A Timeshare Guy Writes a Humble Tribute to Golf and the Human Spirit

It seems appropriate to pause this week on The Timeshare Authority blog to talk about the game of golf. With the British Senior Open wrapped up and the US Senior Open set to tee off, you have to look at such events and reflect on the fact that anyone — amateur or pro — past champion or tournament rookie – has the opportunity to polish his skill, go out on one of sport’s biggest stages and write his name in the history books. And while the same is true for all events in professional golf that permit open qualifying, there’s something to be said about the idea that a man, 50 years old or older, who may have never competed in a pro tournament before, has the opportunity to become the US Senior Open Champion.

Golf is one of the few sports you can take up as a child and play throughout your lifetime. Because of the handicapping system, your teenage son can play a round of golf with Grandma, on a level playing field. Families can share the game; they can play together, play on their home course, and play while on vacation. Professional golf superstar, Luke Donald, credits his early interest in the game to playing at his family’s timeshare.

Even physical challenges don’t have to stand in your way of enjoying the game of golf. If you haven’t read Dave Kindred’s Golf Digest article this month on the triumph injured war veterans are claiming on the golf course, (“The Healing Game”) I encourage you to do so. In it, golf professional Jim Estes explains, “Fear inhibits the ordinary person’s ability to perform. But these guys — they have no fear. When your leg is blown off, who cares if you don’t hit that little white ball perfectly?”

Yet as U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Ramon Padilla, injured in Afghanistan, says after taking up the game, “I had a sense of accomplishment. I thought, I may be missing an arm, but I’m still whole, I’m still one person.”

This week, as the favorites at the US Senior Open tee up at the beautiful Sahalee Country Club (just outside of Seattle, WA.), I will likely be pulling for some amateur playing who qualified on a wing and prayer. There is something uniquely inspirational about the idea that an ordinary guy can do extraordinary things, through a combination of determination, hard work, and perhaps a little luck.

• You can learn more about golf timeshares at: Take a Timeshare Golf Vacation in an Orlando Timeshare and Myrtle Beach Timeshare Resales
• And find out how all of us can do more to help wounded veterans at: woundedwarriorproject.org

Enjoy this excellent video of Luke Donald’s swing: