Baseball versus Golf
My grandson's take on two great sports
To hear the related 5-minute audio file that I uploaded today as my Morning Journal flash briefing for Alexa devices, please click on the play button:
Beginner’s Mind
You might be surprised at an 11-year-old Little Leaguer’s view of golf.
I had the honor of introducing my grandson Jake to the ancient game during his current visit from Massachusetts. He and his brother Ryan and I hit floater balls into the local club’s driving pond yesterday and the day before.
At first, their golf swings looked a lot like baseball swings. But they naturally adapted to one key difference in the games.
“If the baseball would just be a nice, polite baseball and hover right in front of the base, then it would be much easier,” Jake told me on today’s Morning Journal. “But baseballs are rude and have an attitude—they prefer to fly in every which way.”
A golf ball, by comparison, just sits there on a tee or the fairway waiting for you to whack at it.
Jake also noticed how many clubs it takes to play golf. He is a left-hander, but we did find several lefty clubs for him to try.
If baseball were like golf, he mused, you might say, “I want to hit the ball to the left, so I am going to use my seven-iron bat.”
I loved his observations. I didn’t offer any suggestions for improvement of his all-natural, beginner’s swing.
Tomorrow Ryan and Jake will have a lesson from Chris Trottier at the club. I can’t wait to see what they learn!