Bobby Locke (1917-1987) is one of the greatest putters of all time; some would argue the very best. He coined the phrase, “All putts are straight.” Jack Nicklaus, who many argue is the greatest golfer of all time, subscribes to this same philosophy. Now, if you’ve ever played a round of golf (even mini-golf), you know that most putts do not travel in a straight line, so what was Bobby saying?
A sound golf stroke is a mechanically repeatable one. You could be the best reader of a green, able to imagine the path your golf ball will take once it leaves the clubface, but if you can’t start it on that path with precision, you’ll never make a putt. In this sense, every putt must be struck as if it were a straight putt.
This is actually very good news for aspiring golfers because, technically, a person only needs to learn one putting stroke: a straight one. The rest of the magic of making putts is starting them on line (I’ll leave further analysis for another day). This reminds me of life, where God the Holy Spirit helps us see the line and all we need to do is focus on hitting “straight putts”. Pretty simple, huh?
The best “putters” are the ones who keep it simple.
I’ve taught my congregation for years that God designed life to be uncomplicated. At the outset, before the Fall in the Garden of Eden, life was just that – simple. Obedience was the rule of the day. God showed the line, and man simply executed a “straight putt”, undisturbed by future concerns because God was in control of outcomes. Life was bliss.
The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
– Genesis 2:15-17
We know how that went. What we often don’t think about is how terribly complicated life got after the Fall. When sin entered the world, “all Hell broke loose”, as some would say, and man stopped hitting straight putts. What was once a life filled with peace, contentment, and unfettered obedience to the Lord was instantly replaced with confusion, self-loathing, and terror. Self-reliance ruled the day, where making putts was now perceived as man’s responsibility. Sin does that to a person. Man’s only remedy is to turn to the very Person whom he betrayed in the first place. So goes the saga of human history.
Solomon said it best when he wisely advised, “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13). This was his way of harkening us back to a place of stability and peace, where making putts was God’s responsibility. In a sense, Solomon was encouraging us all to keep it simple, like it used to be in the Garden.
The good life always begins with trusting obedience, where we don’t question the line we’re shown; we simply make a straight putt, remembering that God controls the outcome.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
– Proverbs 3:5-8
Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
– Jeremiah 17:5-8
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
– Romans 15:13
All putts are straight. Remember this.
Love in Christ,
Ed Collins