The Greatest Sport You Could Ever Play

All sports can be used to build character. In fact, I can think of few things that can be used to build character within our youth better than their playing a sport of some kind.

Yet there is one sport that stands head and shoulders above all. I will share with you some of the most revealing evidence behind such a strong statement.

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Imagine an NBA player getting whistled for a foul by a referee. Now imagine that player walking up to the ref, shaking his hand, and saying, “Thank you, sir. I broke a rule, so I deserved that.”

Imagine an NFL player getting flagged for a penalty by a referee. Now imagine that player walking up to the ref, shaking his hand, and saying, “Thank you sir. I broke a rule, so I deserved that.”

Imagine the same happening in Major League Baseball. Or Olympic Underwater Basket Weaving. Or virtually any other game or athletic event you care to name.

Bet you’ve never actually seen it happen. I’d bet all the Mountain Dew in Bristol.

Actually, what you and I are far more likely to see happen in most any sport at the professional level is just the opposite; a player vehemently arguing in the face of a ref or an umpire.

Now also imagine the following.

Imagine NBA players calling all fouls on themselves (without the help of a referee); acting purely out of a “sense of honor”.

Imagine the same for NFL players; all penalties are expected to be called by the player who commits them, not by a rules official.

Players expected to call penalties on themselves? Purely out of a “sense of honor”?

Imagine that.

But what if I told you there already exists a game … a game that, by its very nature, is already intrinsically based on a strong sense of honor … where the players actually keep their own score … and act as their own rules officials?

What if I told you that virtually no one ever cheats on the professional level while playing this game? Ever. As in almost never.

What if I told you that such a strong sense of honor is so intrinsically ingrained within the players of this game (if they learn to play the game as children) that it carries over into virtually everything they do in adult life - leading them to live more honorable, more honest, and more conscientious lives?

What if the deep sense of honor and true sportsmanship of which I speak is actually already “built into the very fabric” of this game itself?

If such a sport actually existed, wouldn’t many among us be prone to call it “the greatest of games”?

Indeed, such a sport already exists. It is called the game of golf. Almost anyone can learn it at virtually any age, but it’s best to start young - to permanently mold the honor system within an individual.

Call my friend Casey Barnes, the PGA pro at Clear Creek Golf Course here in Bristol (276-466-4833). Or my friend Adam Dean, the pro at the local junior golf program called The First Tee (276-614-8100). Set up a lesson or two for your child/grandchild/yourself. If you can’t afford it, hit me up and I’ll gladly pay for it. I have to think very hard to think of an equally guaranteed investment I could make in the character development of your child or grandchild.

And if you want to do it on your own, do as my father did; put a golf club in your child’s hand and simply tell them to hit the ball and have some fun.

I should interject here (so that the reader may know I have a strong frame of reference regarding golf and what it can do to build character) that I achieved considerable success in golf as a youth. I won five individual Tennessee state championships. I was also a High School All-American.

After my college years my interests took other turns. Yet the things I learned about life that I learned on the golf course have stayed with me all my life. Playing the game as a child ultimately made me a better teacher and a more resilient, empathetic soul.

The list is not long of more morally impactful things you can do for your children/grandchildren than to introduce them to the game of golf. Because, as my dad used to say, “Golf can teach you more about life than life does.”

I even wrote a book about it. I wish I still had more copies. I’d give one to every reader of this column if I could.

Back in 2007 I gave a copy of the book to every child who played on the junior golf tour in the state of TN (that would be in the thousands). I also gave copies to every local junior golf program. To this day, I still occassionally receive a nice email from someone who picks up the book and reads it. (Often it is long after these youngsters to whom I initially gave the book have become adults, and have begun to more fully understand the “deeper meaning” behind the game of golf.)

Most every sport can be a great avenue for building persistence, discipline, and teamwork. There’s no doubt about it.