Walking with Jack: Spiritual Guidance from the Game of Golf (Part I)

Four days before the first day of school, teachers and administrators gather for Mass and breakfast, a review of new policies and procedures, department meetings and more.  It's a high energy day—everyone wants to know How was your summer?  What did you do?  I look forward to meeting my new colleagues and miss those no longer with us. 

When my cousin told me that her co-worker won't be returning to teach sixth grade Math because he is on the PGA tour, I was intrigued. I thought, now that's a report I would like to have someone give on my behalf!  Big risk—but good for him!  But then I learned, he's not playing golf, he's a caddy for Jordan Spieth, winner of the 2013 John Deere Classic. That's all she needed to say.  My interest was piqued. Why is that? For some reason, I take too much interest in talking about the golf caddy.  

Michael Greller of Narrows View Intermediate School in University Place, WA traded in a book bag for a golf bag.  The 35-year old teacher decided it's no longer a summer job. 

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/06/11/2633472/caddie-relishes-different-coursework.html#storylink=cpy

I dedicated a recent blog posting to one.  I love asking golfers who have played with a caddy (I haven't) what that experience was like.  I recently learned it was yet another of my father's summer jobs. Although he says that his task was simply to carry the bag (this is long before the power cart), I have pressed him further: Did anyone ever consult you with what club to use?  Did you advise them on how to play the hole? I love that Angel Cabrera's caddy is his son and I am disgusted by the fact that until 1982 all players in the Masters were required to use the service of an Augusta National Club caddy, who by tradition was always African American. All in a caddy's days work...no?

Tiger Woods was a groomsman in Stevie Williams wedding party.  Woods fired him in July 2011, ending a 12-year relationship in which he won 72 times worldwide and 13 majors. Williams now caddies for the 2013 Masters Champion Adam Scott

The relationship between caddy and golfer is not without its share of tension. Caddies are hired and they are fired (Stevie Williams).  They are praised and they are berated (as seen by my beloved Bubba Watson on the 16th-hole at the Travelers Championship as his 5-stroke lead began to unravel). Caddies may appear to be the consummate "second fiddle," but they hold much more power than meets the eye.  

Behind every good golfer is a great caddy. They are to be trusted and respected, wise and strong. They are the consigliere. At their best, they transform an individual sport into something more—which is why I am drawn to writing and talking about them.  And that is also why I believe I would enjoy reading "Walking With Jack: A Father's Journey to Become His Son's Caddy" by Dan Snyder.

At the National Catholic Educational Association's (NCEA) Convention in Houston, I presented a talk "Sports and Spirituality: Fertile Ground for New Evangelization." A participant and fellow Notre Dame graduate, Kyle Smith reached out with ideas, books, movies and articles that he too believes helps a person understand the spiritual life through the analogy of sport.

Snyder's book inspired him to write Spiritual Guidance From The Game 0f Golf. Below is the introduction that he wrote and tomorrow I will post three of the ten gems he has gleaned from "Walking with Jack" that resonated with his experience as a golfer and a Christian.  He asked me to share them and it is an honor for me to do so.

Ignatius of Loyola referred to his fellow Jesuits as companions. The journey that we each walk—this road of faith—is not something we need walk alone.  Companions in the Lord make it better...and easier. Thanks Kyle for being one!

Introduction: If you’ve ever been a caddy, you know the feeling of waking up before the crack of dawn, running out the door, and heading to the golf course in order to be the first one to secure a loop for the day. On a perfect day, everything is still. And for a moment, all seems right with the world. There is a deep, satisfying peace. And the stage is set for the players who will walk the course; who will commit themselves to 18 holes of a sport that requires intense concentration, consistency, patience, and skill. 

In many ways, golf is the game of life. It is a spiritual journey from the first shot to the last. Golf takes concentration of will, determination, grace, humility, and yes, love. When we tap in our last putt on the 18^th hole, does our score really matter? Or is the most important thing what happened out on the course? Each shot changes us. So too does each decision. Based on how we react to the game and how we treat the other players on the course, we define our experience, our journey, and in the process, ourselves.

I had the opportunity to read the book Walking with Jack by Don Snyder recently and I was struck by the depth of his insights, a few of which I’d like to share...

Thoughts to come tomorrow!  

Photo Credits

Mr. Greller of Tacoma 

Stevie and Tiger
Walking with Jack cover

My Shark Week

In his June 5, 2013 address for World Environment Day, Pope Francis said "We are losing the attitude of wonder, contemplation, listening to creation..." I hate to disagree with the Holy Father, but is does he know about Shark Week?

Now in its 26th year, the Discovery Channel's week-long celebration of "the cartilaginous fish that have been around for more than 420 million years" was seen by 21.4 million viewers last year. In "It’s Time for Shark Week to Get Bigger — And Less Bloodthirsty" Devon Maloney  reports that Shark Week "dominates 35 percent of the social media posts made about television during those seven days" and has made "Discovery the number one cable network for the much-desired 18-34 range, during the sharks’ weeklong reign."  It is broadcast in over 72 countries!

Indeed, we do have an attitude of wonder about a creature that has been around 2,100 times longer than we have. My friend Kevin wrote that "the Great White is nature's most impressive, irrational fear inducing, killing machine." We do contemplate if the Megalodon shark that has been extinct for more than a million years is still out there. And I hope we listen to creation. Sharks “Like most predators, help keep their ecosystem in balance,” Shiffman told WIRED. “When top predator populations decline, it can throw off the whole food chain through a process called a ‘trophic cascade." 

Yet Pope Francis' words are not in vain.  "We kill 100 million sharks each year, which breaks down to 3.17 sharks per second. Those statistics concern many scientists and conservationists."  Shark Week was originally developed to raise awareness and respect for sharks. I hope it is more than entertainment or fodder for twitter.  And yet in his speech, the Pope linked the importance of environmental ecology to human ecology.  All of God's creation stand in relationship to the other.  To respect for one is to respect for the other.  

Enter in what I have been wanting to write about for some time now....the "other" Shark in my Shark Week.  

About two weeks ago, my classmate and friend Alex Montoya posted a great photo of Jeff Samardzija with the caption "Shark Week."  I loved it.  I still do.

I think about the Chicago Cubs starting pitcher with the same sense of wonder that many of you give to the Hammerhead.  Drafted in the fifth round of the 2006 MLB draft, Samardzija was a two-sport athlete at the University of Notre Dame. To commit to and play any sport on the D-1 level is awesome, let alone two; specialization be damned! He said, "Playing both is pretty hectic, but overall being able to compete in any sport helps you get better at other sports. You'll always find that. I'm always competing, so even though they aren't really the same, that aspect carries over between the two." 

A three-sport athlete in high school, Samardzija also played hockey and wrestled as a youngster. In "A Man for All Seasons," Katie Stuhldreher writes "At 12 years of age, Samardzija added wrestling to his list of activities, earning Indiana state runner-up in his weight class." When I read that  Samardzija teamed up with former Irish football players Carlyle Holiday and D.J. Fitzpatrick to win a championship in Bookstore Basketball, I threw the magazine article down. Sense of wonder? Contemplation?Understatement of my year.

I already knew of his success in both football and baseball at Notre Dame. In football, he set "single-season records for catches (77 - tied with Tom Gatewood's 1970 total), yards (1,249) and touchdowns (15) to take consensus All-American honors and was selected team MVP along with quarterback Brady Quinn."  I knew he had to choose between which of the two sports to pursue professionally.  An incredible problem to have.

His teammates at Notre Dame were the first to call him, with affectionation, "The Shark." Some say its because he has a big head (literally, not metaphorically). Others claim is is because there is something fierce on the field when he comes to play.  I think its because he inspires the same sense of wonder and awe that those powerful fish do in our oceans and seas. 

A friend once asked what kind of name is "Samardzija."  I said, it's Serbian—Serb for "Shark."  "Tiburon," Spanish for shark is already a pretty cool word for a fascinating creature. I think Samardzija just adds to the mystique.  For more of that, you have 5 more days on the Discovery Channel of Shark Week 2013.  Enjoy

Photo Credits
ND Shark
Shark Week Logo

Dem Bones...Thoughts on Phil Mickelson's Bag Man

If given one adjective to describe Phil Mickelson, I'll take "loyal." Not only has he remained faithful to Amy, his wife of 20 years, he has had but one caddie in his professional golfing career—Jim "Bones" Mackay. 

While the world marveled at what many may be the best round of golf Mickelson has ever played, I wasn't thinking as much about his four birdies on the last six holes, or that he is now one of four players to have won three different majors (since 1970).  No, I wanted to know about "bag man."

The most popular caddie or "bag man" on the tour is Steve Williams.  This Kiwi has had colorful and exciting career, serving as the caddie for Greg Norman, Tiger Woods and now Adam Scott. Williams found his share of the press during the final round of the Open as Scott and Woods were paired together; Woods ended his partnership with Stevie in 2011. But when Lefty climbed from ninth place and five shots back on Sunday morning toward pole position, it was hard not realize something remarkable was underway elsewhere at Muirfield.

I watched Mickelson and "Bones" discuss the approach. I wondered what it was like for "Bones" to tell the press to back off as they stood too close to the tee box. I noticed at times, Mickelson walked alone and at other times listened with intensity to the man with his bag.  And then I saw something very special occur when Mickelson nailed a 10-foot putt on the 18th hole.  The two men held one another with a strong emotional embrace. When they parted, I noticed they both had tears in their eyes.  It was a look that said "we did this."  

