The Best Compliment I Got Wasn’t About My Golf Swing
Settle in. Let’s talk golf.
Most of the stories I share here aren’t really about me.
They’re about what I’ve learned. The small changes that have helped my game. The mistakes that taught me something. My hope is that somewhere in those lessons, you’ll find something that helps your own golf journey.
This one is different.
This one is personal.
It still has golf lessons.
But the reason I’ll remember this round had nothing to do with my score.
It started on a Friday after work.
Eight of us headed to the course to squeeze in nine holes before dark. A couple of new people joined us, and one of them had just bought her very first set of clubs.
New bag.
New clubs.
Huge smile.
She couldn’t wait to get them on the course.
Actually…before we tee off, I have to tell you one story.
A few days earlier, I was in my office talking with someone. My office has floor-to-ceiling glass, so everyone walking by can see inside.
Out in the hallway, this same coworker stopped, grabbed an imaginary golf club, and took the biggest “air swing” you’ve ever seen.
The people walking behind her started laughing.
Naturally, I opened my office door.
“You know…” I said, “if you slow your tempo just a little…”
She burst out laughing.
Then she explained the joke.
She had just told everyone walking by, “Watch this. If I take a fake golf swing in front of Devin, he’ll come out and give me a golf tip.”
She wasn’t wrong.
Apparently my golf obsession is no longer a secret.
And honestly…
I’m okay with that.
If helping someone enjoy golf earns me the nickname “the golf guy” …
I’ll take it.
So…back to the course.
The first tee was a par five.
Like most first tees, confidence was high.
The golf…
Not so much.
A few nervous swings.
A couple of topped shots.
Some unplanned adventures into places the course designer definitely didn’t intend.
Just another normal first hole.
But this round was different for me.
For the first time, I wasn’t just out there hitting golf balls.
I had a plan.
The week before, I’d gone to the driving range with one goal.
Improve my tempo.
Not fix everything.
Not rebuild my swing.
Just one thing.
Instead of rushing my backswing, I focused on one simple word.
Slow.
As I started my backswing, I focused on following the clubhead while keeping my eyes on the ball. That one simple thought naturally slowed everything down. Suddenly I had time to complete my backswing, pause, hinge, and make a smoother swing through the ball.
For the first time in months…
The swing didn’t feel rushed.
The contact felt solid.
The ball flew farther.
Straighter.
And maybe most importantly…
I walked off the range smiling instead of wondering what I was doing wrong.
That little breakthrough came with me to the course.
I trusted it.
I committed to it.
And it worked.
My tempo stayed consistent.
My confidence grew with every hole.
Even my putting improved because I slowed down there, too. I picked a target, visualized the path, used the line on my golf ball to aim, and took a couple of practice strokes to get a feel for the speed before every putt.
Not every putt dropped.
But instead of racing six feet past the hole, most stopped within inches.
Progress.
Small Changes. Better Golf.
Then something happened that I wasn’t expecting.
Somewhere along the way, I stopped keeping score in my head and started paying more attention to everyone else’s smiles.
I found myself just as excited watching everyone else succeed as I was about my own shots.
Every great drive.
Every solid chip.
Every putt that nearly dropped.
I was cheering.
Encouraging.
Offering a tip when someone asked.
And yes…doing my ridiculous happy dance from halfway across the fairway whenever somebody hit a great shot.
It hit me that I was smiling more after someone else’s great shot than my own.
Like we usually do after golf, we grabbed hot dogs (thanks boss), laughed about the round, and I washed mine down with a Monster.
That’s when my boss smiled and said something I’ll probably never forget.
“Did you see how happy Devin was today? He’s a perfect girl dad.”
That one sentence stopped me for a second.
I smiled.
Because out of everything that happened that day…
That was the part that mattered most.
A little later, one of the people in my group smiled and said exactly the same thing.
I wasn’t expecting that.
And honestly…
It may have been one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me.
Sure, I played one of my better rounds.
Sure, my practice plan worked.
Sure, my confidence was growing.
But none of that is what I’ll remember.
I’ll remember the laughter.
The excitement of someone playing their brand-new clubs for the first time.
The jokes about my inability to resist giving golf tips.
And a compliment that reminded me golf isn’t always about becoming a better player.
Sometimes the best thing you bring to the golf course isn’t your golf.
Now that’s a scorecard worth paying attention to.
The Next Shot
When I started Bogey to Scratch, I thought it would mostly be about learning golf.
It turns out it’s become just as much about learning myself.
Golf has taught me patience.
It has taught me humility.
It’s taught me that confidence isn’t something you find. It’s something you build – one good decision, one practice session, and one small improvement at a time.
But every once in a while, golf teaches you something that has nothing to do with your swing.
This was one of those days.
Sure, I played one of my better rounds.
Sure, my practice plan worked.
But if you ask me what I’ll remember years from now, it won’t be the drives I hit or the putts I made.
It will be the laughter.
It will be watching someone fall in love with the game after buying their first set of clubs.
It will be celebrating someone else’s great shot.
And it will be hearing someone say,
“You’re a perfect girl dad.”
I don’t know if there’s a better compliment than that.
That’s why I’ll keep writing these stories.
Not because I have golf all figured out.
Far from it.
I’ll keep sharing what works, what doesn’t, and the lessons I pick up along the way. My hope is that somewhere in these stories, you’ll find something that helps your own journey – whether it’s a better swing, a different perspective, or simply a reminder to enjoy the people you’re playing with.
Because in the end, golf isn’t just about becoming a better golfer.
It’s about becoming the kind of golfer people hope is in their foursome.
If that happens…
I think you’re winning.
And maybe…
That’s the best scorecard any of us can hope for.
Small Changes. Better Golf.
