by Lawrence Poploski

Created on: March 05, 2010

Tiger better get back on tour yesterday.  This once King of all Sports has sadly been reduced to that of course jester and is yet another fallen hero for all the wrong reasons.  This is exactly why Mr. Woods needs to tee up a golf ball in competition – because he needs the game now more than it needs him. 
 
Tiger Woods knows what we know when we play the game.  It’s our refuge from reality, if only for the few short hours of time we get to enjoy this solitude.  From the moment we strike the first shot until we hole out the last putt, golf removes us from the real world, giving us welcome sanctuary from all thatwe flee.  Some of us run from mundane or difficult jobs that cripple our sense of self-worth.  Others take refuge from family or personal situations that test our character and patience.  Sometimes we play because we just need some precious time to ourselves doing something that gives us strength to stay sane when our worlds suddenly go crazy. 

 
Make no mistake, Tiger Woods has his hands full.  No one can question his decision-making skills on the short grass, but he clearly has triple bogeyed almost all other facets of his life.  It will be quite some time, if ever, that he is able to repair even a little of the damage he has inflicted upon himself and those who held him in high regard.  But he has to start somewhere, that place being where he is most comfortable, most in control.  He needs to get back on tour because it is his sole sanctuary from the living hell he has created.  Once there, he can battle the demons that challenge his life.  He can get not only his golf game back but his life game in focus.  Those of us who play golf will understand.  We know that for the time it takes to play 18 holes, we can pause from the craziness that’s affects our lives all other times.  We worry not about job stress but yardages.  We question not personal problems but which way a putt breaks.  We even on occasion rise to the challenge and succeed, making a birdie on the hardest hole or sticking an iron within tap-in range on a par-3.  What this teaches us is if we never stop trying, we can win despite how often we have failed.  These are lessons we teach ourselves golfing that we can take off the course into our real lives and use it to make a positive difference. 
 
Tee it up, Tiger.  Sure, you get the evil eye from the condescending.  Yes, you will hear cat-calls and murmurs about your character.  You’ll also get back into your groove where you can tune it all out and do what you do best – golf.  You’ll embrace the warm feeling of order again in your life when the drives go long and the putts drop.  You’ll start to remember who’s really in charge of your life and when you do, it’s yours again to enjoy.  We learn from golf it’s not the shots we’ve already hit that are most important, only the one ready to happen now.  It’s the same with life.  What has happened, happened.  We can't go back and change the past.  What we can do is remember the lessons failure taught us and use it as a building block for our next success.  Fear not those who judge you harshly now.  How you judge yourself now is all that matters.  It's time to tee it up, Tiger.  Take your own advice.  Just do it.

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