Does Practice Make Perfect

What I’m about to tell you will make you question my sanity.  I have been trying to get better at a hobby for over 40 years with no results.  I have taken lessons and I do practice.  I’ve bought new and improved equipment, but still the results are the same.  You know the saying, “Doing the same thing and expecting different results is the definition of insanity.” What is this activity that I have been working on for over 40 years – Golf.  Yes, golf has been a source of frustration since I was 17 years old.  Is it really that hard?  The ball is not being thrown at me at 90 miles per hour, it’s stationary.  There are no 6 foot 4, 300 pound tough guys between me and my target. For the most part, everyone around you is quiet. (Except the drunk guys on the adjacent hole.)  Maybe I was dropped on my head when I was a kid and I am subconsciously bent on torturing myself.  I can play 9 holes of golf at age 59 and have the same score that I achieved when I was 29 or 49.  Actually, it is a pretty hard game to play.  I can be standing 500 yards from a 4.25 inch hole in the ground, and I am expected to smack a 1.68 inch ball no more than 5 times into that hole to be successful.  It wouldn’t be so hard if I didn’t have to go over a body of water or through a sand pit.  Then the trees; lots of trees.  They’re everywhere and they seem to be pulling my golf ball toward them like a magnet.  But then that one day comes along where every shot feels so easy and perfect.  Visions of golfing everyday and making big money dance through your head.  That 40 foot putt falls in the cup and you just tip your hat to the imaginary crowd.  Yes, the insanity will continue and I hope so for the rest of my life.  Actually, I really believe I will have this game mastered by time I reach 80.