“What I’m doing here at 7:30 this morning is far more important than what Scottie and I do at 1:50 this afternoon.” – Ted Scott, PGA Caddie
If you’ve ever golfed, you know there are times when you make a good swing that gets a bad bounce and ends up in a trap, or a sudden gust of wind comes up and your ball lands in a pond. It’s at times like these you will inevitably hear, “Well, the Golf Gods are against me today.”
Likewise, you may hit a wayward shot that gets a favorable bounce off a tree and ricochets into the middle of the fairway or hits a rake that prevents it from rolling into a trap. In which case one of your playing partners will sarcastically say, “Well, the Golf Gods are really with you today!”
In my 55 years of playing this difficult and often frustrating game, I have come to realize that the true God is busy with far more important things than whether my putt hits an old ball mark and misses the hole, or that a misplaced rake stopped my ball from going in the sand trap.
I have had a week where I experienced some incredible highs, most notably spending a week with all three of our adult children and friends for our annual get together at the RBC Heritage Golf Classic here in the Lowcountry. But also, a week of excruciating sadness that saw two former hockey players that I coached early in my career pass away at 59 and 57 respectively, and my Christian Business Men’s Connection (CBMC) leader’s wife drown in their community pool.
It’s a week when I needed the true God in my life both for the blessings and the sorrows. Thankfully I am surrounded by family and friends as well as my CBMC, Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA), Red Truck Men (RTM) and LowCountry Community Church (LCC) families, too.
Last Tuesday we had PGA professional golfer Russell Henley as our featured speaker to share his testimony at our sold out FCA Heritage Classic Breakfast. It’s the second time Russell has joined us, and his message was even more impactful this time around as he has used his faith to help him become one of the top golfers in the world. Not because he prays for success from the golf gods but because he has found a greater purpose and a sense of peace and contentment that have helped him keep things in perspective and to remain calm.
He shared that, with his wife Teil’s partnership, and the impact of Timothy Keller’s best seller “The Prodigal God,” he has really become a different, better, man. “I was lost. I was a bad friend, and a selfish friend,” he said. “The Bible has changed me. It isn’t a rule book. It’s a relationship with Jesus. Jesus actually railed against the ‘legalistic’ Pharisees of his day.”
Russell went on to say, “I have the opportunity to glorify the Lord by the way I play. I hope that when people see me, I can help them see the Lord. You also have the opportunity to glorify the Lord in whatever you do.” He concluded with, “There is no guarantee about the outcome out on the course or in life. Success in the eyes of the world is not the success I hunger for. My wife talks about enjoying the experience over the weekend. I try to replace the negativity with the blessings of being there.”
We also heard an amazing testimony from Hilton Head High junior golfer Harper Hadden. All she did was overcome a torn meniscus and ACL to help her team win the South Carolina state 4A girls’ golf championship and take home the individual championship. Her testimony almost upstaged that of Russell’s, which he humbly acknowledged!
My family and I attended the RBC Heritage Pro-Am on Wednesday at Harbour Town, and I was also able to enjoy a few rounds of golf with my three kids at area courses as well. But on Friday another amazing opportunity to hear a professional golfer’s testimony occurred. Our CBMC chapter hosted three-time major champion Larry Nelson at the Berkeley Hall Golf Club. I had the honor of giving the blessing before the meal to another sold out crowd.
Larry shared his story of growing up going to church, but said he was barely a Christian. Bible study certainly wasn’t a part of his younger life. After returning from serving in Vietnam and with the encouragement of his wife, he put aside his dreams of playing pro baseball and took up golf at 21, initially as a means of combating his PTSD from combat. The transformation in his life occurred after attending a Billy Graham revival where he gave his life to Christ and found peace.
After only playing golf for a few short years, he qualified for the PGA Tour, where he won 10 tournaments, including the 1983 U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club (OCC) just 15 minutes from where I grew up. I actually attended the Thursday round of the tournament. I told Larry I grew up playing Oakmont…that would be Oakmont East public course which was right next to OCC. Its only “claim to fame” is that it was closed down and used as a parking lot for any PGA or USGA tournament played at OCC! Steve Soulios, a member at the Berkley Hall Club and of a local CBMC Trusted Advisor Forum business owners group has started a project to make Larry’s story into a film.
Perhaps the highlight of the week was attending our FCA sunrise service held annually at the Liberty Tree plaza in Harbour Town before the Sunday final round of the RBC Heritage Classic begins. The beauty of this special place in the Sea Pines Resort on Hilton Head Island is overwhelming. Looking at the Liberty Tree with the water and the Harbour Town lighthouse in the background just transports your mind to a place of peace and contentment.
Our speaker was a return guest, Ted Scott, caddie for world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler since 2021 after caddying for 15 years for two-time Masters Champion Bubba Watson. A crowd of over 400 had gathered to listen to worship music before Rick Reichel from the Heritage Classic Foundation, which financially supports our South Coastal FCA chapter, gave a few brief remarks. He talked about the importance of Community, Character, Caring, Camaraderie and Competition, all for Christ.
Our FCA Area Director Rob Jacobs then introduced Ted and interviewed him to the crowd’s delight. Ted talked with such a calm demeanor and a self-deprecating tone and was just so relatable. He spoke about a book that changed his life, “The Freedom of Self Forgetfulness: The Path to the True Christian Joy,” also authored by Timothy Keller. It’s not about religion but a relationship. He offered great advice including:
“If you want to get better at something, spend time with someone who does it better than you.”
“Learn to serve others it because it brings incredible joy and pleasure (and fulfillment!)”
“My purpose is to serve mankind.”
As for what he tells players during a round, he said, “These guys are so good that sometimes I don’t say much. But even the best players have anxiety. These men have families, some have marital problems, or friends battling cancer. They are humans with real lives and similar stresses to you and me. There are times you need to motivate them, calm them, and to just reassure them.”
Lastly, Ted said something so incredibly powerful and impactful. “What I’m doing here at 7:30 this morning is far more important than what Scottie and I do at 1:50 this afternoon.”
On this particular Sunday, Scottie and Ted’s comeback fell one shot short to eventual winner Matt Fitzpatrick (his second playoff win at the Heritage Classic in the past two years). Matt Fitzpatrick’s expectant wife Katherine (Gaal) earned a dual degree from Penn State – that’s right, she‘s a Nittany Lion. So, as spectators we were going to feel joy no matter what the outcome!
As the camera zoomed in on a triumphant Fitzpatrick, a smiling Ted Scott was the first one to give Matt a hardy congratulatory handshake, followed closely by a smiling Scottie Scheffler. Scottie famously said after winning his second major championship that his success in golf is not what defines him as a person.
To me the “True Golf God” controls that 6-inch space between your ears. If you really have God in your heart and soul, the mind will follow.
