In no other sport and in no other competition like a Junior Golf Tournament is there such a powerful dynamic of you competing against yourself. You may believe you are competing against your fellow players or you may believe that you are competing against the Golf Course. If you truly dig deep, however, you will discover that you are really competing against yourself.

“How so?” you ask.  Much like the Book, The Legend of Baggar Vance, how you conduct yourself on the golf course and especially how you conduct yourself during a golf tournament, defines the very essence of who you are. Baggar Vance uses golf as a means of self-discovery. The Legend of Baggar Vance is not completely about winning or losing a golf tournament. It is about understanding oneself. Vance becomes Junah’s caddy and his advisor. The way Junah conducts his golf game and the way he conducts his life are one and the same. The game of golf serves as a road map for who he really is in life. 

So what do we mean when we say you are competing against yourself? Starting with the absolute necessity to believe in oneself, all of the golfer’s actions on the golf course and all of the golfer’s emotions on the golf course contribute to success or failure in a tournament.  In that way, you are really competing against yourself. Like Junah, you are also showing who you really are in life.

What are some examples of “golfer’s actions on the golf course” and “golfer’s emotions on the golf course” that contribute to your outcome and that define who you are as a person?

Consider these:

Do you do the right thing, even when no one else is looking? If you move your ball in the rough when no one else is looking, you only cheat yourself.

Are you courteous about staying on the putting green until everyone has putted out? Or, are you self-absorbed in your own game to the exclusion of those around you?

Do you give your opponents every consideration of courtesy? Or are you whispering during their swing when they are on the tee?

These and many more examples all make up the basic courtesies of golf, or Golf Etiquette. Knowing Golf Etiquette will improve your game, prohibit you from making certain “no-nos”,  and show the kind of person you are…your true character.

The Junior Golf Etiquette from A..to..Z is a pocket size book with 45 pages of Etiquette tips and Rules to Remember, with one Etiquette tip or one rule per page. It is easy to read and easy to understand. 
 
The book may be purchased at Linhurst Publications, P. O. Box 2212, Pinehurst, North Carolina 28370. Questions? 910.295.3580.
 
The article's author Lin St. John may also be reached linstjohn@msn.com.