The view from the office chair I normally occupy includes a golf course. There are two sand traps, a grass bunker or two, two immediate water hazards, and several strategically placed trees and palms. From this description, you might imagine that there are no fairways, however this is not the case. As you might expect, I see as many people in trouble as I see safely playing through.
It is interesting to reflect on the obvious.
Where one’s ball lands will determine how many choices one has with the shot at hand. While the skill level of the player can expand the number of viable options, the spot where one’s ball land will likely set the range of choices available.
As much as one would like to prepare and condition the course, hazards and trouble spots are what they are! I especially love to see individuals trying to recover from a sand trip which is set on the bank with undulating curves. It is difficult. As much as I would try to stay focused on what best, I suspect my eyes, swing, and results would naturally tend to focus on what I desperately wanted to avoid.
Given the broader context of setting for the golf course, on the edge of the desert, the nature of the hazards is especially sharp. Water features are manmade, with natural edges which tend to help balls into the water. Sand traps may start the day moist, but as the day progresses you can see the light fluffiness which starts with the edges steadily creeping to the center.
My mind drifts to other writers and how they have used settings in nature to describe different types of individuals.
To the hardpan which frequently borders the cart path, “let them be like grass in shallow ground that withers before the harvest.” (Psalm 129.6)
To those reflecting sandy stretches, may they find water and nourishment before they dry up in the sun and are blown away.
To those in the fairway, may you use the riches at hand to grow strong and true.
