The Secret Of The Green Jacket

The Secret of the Green Jacket

Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of golf. As a D-wired person, I have little patience with the idea of chasing a little white ball around a golf course all day. But after this year’s Masters Tournament, I may have to reconsider. I came to the realization that it’s not about chasing that little white ball. It’s not even about winning that green jacket. It’s really about chasing a dream.

Enter Bubba Watson, 16th in the world, and just three PGA wins under his belt. No formal training – not one single golf lesson. A technique all his own. Left-handed. A risk-taker. He was not considered a viable candidate for that green jacket, not even in his own estimation.

Nevertheless, the crowd was enamored with Bubba. Why? Because he was one of them – a regular guy, with the courage to pursue a monumental dream.

Bubba kept finding himself in the trees, so what did he do? He went on the attack. He looked for the opening, and he just went for it. He couldn’t see the green clearly from that vantage point, but he took a shot in the right direction. That shot landed within 10 feet of the hole! And he realized a dream behind his wildest imagination.

In an interview after the tournament, he said, "I've never had a dream go this far.”

After the game, he acknowledged the significant contributions of others in his life - his dad, who had died of cancer; his mother, his wife, and his caddie.

As we’re beginning to start our “Put Your Dream to the Test” series, I looked at this story with avid interest in how exactly Bubba’s dream came true. Here are the takeaways.

He found what he loved to do, and he did it.
He did not focus on the outcome (over which he had no real control), but on doing his very best (which was fully in his control).
He let nothing stop him.
He was genuine.
He was unconventional.
He took chances.
He took a shot in the right direction, even when he could not see the exact end point.
He attacked the obstacles.
He acknowledged the contributions of others.
He related to his fans so well that his win felt like their win, too.

Now apply this to YOU. Where it says “He” in the points above, put your name. Type them up and put them on your mirror or your refrigerator. These are the steps to YOUR dream.

You see, the secret of the green jacket

is that it’s not really about the green jacket.

It’s about the amazing, exciting, meaningful, and sometimes challenging journey you take to get there and the folks who share that journey with you.