Golf is often seen as a gentleman’s game only and is usually the sport of choice for wealthy businessmen as it is quite expensive to play the game. A hundred years ago, not much was different about the game of golf from now. Seen only as a sport for the elites, it was only practiced amongst the upper classes.
In comes Francis Ouimet.
A 20-year-old boy from an immigrant working class family, he fell in love with the game having watched it up close working as a caddie in the country club near his house.
The name of this movie is quite simple in describing the event that took place in 1913. At the U.S Open, Francis Ouimet competed against the best players in the world.
Why was it called the greatest game ever played? The culmination of so many factors that added up to an incredible viewing. The word “Underdog” could not be more befitting of the situation. Up against elite players of the highest caliber, Francis went head to head with them. He couldn’t have gotten there without some help.
He had training and tips from the man he caddied for, constantly improving his technique, having spotted his talent. His mother was a constant source of support, pushing back against the intolerance of his father. Finally, there was his caddie Eddie Lowery who exhibits power leadership and backbone at only 10 years old. Without all of these, Francis would never made it to that stage.
The question now is, what would it take for you to partake in the greatest game ever played?
What do you need to find that place and time, to perform to the highest level, and make your mark?
What this movie shows in a simple way, is how obstacles, sources of support and the element of time all collide together.
Things can, for all purposes intended, go against your will and sometimes there’s nothing you can do about it.
But what about the moments where there is something you can do?
What about the times when you can well and truly blow everyone away?
What’s stopping you, from reaching what Francis reached?
This should be your method of thinking.
You can’t move forward and improve in your career or your life without having set goals to follow.
You can’t properly move forward if these goals are either unattainable or impractical.
And if your goals are only short term and easy, you will become stagnate and stale.
Francis Ouimet probably never dreamed of reaching where he did. Actually, that’s exactly what he did. He dreamed, big dreams.
Life is not going to make it easy by any means. It will throw hurdle after hurdle at you of all shapes and sizes. But those who wait, plan, and endure, will most times come out the other side having the bigger piece of the pie in this game of life.
Nothing could have ever felt as good as playing on such a grand scale for Francis, and you should want to experience the same feeling.
Don’t just dream big, work to reach the platform that gives you a better chance of getting to your dream. You might not get there right away or even after a long time, but you have to do everything within your disposal to be ready for that moment when it comes, like it did for Francis.