There are two central principles in the game of golf:
1. Play the course as you find it.
2. Play the ball as it lies.
There are a couple of situations when that is impossible, such as when you find your ball on an immovable obstruction. Examples of immovable obstructions are cart paths, sprinkler heads, and that sort of thing.
There are a few things that have been obstructions to my golf ministry. One of those is that when I get to the national college golf events, I do not have an official role. I am not a player and I am not a coach. Sometimes my lack of official role makes it so that I cannot get “inside the ropes.” I cannot enter the clubhouse where the players and coaches are because I do not have official credentials. As a full time employee of Cru/AIA, I cannot have outside employment, so becoming a college golf coach is not allowed. That was when I realized I could take on a highly specialized volunteer role that would start granting me access to these young athletes at their highest events.
I could become a USGA Rules official (a volunteer position) and this would give me an official role that would gain me entrance into some of these restricted areas. I had to study extremely hard and take a test in order to become a rules official. I scored an 88 on the test which gave me “advanced” certification. Please pray that when I take the test in 2024 I am able to score above a 90 on the test, since this will grant me “expert” status and the highest level of access to college tournaments.
As for this summer, I am competing in my own golf tournaments. I am doing quite well and I am down to a six handicap. God allows me access through my participation in tournaments to interact with women from all sorts of walks of life and share with them the love and hope that is found in Jesus. I am also being a rules official at a few amateur golf tournaments in Oregon to gain experience. My hope is that this will be a stepping stone to officiating college tournaments and sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with even greater access to college students than I have ever had before.
Thank you for your prayers and generosity. You are making an eternal impact in the lives of many college students and helping to write their stories of redemption.
