What will your legacy be?

     A recent trip to the World Golf Hall of Fame to gather information for an article was telling in many ways.  Golf is one of those things where, if you are going to play, you have “your butt hanging out in the wind” the whole time.  By that I mean you are not able to hide behind office walls while you do your work, your attitudes and emotions are on full display for all to see.  

     There have been many “greats” in the game of golf, and it was interesting to see what it is that we really admire when it comes to looking at people’s legacies.  Yes, there have been those golfers who are completely self centered – some of them fairly good at the game.  But after the television cameras have quit rolling and when the story was told, when the sum of their achievements stood side by side with their fellows they stand out as empty husks.

     On the other side of that coin are those who had more dimensions to their lives.  Those that were diplomats, those who worked to help those fellows, those that carried themselves with dignity and a measure of humility.  And it is those folks that the museum dedicated the most space to – by far.

     Beyond legacies though, great golfers all talk about the need to be able to “live in the current moment” if one is to succeed at the top levels of their game.  Bad breaks, lucky breaks, failure and success are all meaningless a few moments later.  All that matters is the moment at hand – the task to be performed this very minute.

     Yes, for the self-centered one there is the immediate gratification of adoring groupies, of financial rewards and of boot-licking opportunists.  But I invite you to visit this Hall of Fame and look from the perspective of the honor we pay folks after all the fanfare is done.  At the time I am sure that many of the acts that are most glorified here were shuttled off of the news pages entirely for the latest juicy news – the biggest controversy or the fattest paycheck.  But when it all comes out in the wash, we all know what is most valuable.  We just have trouble recognizing it at the time it is actually taking place.

Today, may I see things in context.

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David Emch