I love to golf, and while I play primarily with my women friends, there are quite a few occasions where I play with men. This is a very interesting experience as men golfers who play with women golfers fall into one of three categories.
First . . . the "must coach you" man
For some reason, regardless of their ability, some men think they know more about everything than women do (or maybe it's everybody else), and so, even if they have only watched golf on TV and have only picked up a club in the past year, they feel they know a whole lot more about the game than you do. So if you should ever mishit a ball, they will come to your rescue, whether you want them to or not.
Second . . . the "must beat you" man
I love playing with men when my friend Deanna is with me because then I get a double pleasure. First, she is a single digit handicapper so I get to watch some beautiful golf, and second, I get to see some men squirm and justify themselves out of what really is their normal game. It goes a bit like this. They hit a pretty decent shot off the tee, and then take a little strut back to their cart. Then Deanna hits her drive and first their mouths drop open and then their faces fall, and as they drive by we can hear them mutter ( purposely loud enough for us to hear) … “I didn’t get all of that one.” Unfortunately, they did get all of that one and that one was their best drive of the day!
Third … the "we truly appreciate you" man
Then there is the third group, the largest group I am happy to say, who just love to golf, appreciate good golf, and don’t tie their ego to who wins or is the better player. I have played with many men like this, and let me tell you, it is a pleasure as everyone is complimenting everyone else during the round and a good time is had by all.
I didn’t write this to belittle certain men. I wrote this because we all do this or feel this in one area of our life or another. Even if we know little about the problem or situation, we feel compelled to tell a person what to do. If we feel we are pretty proficient in an area and someone shows up who is better, we often want to justify our visible weakness or claim it is an anomaly.
What we really should be doing is 1) knowing and accepting our limitations, 2) humbling ourselves, and 3) appreciating the gifts others have.
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6)
First . . . the "must coach you" man
For some reason, regardless of their ability, some men think they know more about everything than women do (or maybe it's everybody else), and so, even if they have only watched golf on TV and have only picked up a club in the past year, they feel they know a whole lot more about the game than you do. So if you should ever mishit a ball, they will come to your rescue, whether you want them to or not.
Second . . . the "must beat you" man
I love playing with men when my friend Deanna is with me because then I get a double pleasure. First, she is a single digit handicapper so I get to watch some beautiful golf, and second, I get to see some men squirm and justify themselves out of what really is their normal game. It goes a bit like this. They hit a pretty decent shot off the tee, and then take a little strut back to their cart. Then Deanna hits her drive and first their mouths drop open and then their faces fall, and as they drive by we can hear them mutter ( purposely loud enough for us to hear) … “I didn’t get all of that one.” Unfortunately, they did get all of that one and that one was their best drive of the day!
Third … the "we truly appreciate you" man
Then there is the third group, the largest group I am happy to say, who just love to golf, appreciate good golf, and don’t tie their ego to who wins or is the better player. I have played with many men like this, and let me tell you, it is a pleasure as everyone is complimenting everyone else during the round and a good time is had by all.
I didn’t write this to belittle certain men. I wrote this because we all do this or feel this in one area of our life or another. Even if we know little about the problem or situation, we feel compelled to tell a person what to do. If we feel we are pretty proficient in an area and someone shows up who is better, we often want to justify our visible weakness or claim it is an anomaly.
What we really should be doing is 1) knowing and accepting our limitations, 2) humbling ourselves, and 3) appreciating the gifts others have.
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.” (1 Corinthians 12:4-6)
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