Balance

Can a fourty-year-old family guy improve his game enough to become a scratch golfer and keep his career and family life flourishing?
That sentence isn't about me, but parts of it are true for many.
'Back Nine', a newly released documentary out on DVD, tells the tale of Jon Fitzgerald, a husband and father who decided to see just how good he could become at the game of golf.
Fitz lives in California and has golfed most of his life. With camera crews following him around, he enlists the help of various coaches, including a life coach, to see how far he can take his game.
I won't go too much further into detail and ruin what is a great doc, but let's just say Fitz improves in leaps and bounds.
The toughest part of it all for Fitz is finding balance between work, family and, of course, getting out and swinging the clubs.
It's probably something every golfer deals with because golf, more than any sport I can think of (well, maybe cricket but who plays that outside of Brits, Aussies and the like?), takes a lot of time.
It's something I have given some thought to as I set out this spring, summer and fall to dedicate more time to the sport.
By the time I swing that first club, Alisha and I will be married (the Big Day is the day after Prince William's nuptuals).
We both have work, a house to pay for and look after, and various sports and volunteer stuff to keep us busy. I play a lot of soccer in the summer, so golf has to fit in between that. We like to travel to see friends and hit the cottage on Lake Huron. We are big on family.
There is always something going on it seems, and somewhere to be.
Fitz had his time table worked out to a tee, mainly because he had to.
A single guy can call in a tee-time and stay for drinks afterwards without worrying about what is happening on the home front.
And do it all over again the next day if his schedule permits.
Fitz wasn't going to let family life suffer and his daughter grow up with a dad that is always off on some golf course.
Fitz was surprised by his steady improvement in a limited window of time but focus really was the key. Each lesson, from each coach and mentor, was taken to heart.
That is something I hope to duplicate.
Each time a friend offers a spark of advice, I will pack that away and use it when the situation calls for it. In my very limited golfing life, which is about four or five rounds a summer at best, I have learned a few things along the way that have helped.
Usually by the end of the round, I felt better about the way I hit the ball and wondered how my score would improve if I went another 18 the next day. Never happened.
This summer, I hope to learn something new each time out. I know full well the frustrations that are coming, but, as a smart fellow in 'Back Nine' pointed out, you need to focus on each shot, not the number of strokes or the end result. It's the same for all sport, and in everything really.
I have no idea how much I will get out on the links in 2011 but once-a-week is a realistic and achievable goal. There may be some weeks when I can golf more and others where it just won't be in the cards.
Driving ranges, practice swings in the basement and reading some good golf books can fill the gap.
Finding time to play and enjoy a round is easy, maintaining life balance, as Fitz can attest to, is the hard part.