This past weekend was the Bridgestone Invitational golf tournament. It was being held just up the road from us at Firestone Country Club in Akron, Ohio. It used to be called The World Series of Golf and is noted as one of Tiger Woods’s favorite tournaments. No wonder. He has won there 7 times since turning pro in 1996.
People said that going there is what Tiger needed to straighten out his game. It’s by invitation only, which means only selected golfers get to play, so that means there is no cut. In 44 previous rounds at Firestone, Tiger never shot worse than 72. He has won 7 times and never finished worse than a tie for 5th. But this past weekend, he shot 74 the first round, 72 the second round, 75 the third round, and ended up shooting a 79 for the final round. He finished next to last in the field.
While listening to a sports talk show, the commentator said that Tiger would not be the golfer he could be until he gets his house in order. I thought – you’ve got to be kidding me! Here are sports guys saying that if you are not right on the inside, it’s going to affect what you do. They went on to say that if your personal life is not settled and in order, the stress and pressure from it will keep you from performing at your highest level.
If there is guilt or hurt in your life that you have not dealt with, bet on it – it is affecting your leading. Guilt comes from the pain or hurt that we have inflicted on others. Hurt is the violation or pain that we have received from others.
And so it is with Tiger. He still thinks about his golf swing, but not because he needs to practice more. Basically he is living in denial, and it is wreaking havoc on him. He needs to realize that it’s not that his golf game is messed up, but that he is.
Sports writers are saying that Tiger is an average golfer today . . . best clutch putter . . . misses putts at 4 feet. It’s like he is Samson; he’s lost it. And if that’s true, Samson had to come clean. Tiger’s life has come unraveled, so when does it turn around? When all the mess is cleaned up. And the only way out of it will take humility.
Making right the things I did wrong; that is dealing with my guilt. Forgiving those who have hurt me; that is dealing with my hurt. It takes humility to do both of these. We have to do this as leaders, too, or we will find out as Tiger has, that what we were good at has now suffered greatly. It is not so much that our game is out of whack, but that our life is.
So if you feel or sense your leadership is not as strong as it once was, check out your guilt and hurt level.