Mickelson verified what I observed. When interviewed, he said,  "I easily could have played three different clubs on every shot out there.  I couldn't have done it without him." In fact, I found out today in the SF Chronicle Sporting Green that he "won without carrying a driver in his bag all week, another example of his tendency to buck conventional wisdom."  No driver?  Talk about club selection!  A 2-handicap and 21 years on the tour proves that "Bones" cares deeply about the player and the game.  

Being "Bones:" Phil Mickelson's Caddy reports "Bones, Jelly, Fluff—Caddies get nicknames" but "Bones" has got to be one of the best. When I first heard it, I immediately thought of the little ditty "Dem Bones."  I have since come to learn this negro-spiritual, composed by African-American author and songwriter James Weldon Johnson, is based on Ezekiel 37:1-14.  Dem bones, dem bones, dem dry bones. Now hear the word of the Lord.

In the Vision of Dry Bones, the prophet visits the center of the broad valley. It was filled with bones.  He exclaims How dry they were!  He asks Son of man, can these bones come back to life? Indeed, Ezekiel sees what is lifeless and dry. The Lord states I will put my spirit in your that you may come to life, and I will settle you in your land.  Then you shall know that I am the LORD. 

I had a little fun of thinking about Bones' relationship with Phillie in this way.  Certain relationships bring us to life.  They can put spirit into what might be lifeless or dry. I find particular nourishment in those relationships that echo the word of the Lord. 

And as the song proclaims, they remind us what we are connected to. Leg bone's connected to the knee bone.  Said relationships ground us and remind us what we are a part of. Mackay knows that Mickelson's family is what he is connected to; he knows because he's practically part of it.  Furthermore, Amy and Phil Mickelson introduced "Bones" to his wife Jen Olsen.

Bones and Lefty: A Perfect Match confirms this sentiment, "They are quite a pair," said Mickelson's wife, Amy. "They are so different but a lot alike. They're like brothers ... I couldn't imagine either of them with anybody else. They are kind of the perfect balance."

Mickelson, 40, considers having Mackay by his side "one of the most fortunate things" to happen in his career and one of the keys to his success.

"I think the three most important people in a golfer's life are their wife, their manager and their caddie," Mickelson said. "I've been fortunate to have the same three throughout my career. From the first time we've been together, I realized he was a great caddie, but over the years he's become a lot more than that."

I think what he has become was self-evident on Sunday.  From the long sweet walk on the 18th hole to the tear filled embrace as its completion, "Bones" is the spirit that has put life into the legacy that has shaped the career of the world's number two golfer in the world—Phil Mickelson.

Photo Credits
Embrace
Team Mickelson
Claret Jug
Bag Man

Iowa: A Good Stop for JPII and Lance Armstrong....

Ask American Catholics where Blessed John Paul II traveled in his first Papal visit of the United States and most likely they will say New York, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. And that's correct.  But there's one unlikely but important stop on that historic visit: Des Moines, Iowa. 

As written in Iowans remember Pope John Paul II’s 1979 visit "Joe Hays, 69, a farmer from Truro, brought the Pope to Iowa with a handwritten request. After learning of John Paul II’s visit to America, he wrote to the Pope and said that the strength of the Catholic Church in America is found in its rural people. A month later, a response arrived and Hays was called to an August 29 news conference announcing the visit."  

Somewhere along the course of my American Studies degree, I learned that if you want to truly know a nation and its people, don't judge it by its coastal communities. As someone who lives in one—San Francisco—a place Paul Kantner described as "49 square miles surrounded by reality" I couldn't agree more.  You must go to the heartland.  And John Paul II did.  In the country's agricultural center, he said mass on an altar crafted by local millworkers out of 100-year-old barn wood who carved their names on the boards and in front of a banner that was made by volunteers at a quilting bee.  Thirty four years ago, he spoke under the open Midwestern sky to the largest crowd in the history of Iowa.  

I share all of that as context for my interest in reading about Lance Armstrong in today's sports page. I'm not a fan, but I have to admit, when I read his first public appearance since his interview with Oprah Winfrey was at RAGBRAI, I thought it a savvy move.;

RAGBRAI—Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa began in 1973 as a challenge from one reporter for the Des Moines Register to another; they decided to ride their bicycles across Iowa and write columns about what they saw from that perspective.  A July tradition was born.

It has popularized cycling for men and women of all ages...and I mean all ages.  Families and friends ride for a day, three or a week in the summer tradition.  I know about it because I rode all 580 miles of the route in 2004; so did Armstrong.

