from my brief trip overseas last week, i managed to bring home five new golf clubs, viz.: a 10-degree driver, 3 wood, 5 wood, hybrid, and 60-degree lob wedge. i also got the latest adidas golf shoes. just beautiful!

as i marveled at these new acquisitions, i began thinking about the first time i went to a golf shop nine years ago. although i did not know any close friend who was into the sport, and although i haven't held a club before, i instinctively went inside a shop and bought myself a new set of clubs. i then went to a nearby driving range and contracted a teaching pro to train me.

that was how it started. and it was nine years ago. indeed, tempus fugit.

playing golf has taught me a lot of things. it is a game that hones one’s patience and perseverance. as a mind game -- it trains you to look beyond the sand traps and water hazards, and aim for the pin; it pushes you to block off all environmental distractions and concentrate on the shot you are about to make. once you lose your cool and focus, that would be the end for you.

golfers use a variety of clubs. inside one's bag are the driver, fairway woods, irons, sand & pitching wedge, and putter. each has its unique shape, angle, and shaft length. each has a unique purpose, too.

the uniqueness of each golf club brings some realization.

in life, as in golf, you need a special tool for different situations. you do not use a driver to redeem your ball from a fried-egg lie in the sand. you cannot use a putter to enable your ball to carry 250 to 300 yards away.

in life, as in golf, you have to have the right tools to get you out of tricky situations. in life, as in golf, you have to have the right angle in seeing and sensing situations. in life, as in golf, you have to know the correct tool to use in any circumstance. in life, as in golf, you have to learn to focus on your objective and not be distracted by any water hazard, ditch, or sand trap. in life, as in golf, you cannot allow yourself to lose your cool.

golf is a game of recovery. the question is not whether your ball will end up in the sand. rather, the question is whether you will be able to successfully fork yourself out of the dune by using the right tool – the sand or lob wedge. in life, as in golf, it is not a question of whether you will be encountering troubles, challenges, and difficulties. rather, it is a question of how well you will be able to wiggle yourself out of these trials, learn from them, and thereafter prevent them from recurring.

in golf, a player is as good as his last shot. each shot counts, and each hole matters. in this year's U.S. Open, Phil Mickelson enjoyed a one stroke lead over Ogilvy going to the final 72nd hole. blunders of all blunders, Phil missed the fairway from the tee, failed to get to the green in regulation, and eventually made a double bogey to lose the championship. In fine, Ogilvy did not win the US Open, Mickelson LOST it.

these were and still are my thoughts about golf… the game that i've been and still trying to be really good at after nine years of playing (on and off).

will i really be good at it? only time will tell. i may have made my first and perhaps the only hole-in-one, but that is basically just a one-time feat. it still does not define me as a golfer. so whether or not i will eventually be a brilliant ball striker is still a big question mark. my only consolation is that, in golf, as in life, there is always a second chance; and in life, as in golf, victory awaits those who persevere.