Golf really is a means to a greater end. My plan is to play up to age 45, at which point I'll have enough years in that I'll be financially secure and can explore other areas. I can't stop thinking about what things golf has enabled me to do. I want to serve communities, to make the world a better place. A very good way for me to accomplish that is to become governor of New Mexico.
The term "Indian" isn't offensive when used in the right context. Team mascots like "Braves" or "Warriors" aren't very PC, and the Tomahawk Chop is a little borderline, but I can live with them. So where do we cross the line? Caricatures such as the smiling Cleveland Indian, with his large nose and bright red face, definitely show a lack of respect. And the term "Redskins" is extremely offensive, almost the equivalent of the "n" word.
The way to play this game is to press on. You just can't ever give up. It's like riding a bicycle into the wind on a cold, rainy day. You don't stop to reflect on the difficulty or the discomfort. You just keep pounding away. Great golfers are like that. Underneath the smile, the nice clothes and the friendly waves is a person bent on pressing on. Mentally, golfers are as tough as any athlete in any sport.
I'm a very controlled person. But when somebody in the car ahead of me flips a smoldering cigarette butt out the window, I go off the deep end. It's littering, and it's a fire hazard. It shows no respect or consideration. A player can get fined on the PGA Tour for violating the dress code or for playing slowly, but the person who flips his butts out the window is fined nothing. Where's the justice?
Three years ago I found a girlfriend. We dated for a year, then got engaged. After another year we broke off the engagement. Then we broke up. Now we're dating again. It's been a tough round of golf, but maybe the back nine will be easier.
Golf is as addictive to tour players as it is to the average golfer, but in a slightly different way. Professionals have come a bit closer to achieving perfection, so the quest to master the game is perhaps more compelling because it seems more within reach. The desire to win on the PGA Tour, the way the game constantly keeps us on edge and misleads us into thinking we have it mastered, is very seductive.
But here's what separates me from some of the guys I know out here: I've figured golf out. I've got her number. She's fickle and has messed with my head too many times, broken my heart once too often. She can't fool me. One day, when she least expects it, I'll just quietly walk away from her.
Two things about the movies are certain: The cowboys always win, and the best Indian roles are always played by a non-Indian actor.
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