Getting to the Bottom of the Problem

I love golf. If only it loved me in return. Alas, it is a one-sided romance. My golf swing is the stuff that keeps an instructor awake at night. One kindly compared it to an octopus falling from a tree. Another said, “I know your problem. You are standing too close to the ball after you hit it.” Still another suggested that I take a couple of weeks off from golf, then try bowling. 

One coach refuses to give up on me. He is a terrific friend and experienced sleuth of the game. He works on golf like a mechanic on a V-8 engine, taking my swing apart piece by piece. During one lesson, I thought I had done the impossible. I thought I had stumped him. He studied me as I hit ball after ball. He watched from every angle. 

He stood behind me, to either side of me. Finally, I asked him, “What do you think I should do?” He rested his elbow on a crossed arm and cupped his chin in his hand. “I’m not sure.” “What do you mean?” “Well, I’m trying to find the one problem that is causing the other nine.” (We are still looking for it.) His approach makes sense. 

Problems are best solved when traced to their beginnings. This teaching strategy explains my fascination with the most well-known verse in the Bible: John 3:16. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.