In many of my past articles, I have focused on thoughts or books to help strengthen our professional development. This month I want to focus on something different.
How many of you have heard at some point in your career, “Oh, you’re a golf pro. That must be fun, playing golf all the time.” We all know that is not reality. Maybe some golf, but all the time? I don’t know about you, but I sometimes feel like the public sells us short.
But, what’s important to realize is that we do have a tremendous impact on the people around us. Since golf is a game and games should be fun, we are purveyors of FUN. During our days at work, we often forget the impact that we have on people.
If through your lessons, clinics, leagues, or daily interactions, you put a smile on someone’s face, that’s a positive impact. If you make five people smile during a week, and, as a minimum, that happens every week, that’s twenty people by the end of a month or two hundred and forty by the end of a year. What if it was ten people instead of five? How about four hundred and eighty people a year whose lives may be a little more pleasant because of you. Can you imagine if half of those people, because of you, make someone else smile? What if that third person makes someone else smile? The numbers become immeasurable.
So, on those days when your owners, members, or others become intolerable, take a deep breath and remind yourself: We are purveyors of fun! That should put a smile on your face, and the cycle begins again.
Thank you for all that you do for the game and your communities.
Please stay safe and reach out to someone you haven’t checked on for some time,
Howie Pruitt, PGA
Director, Golf Operations, Aspen Lakes GC
President, Pacific Northwest Section