Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
June 6, 2008, Washington Post

Life Lessons on the Greens

Golf will be in the news for the next few weeks. The men's United States Open started yesterday, and the big question is whether Tiger Woods can come back after his recent knee surgery. If he can return after a two-month layoff and win the world's toughest tournament on a super-tough golf course, then maybe he is the greatest golfer ever.

Two weeks later, the women's U.S. Open will be played in Minnesota. Fans are hoping for a dramatic showdown between Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam, the world's top two women golfers.

I'll be watching both tournaments. I love watching golf on television, but most of all, I love playing golf. I've played since I was young, and I know that golf is a great game for kids. Here are a few reasons why.

Golf is played in some beautiful places. Check out the Torrey Pines golf course in San Diego, where the men are playing their championship. It's gorgeous, with several of the holes right by the Pacific Ocean. Of course, not all golf courses are as breathtaking as Torrey Pines. But these days, when too many kids are parked in front of TVs and computer screens, golf is great because it gets kids outside playing in the sunshine, on green grass and among the trees.

Golf also teaches manners and sportsmanship. Golfers have to be polite and wait their turn. They have to keep quiet when the other player is hitting his or her ball. Golf isn't like soccer or basketball, with a player trying to bother the other players to stop them from scoring. There's no defense in golf.

Golfers learn to pick up after themselves. They have to replace the grass they tear up after their shots, repair the marks their ball makes on the green and rake the sand traps after they use them. Golfers try to leave the course nice and neat for the next group of players.

And there are no referees or umpires in golf. Golfers keep their own score and sometimes even call penalties on themselves. So golfers also have to be honest.

Golf is a hard game that teaches mental discipline. Golfers have to keep their cool even after a bad shot or an unlucky bounce. Watch Annika Sorenstam in the women's Open; she never seems to get upset. She knows that worrying or getting mad about the shot she just hit won't help her play her best for the rest of the tournament. Golfers have to forget bad shots and move on.

Someone once asked Ben Hogan, a great golfer in the 1940s and '50s who won the U.S. Open four times, what was the most important shot in golf. "The next one," Hogan replied.

That's a great lesson to learn from a great game.

Fred Bowen writes KidsPost's sports opinion column and is an author of sports novels for kids.

© 2008 The Washington Post Company