Because it is not a race, RAGBRAI affords its 15,000 participants with plenty of time to talk and think, laugh and reflect, all while pedaling to the day's destination.  Is also provides a good setting to ask the tough questions, like those written in the USA Today article "Lance Armstrong says reality is uncomfortable for many" It asks, Would people forgive doping charges that led to one of the world's most prominent athletes being stripped of seven Tour de France titles? Did the tangle of lies and intimidation meant to protect those secrets paint his legacy irreversibly in the eyes of others? 

Bryce Miller writes, "Armstrong found part of his answer Monday as he rode with an estimated 20,000 others on the second day of the Register's Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI). Armstrong said he was reminded of the fallout from his decisions after he traced a portion of Iowa's highways. "At the end of the ride today, I had a long conversation with a guy," he said. "He said, 'I just have to tell you, since all of this came out, I just feel a little differently about the story.' That's not quite a middle finger, but it's an honest, direct answer and an honest, direct opinion."

And so you have it. The heartland speaks—and respectfully so I might add.

"When asked what he sees for himself in the next five years, Armstrong paused. "The thing that's the most important is what happens to my children five years from now," he said. "I've got to help myself, my family and my five kids navigate an interesting time."

If I may make a recommendation, I think Armstrong should bring them with him on RAGBRAI.  They will hear what others ask and say.  They will be able to form their own thoughts, create new ones and dream big under the Iowa sky.  They will find themselves in America's agricultural center; its heartland. And know for themselves what JPII said "The land is not only God's gift; it is also man's responsibility," You are stewards of some of the most important resources God has given the world. ... Conserve it well."

Photo Credits
JP II in Iowa

RAGBRAI map

Armstrong at RAGBRAI

Power Can Be Held in...the Golf Ball?

With a tee time scheduled for 4:00 that afternoon, I looked at the poster of Frodo that reads "Power can be held in the smallest of things" and thought of one thing: the golf ball.

Those who are familiar with the Lord of the Rings trilogy, know what I mean—the ring represents power and weakness, danger and temptation.  And yet, its meaning changes. The golf ball is no different.

I committed to the sport of golf last summer.  I have been a fan of the PGA for the last ten years and when health issues suggested that I reevaluate my commitment to running and aerobic activity, I decided golf was the ideal sport.  I love being outside, I live in a place where one can play nearly year round, as a teacher I have time off in the summer and I love the 19th hole!

But I didn't want to just play golf, I wanted to become a golfer.  I wanted to become comfortable enough with the game that I could play in a tourney without trepidation.  I wanted to head out to most courses and know that I could give it a go, hit the ball well, move it forward, manage my game, improve.

People see me as athletic, but I have never been the athlete who picks up anything as though it were my second nature. I have usually met some level of success because of discipline and my willingness to commit time, focus and energy to the undertaking. I have played enough sports to know that learning to play a sport is an exercise in humility. Golf just might be the one where that notion reigns supreme.  It blows my mind that a non-moving target can be that hard to hit. Indeed, power is held in something that is 1.68" in diameter.  

Like the ring, golf has shown me that power doesn't always make for a good play and those who have it, might not be the one you expect. I played recently with two senior women who hit the ball further and more accurately than anyone I have played that course with.  

And golf will mercilessly reveal one's weaknesses. Do you need patience? forgiveness? the ability to focus or remain optimistic? Golf exposes the good and the bad, our strengths and our human struggles.  It is the humblest of teachers.   

The temptation that accompanies golf runs the gamut, from the demands it puts on time to damage to the pocketbook. I will let those who have played much longer than I have to speak to the ways it seduces the imagination. In the past year, I am aware that consumerism is no stranger. What started as a desire for my own set of clubs has grown to wanting additional clubs (I've been eyeing that 5-hybrid) and it doesn't end there.  New gear, summer shoes, winter shoes, even a digital green reader, I see the slippery slope that is the world of golf.  

But golf is a sport of a lifetime.  How a player understands, appreciates and loves the game will change with age, wisdom and those we share it with.  The game doesn't change, but we do. From playing golf with a grandparent to one's grandchildren, it is a journey that is only beginning.  And in that spirit, the quest for the ring continues...

NB: I don't know that J. R. Tolkien would be a fan of this blog as its foundation is analogy. I love a good allegory and he insisted the Lord of the Rings was not. We do however, share a common faith.  And because of that, whether we intend to our not, we write from that perspective.

As reported in Faith and Fantasy: But it was Tolkien’s deeply held Catholic faith that most profoundly shaped his work. Though he rightly insisted The Lord of the Rings is not an allegorical work, the fact is that Tolkien thought, imagined, and wrote as a Catholic, and his work bears the clear signs of his faith, as he fully intended it should.

Photo Credits
Lord of the Rings Poster
Lindsey Weaver, No 1 Notre Dame Golfer
Golf Ball