Sam Goulden Golf Blog

Our founding fathers had it right.  They did not say that all men were entitled to happiness.  They said that we were all entitled to the pursuit of happiness.  This means that we should all be allowed and even enabled to pursue happiness.  

In golf, the pursuit of happiness is why we play.  We hit one shot that encompasses everything we know we are capable of achieving.  We play one round or maybe just nine holes that shows us our ability.  Does this mean that the goal of golf is to achieve the perfect round of golf?  Does the perfect round even exist?  And if we were to play that perfect round, is that true happiness?  

I believe that those of us that pursue golf happiness are actually already happy.  I feel that as long as we are able to correct our mistakes, we are happy.  Does this mean that we will always hit perfect shots or play perfect rounds and thus attain golf happiness?  No, this simply means that we have the golf specific knowledge that allows us to pursue that perfect round of golf.  Golf is “not a game of perfect”, as Tom Watson once famously stated and Bob Rotella made famous.  If this is the case, let’s realize that it’s the pursuit of happiness that makes the game enjoyable.. not “happiness” in and of itself.

In your game, remember that it is the pursuit of the perfect shot that makes the game fun.  Not the perfect shot.. If you hit all perfect shots, it would not be so enjoyable to do so.