege of wearing through the years. They've taught me many lessons of discipline and hard work. But most of all, the lesson of dependence on a good teacher and coach to teach me and correct me to lead me to victory. And now...they've taught me the absolute need for the "Perfect Coach" for my life.

Now...the biggest question of all....would MEN ever be "tough" enough to wear "point" shoes?