“The Secret is in the Dirt”

Golf is not a game of linear improvement with predictable results.  Sometimes we put in the work, only to experience maddening results.  And sometimes, the light shines upon us in our most desperate moments.  But, for those of us caught by the bug, we never stop seeking answers to the enigmatic riddle of golf.

And so I found myself on the driving range, with a buddy, working out the kinks of my erratic game.  A recent storm forced us to to hit off the pristine, faux grass mats.  And with these ideal conditions, nearly every one of my shots sailed into the great blue yonder (relatively speaking!).  It was the polar opposite of the dreadful round I had experienced just days earlier.  And in my giddiness, I expressed the thoughts of many frustrated golfers, searching for consistency in the confounding game:

“I wish I could take this mat out with with me for every round!”

My buddy chuckled and shook his head.  And then morphed into philosopher mode.

“The secret is in the dirt!”

Huh?

It was, of course, a reference to the classic Ben Hogan quote, when asked how he became a golf legend.  The quote was meant to suggest that the dirt on the practice range and the constant work on the course, hold the answers to success in the game of golf.  And that principle holds true with the impossibly perfect conditions of the practice mat.  If want to get better in golf, we have to mimic the conditions of the game.  We can’t practice in a plastic bubble and expect the lessons to translate to the course.

If we want to improve, we have to get dirty.  We have to grind in realistic conditions.  And the same is true in our pursuit of excellence in life.

We Have to Experience the World

We can learn business tactics and leadership skills in school and in controlled simulations.  We can read books and dive into models.  But there is no substitute for real-world experience.  Making actual decisions in the field that impact people’s lives is hard.  No one gets it right every time.  And these mistakes can be costly both financially and emotionally.  But getting dirty in the trenches with your teammates and employees is the only way to get better!  Leadership does not flow from the ivory tower. Tough conversations.  Cultivating relationships.  Direct communication.  The dirt will fly.  But that is the only way to have true impact.

Successful business leaders understand the challenges of their team.  Successful salespeople understand the pain of their clients.  Successful entrepreneurs understand the limitations and upside of their target market.  It’s not always going to be a linear journey on the way to the top.  It might be one step forward, two steps back.  But the answers lie in the grind of trial and error.  In the relentless pursuit of questions and curiosity.  In the messy and sometimes monotonous practice of our trade.  The secret is in the dirt!

Learn From the Lowlight Reel 

And the same is true in our personal lives.  We can’t parent from a book.  We can’t make lasting connections in an online environment.  We can’t avoid the tough conversations with our spouse or significant other.  The plastic bubble eventually melts under the white-hot spotlight of reality.

It is never easy, but our children need to hear from us directly when they step outside the lines.  We need to meet face-to-face to truly understand the wants and needs of a friend.  If we only talk about the comfortable subjects, the monsters in our closet only grow more terrifying.  Intimacy doesn’t stem from replicating ideal conditions and stuffing the challenges for another day.  It comes from working through the most difficult situations together.  Life is not about living a highlight reel.  Sometimes, it is about gleaning valuable lessons from the moments we want to leave on the cutting room floor.

The Answers Are Out There

Golf and life are thus inextricably intertwined.  We work hard in difficult conditions.  We constantly seek to tweak our approach and improve.  We do not hide from the challenges or seek gimmicks to overcome our weaknesses.  And we do not always follow a linear path to the top.  There will be times when we want to give up.  There will be times when it all seems futile.  But we can never abandon the quest for improvement. This is when our resilience wells up inside us.  This is when our will and grit shine through. Our next shot could be the greatest one of all.  We have to keep playing the game!

It is not going to be easy.  No worthwhile pursuit comes without pain.  But the answers are out there if we keep searching.  The secret, my friends, is in the dirt!