Golf is who you play and where you play – not the score. If you’re with friends and having fun, either the score will come, or you won’t care.
At one point, when we were in shape, the Dalai Lama, our friend Charles, and I played Running One-Club. Wed choose a club, only one (and you had to putt with it), then jog around the course.
Some interesting tid-bits you needed to be careful about the club. For instance, the Par 3 16th was about 185 over water. Of course, you could play it to the right, if you wanted, but Par 3s, of course, were opportunities to score.
The Dalai developed a putting stance, on his knees, choking up to almost the blade. He really was a grinder extraordinaire.
One time, before I understood how tough golf is, I became known as “The Shotmaker.” On a double-dog leg par 5, using my 3-iron, I had pulled my third shot to the left, with some very tall trees between me and the green – and only about 50 yards away. Anyone with any sense would have punched it out to the middle of the fairway, then tried to punch it again to the green.
But, I chose to open my stance and take a swipe under the ball, dropping my right shoulder almost perpendicular to the ground. Voila! it went up and over the trees and on to the green. Today, of course, not only wouldn’t I try it, but if I did, now knowing the difficulty of the task, I’d probably blade it deep into the woods. Reminds me of a Guy Clark song: “He did not know he could not fly – so he did.”