“Some of us worship in churches, some in synagogues, some on golf courses.”
~Adlai Stevenson
Lee Trevino once said: “There are two things you can do with your head down — play golf and pray.” With Easter upon us, the recently-published “Faith in the Fairway, Inspiring Devotions from Pro Golfers,” edited by Ben Crane, seems apropos since many pro golfers acknowledge the heavens quite frequently while on the course. Whether there is divine intervention or simply good luck is a matter of interpretation. The question that many wonder: Can a golfer’s faith have a positive impact on his or her game?
Some of the finest players of the PGA share a year’s worth of brief and personal daily reflections on keeping the faith—both in the high-stakes world of professional sports and in life beyond the greens.
Within the pages of “Faith in the Fairway,” 15 PGA Tour pros, including five-time winner Crane as general editor, take a Bible verse, interpret it with a golf or life lesson, then add a self-examination question and a petition. Those involved, and the number of verses they cover, include Crane (30), Bubba Watson (7), Webb Simpson (4), Zach Johnson (12), Davis Love III (13), Aaron Baddeley (18), Jonathan Byrd (10), Stewart Cink (12), Lee Janzen (8), Tom Lehman (4), Justin Leonard (4), Scott Stallings (3), Kevin Streelman (8), Cameron Tringale (23), and Mark Wilson (15).
Eight of these 15 golfers have won a major, and the other seven are highly competitive in their own right, so there is value in discerning where they place their priorities. Also, how they balance a conservative lifestyle given the excesses available while on tour, and how having an inner calm and peace helps them during the highs and lows they experience. The book’s ultimate message is that these players know their faith might not produce a victory on the course, but they feel like winners for the way they live their lives and conduct themselves.
“Faith in the Fairway, Inspiring Devotions from Pro Golfers,” was published by Harvest House. The 176-page paperback retails for $13 and is available at all booksellers.
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Rick Stedman is an avid golfer, RVer, and writer who lives in Olympia, Washington. Rick writes a golf column, “The RV Golfer,” which is published every month in rvlife.com. He can be reached at rstedman@gmail.com.
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