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MountainWings - The Daily Inspirational E-Mail
#1168 Wings Over The Mountains of Life
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The Barefoot Golfer
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After the first hole, he always removed his shoes. 
He owned the finest golf shoes but preferred grass to leather. 

He was the barefoot golfer. 

He was my father.

If you are not familiar with golf, it is played in shoes with 
cleats, metal or plastic spikes that helps keep your feet firmly 
planted. My father wouldn't wear golf shoes. As soon as he 
played the first hole and was out of sight of the clubhouse he 
removed his fancy shoes. The golf course had an unspoken "no 
shoes, no service" policy.

Why did my father play golf without shoes?

It began with something that he read. I don't know where he 
read it, his room was a jumble of books on every subject that 
could improve life. He said that every organ in the body has 
nerve endings that terminate in the feet. When you walk on the 
ground, especially if dew is still on it, it creates a very 
small electrical current that energizes and helps the whole 
body.

My father in his 70's would walk each morning in the wet grass 
right after he finished standing on his head for 30 minutes.

Yes, he was a very unusual man.

He was by average terms a wealthy man. He had built a very 
successful business. He had six sons (four became ministers) 
and a wife that he had been married to for nearly 40 years. 
He was one of the most highly respected businessmen in the city.

Yet, he played golf in bare feet.

He understood some things about being grounded that you would do 
well to learn. Shoes won't do it. Yes, they help to firm up 
your stance and theoretically should help your golf game, but 
shoes don't make the difference in the real game of life.

My father was a physically small man. He stood about 5' 7" 
tall. He moved the scale to only 145 pounds. He had an 
extremely outgoing personality and could befriend anyone 
anywhere. He found golf partners no matter where he traveled.

He didn't even have a fancy golf bag or a full set of clubs. 
He carried only the bare essentials. He would team up with 
strangers and join their group. They would eye him as someone 
that would probably slow them down and diminish from the 
challenge and fun of the game.

On the second hole when they saw him remove his shoes they would 
glance at each other and wonder, "what kind of country player is 
this?" His swing wasn't even standard. My father's right 
shoulder was higher than his left. It came from many years of 
delivering newspapers in his youth with the heavy bag of papers 
slung over his shoulder. 
He compensated for his shoulders with an awkward looking swing. 

The other players thought at least he'd be fun with his wit and 
smile if not a challenge.

The thing is, 95% of the time, he won.

By the time they got to the last hole, they knew that this 
little man in bare feet was something to reckon with.

My father taught me that more often than not, the best way would 
be different from the way of the crowd. "Learn truth my son, 
and learn to walk in it," was his constant message to me.

That same message is constantly imbedded in MountainWings.

Has life's burdens and circumstances made one of your shoulders 
higher than the other? 

You can still win, even with a handicap, 
you just may need to swing differently.

So what if you don't have the fancy stuff? 
You can still win.

So what if you don't even have any golf shoes? 
You can still win.

Tensed up and stressed out? 
Take a bit of advice from my father, the barefoot golfer.

Get up early in the morning while the grass is still wet. 
Take off your shoes and spend ten minutes walking in the grass.

It's free. If you don't feel better - then what have you lost?

I recently bought a set of golf clubs to begin playing again. 

I also bought a fancy pair of golf shoes.

I will wear those fancy shoes when I play,

On the first hole.

Happy Father's Day to you all.



A MountainWings Original

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