“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” (Matthew 7:13-14, NIV)
How many putts do you average in a round of golf? If you don’t keep track of that particular statistic, just ask yourself how many three-putts you might have in a normal round and how many one-putts. Assuming you aren’t chipping in or four-putting very often, you can just assume that the rest will be two-putts.
For PGA Tour players the number was under 30 in 2014 until you dropped to the 164th ranked player in that category. For last season, Justin Leonard averaged just under 28 putts per round. If your average is 36 (two putts per hole), you could match Justin stroke for stroke from tee to green and he’d still beat you by eight shots!
Here’s how you can be a better putter: Find the way to the hole. Notice the definite article the in that sentence. For the speed you will hit the putt, there are not multiple paths; there is one. It is a narrow path, and the faster the ball is traveling the more narrow it is, which is why Bobby Jones liked to die the ball into the hole.
Once they have read a putt, some players aim at a point to one side of the hole (“a cup out,” one might say, or “right edge”) and then try to putt on a straight line toward that spot, knowing the ball will curve. These are called “linear” putters. Other players, like me, see the entire path of the putt and try to roll the ball on that line rather than aiming at a point. I’m a “non-linear” putter. Both of those methods work, but one will work better for you.
How do you see the path that leads to life? There is only one way, and it is through Jesus, but how do you see it? Like my putting, I can find it better if I see the curves and realize they are not taking me away from life, they are taking me toward it. Friends of mine say they just look straight ahead whether life curves or not. Both work.
Every time you putt you will send your ball on the way to a make or a miss. Broad is the way (easy to find) that leads to a miss, and narrow is the way that leads to a make. Likewise every step you take in your life will either put you on the path to a miss or a make. See the path—find the way—whether you see it as a straight or a curved line, then set your feet on it, fix your eyes on Jesus, and make your way toward life.
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Lewis Greer
October 22, 2014
Copyright 2014 Links Players International
The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.