The First Tee Doesn't Care Who You Are!

There’s something about the first tee.

Four people can walk onto it carrying completely different lives.

One might own a company.

Another works twelve-hour shifts.

One might be retired.

Another could be playing his first round after somebody finally convinced him to give golf a try.

Different ages. | Different jobs. | Different backgrounds. | Different stories.

Then somebody sticks a tee in the ground.

And suddenly?

None of that matters very much.

For the next eighteen holes, everybody is simply trying to get the same little white ball into the same little cup.

That’s one of the things I love most about this game.

Golf Has a Way of Leveling Things Out

Golf does not care what your title is.

The first tee doesn’t ask what kind of truck you drive.

The bunker doesn’t care how much money you make.

And that four-footer on eighteen definitely doesn’t care what your business card says.

Golf will humble everybody eventually.

If you’ve played long enough, you already know.

One Saturday you feel like you finally figured the game out.

The next Saturday you’re standing in the desert looking for your third ball before you’ve finished your morning coffee.

Bienvenido al golf, cabrón.

That humility is healthy.

Because when the game knocks everybody down a notch, something else starts happening.

People connect.

Four Hours Without the Titles

Think about how unusual a round of golf really is.

Where else do adults from completely different backgrounds spend four uninterrupted hours together?

You walk. |  You talk.  | You wait. | You laugh. | You help somebody find a ball.

You compliment a good shot.

You watch somebody struggle.

And somewhere along the way, the conversation gets beyond:

“So, what do you do?”

You hear about families.

Kids.

Grandkids.

Where somebody grew up.

The job they used to have.

The business they’re trying to build.

The father who taught them the game.

The friend they wish they could play one more round with.

By the back nine, you're not playing with a job title anymore.

You're playing with a person.

The Local Course Might Be Golf at Its Best

I have a special appreciation for municipal golf.

Not because every fairway is perfect.

They're not.

Not because the clubhouse looks like a resort.

It usually doesn't.

I love municipal golf because that's where you see the game in its most honest form.

• Pickup trucks in the parking lot.
• Work boots getting traded for golf shoes.
• Retired guys arguing over a two-dollar putt.
• Kids learning the game.
• Fathers and sons.
• Old friends.
• New friends.
• People squeezing in eighteen before dinner.
• Nobody needs a marble clubhouse.
• They need a tee time and somebody worth sharing it with.
• That feels a lot like West Texas to me.

Respect Is the Price of Admission

Golf Hecho Diferente has never meant ignoring golf's traditions.

Quite the opposite.

Some traditions deserve protecting.

Shake hands.

Take care of the course.

Fix your ball mark.

Don't talk during somebody's swing.

Play at a reasonable pace.

Respect the people around you.

And when somebody new joins your group, make them feel welcome.

• You don't have to dress alike.
• You don't have to vote alike.
• You don't have to come from the same neighborhood.
• You don't even have to agree on which breakfast taco is superior.

Although we're probably going to have that argument somewhere around hole six.

What matters is respect.

That's old-school.

And I hope it never changes.

Everybody Was New Once

Golf can be intimidating.

There are rules.

Etiquette.

Equipment.

Terminology.

People sometimes assume everyone else knows what they're doing.

Here's a secret:

Most of us are still figuring it out.

So when somebody new shows up, help them.

Don't embarrass them.

Show them where to stand.

Explain ready golf.

Tell them when they hit a good shot.

Laugh with them when things go sideways.

Because whether somebody plays golf for the rest of their life may come down to how they feel during those first few rounds.

That's bigger than score.

See You on the First Tee

Maybe that's the real lesson.

Life spends a lot of time putting people into categories.

Golf has a way of removing them.

For a few hours, we're just golfers.

• Trying.
• Failing.
• Laughing.
• Competing.
• Encouraging each other.

And hopefully leaving the course a little better than we found it.

So next time you get paired with somebody you don't know, shake their hand.

Ask their name.

Welcome them into the group.

Because you never know who is standing beside you.

And for the next eighteen holes...

It doesn't really matter.

You're both golfers.

Play the game.

Respect the tradition.

Enjoy the people.

Make the round legendary.

Viva Los Leyenderos.

Live Legendary.