Love this. Many of us try to share with new team members to resist the temptation to focus on the competition, against our natural instincts. Maybe you can’t rally appreciate how it’s about so much more until you’ve experienced it. But once you are experiencing it you get it.So speaking on the above topic, some advice/thoughts to future Grandaddy hopefuls/participants.
Remember the big picture.
Some specific examples I want to point out:
I am a competitive person by nature. At the ECPC we had a pushcart race. No idea what the prize was at the time, I still wanted to win. And i tried to win. I was making great time when I went around the corner, only to nearly wipe out and finish last.
As a team, we faced some challenges and changes that we had to just go with. We had to bring our own clubs to play with, not every club option was available to each of us at the range, some of us (myself included) were steamrolled during a competitive match at the Hideaway, and sometimes you do something like break a sprinkler and feel absolutely terrible about it and are presented a $300 bill for the repair while everyone has a great laugh at you.
Point is, things are going to happen out of your control, and not go the way you expect them sometimes during this experience. But always remember the big picture. As a member of The Grandaddy you are representing an amazing community, at an amazing place, with amazing people; it’s an amazing opportunity.
It turned out so much better that I lost the cart race, and some fun content with the sprinkler head catastrophe. Not for me necessarily, but for the team and experience overall. And sometimes that is what you have to sit back and realize, this experience is better when things benefit the team/community more so than just yourself. Those smiles, conversations, memories of everything that worked out better for everyone, rather than just myself, I wouldn’t trade those moments for anything.