Truly Great Experience

My Friday Morning Meeting Location

This past Friday, I had the opportunity to play golf at the Las Colinas Country Club. So I will caveat this story with a few things. First, I am not good at golf. I have, at times, gotten much better at it, but it has been a few years since I have played with enough consistency to generate any consistency in my game. Second, I do not get to play high end courses like this frequently. This particular round I won in a charity auction last year and finally got around to using. Still, I got out with a couple of my good friends and had a great time playing a truly amazing golf course. I will post a little bit later on customer service and the difference in these high end experiences and the standard municipal course that I end up on. But today, I thought I would talk about the value of experience.

I did not break 100. One in our group did (88 for Jon). There was a point in my golfing days that I was targeting the 80s and shooting the low 90s, but being as out of practice as I am, I thought my low 100s was a decent score for such a great course (though I am sure there were a couple of strokes here and there that were ignored on the scorecard). 

Despite the score, though, there were other things to focus on. 

For starters, there were still glimmers of hope in my game. I had two approach shots where I landed nicely on the green from 80-120 yards out. The large island-like greens didn't hurt, but still, the few shots that went totally pure off the club always draw me back to the game. I also had a very nice birdie putt from off the green on a par 3. If I can hit a perfect approach shot twice in a round, I can hit a perfect approach shot four or six or eighteen times. I can putt lights-out more than one hole, for sure. In another round. All in all, there were at least ten or eleven shots that I was extremely happy with. So my goal from here is just increase that from ten percent.

But beyond the play, the course itself was beautiful (don't believe me? Check that picture of the first tee above). We admired the wildlife along the way as well (if you play golf and don't check out wildlife in our little urban green spots, you're missing part of the game in my opinion). I managed to see a woodpecker with a bright red head, a horned toad or some other large lizard, geese, egrets, and an extremely fast turtle making its way across the bridge that we all commented on. A leaping bass from a water hazard rounded out the bunch.

Add to that the overall service of the place (which I will detail later). But the overall experience was one to cherish. I can't say when I can repeat that again. Sure, I'll play golf with my friends, but it won't match up to everything that we were able to go through on Friday. The stories, the bonding, the discussion, and the round were all a one-time event that is now the past. But it is our past. A shared experience that we all have. And that's what makes life.

Not all experiences are that great. Some are quite the opposite. But they still leave an impact and the ability for us to learn and move forward with them to grow as people.

What experience has shaped you of late?