Let's face it; the past year was rough for everyone in more ways than we probably want to recall. So as we turn a corner on a new season and things open up again, it's time to get out, stretch, hit the back 9, and remember the little things in life, like daydreaming cinderella stories of winning the masters or almost accidentally destroying an entire golf course in pursuit of an elusive varmint. That's why we need to focus on the sage wisdom found in the masterclass film of zen: Caddyshack.
1) Don't overthink things too much, go with the flow, and be the ball - Ty Webb: "I'm going to give you a little advice. There's a force in the universe that makes things happen. And all you have to do is get in touch with it, stop thinking, let things happen, and be the ball."
2) Always remember what you have, even if you don't have it. If the devil is in the details, then forgetting about them must be better - Ty Webb: "Don't be obsessed with your desires Danny. The Zen philosopher, Basho, once wrote, 'A flute with no holes, is not a flute. A donut with no hole is a Danish.'"
3) Stay positive, and focus on what is right, or at least what is directionally correct - Ty Webb: "Remember Danny – Two wrongs don't make a right, but three rights make a left."
4) Take what you can get, when you can get it, even if it means being a looper for the Dalai Lama and receiving the gift of total consciousness right before you die instead of a tip - Carl Spackler: "So we finish the eighteenth, and he's gonna stiff me. And I say, 'Hey, Dalai Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know.' And he says, 'Oh, uh, there won't be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.' Which is nice."
5) Innovation is the mother of necessity and is the right thing for when you need the perfect combination of grass, grass, and uh... grass. - Carl Spackler: "This is a hybrid. This is a cross of Kentucky Bluegrass, Featherbed Bent, and Northern California Sensemilia. The amazing stuff about this is that you can play 36 holes on it in the afternoon, take it home, and just get stoned to the bejeezus-belt that night on this stuff."
6) Wisdom isn't always convenient as it seems, sometimes it can be practical - Ty Webb: "The shortest distance between two points is a straight line in the complete and opposite direction."
7) Cinderella Stories can come from anywhere, even our imagination when you can hit the par-4 18th hole (400 yards at the time) at Augusta as a three-shotter?- Carl Spackler: "The crowd is just on its feet here. He's a Cinderella boy, tears in his eyes, I guess, as he lines up this last shot. And he's got about 195 yards left, and he's got a, it looks like he's got about an eight iron. This crowd has gone deadly silent—Cinderella story, out of nowhere, former greenskeeper, now about to become the Masters champion."
8) And finally, when all else fails, you can always fall back on being a ditch digger. Okay, so maybe that advice didn't come from Carl or Ty, so take it with a grain of salt--or a blade of grass and a cannonball chaser. Your pick.
