For me, golf is more than just a game. It has been present at the center of many memories in my life. It has also been present at many important crossroads in my life journey. No matter what happens, golf always finds its way back to me. I have walked a similar path with Art. As a kid I was more enthralled with watching Bob Ross than kids shows. As an adult art has been a career, an outlet and something that like golf I am constantly chasing.
Golf and Art seem drastically different, yet are striking similar. Or are they? For both, our ability to see is maybe the most overlooked but valuable skill. With art it’s more than simply seeing a tree or a mountain. It’s more than assuming what is there, there’s an art to seeing, dismissing preconceived ideas of what is there. Standing on a tee box and visualizing the hole ahead is the same-it’s about truly seeing what’s in front of you. It’s about observing, dismissing assumptions, and breaking the hole down into a manageable sequence of shots. Just as you would break a painting or drawing down into manageable steps. Both begin with a broad stroke designed to cover a lot of ground, that stroke typically uses the largest brush, or club. As you proceed, you work towards the final details, the final stroke.
I have always been drawn to teaching or coaching in one way or another. I, at one point in time, had the ambition to teach golf, but after speaking with a mentor of mine chose a different route. Eventually my wife and I started teaching art, painting in particular. Golf took a back seat to life, but, las always it found its way back. I’ve always had a vision of how I want a golf lifestyle to be for me, but it turns out at the age I am a career playing competitive golf isn’t on the palette.
Over the years I have discovered that teaching is more about sharing than instructing, I can still teach about golf, golf as I see it, as I walk the fairways I can share what I see through my art, my experiences and my own idealism of what the game is to me. Through this adventure I will journal my history, my journey and my perceived destination with both skills. I will share the creative process of my paintings, largely inspired by the courses I play along with the spirit of the Pacific Northwest, where I live. I will journal my experiences on the course, the people I meet, the process I see and the goals I hope to achieve. I have many ideas about the game-some not necessarily mainstream-but they suit my personal philosophy and approach. The romantic nostalgia of the game is always calling, much as the way the art of Monet or Bierstadt inspires the brush.
I invite you to join me on this journey. You may not agree with everything I say, and that’s perfectly fine—my thoughts are my own, not a gospel. But if my journey makes you reflect on your own, if it sparks a thought, a memory, or a new perspective, then I will be happy. As for the art, well, that’s simply my way of blending my passions into a single philosophy. The phrase ‘A good walk spoiled’ may have mysterious origins, but to me, a round of golf is always a good walk.
