Presence Golf 

Lessons From the Dojo

A round of golf with someone I found difficult to connect with revealed an old pattern: allowing another person's energy to influence my own. When I found myself paired with that person again, I had an opportunity to practice something different. This Lessons from the Dojo reflection explores judgment, compassion, and the freedom of allowing others to be themselves while remaining true to who we are.

Eight straight days of golf had left my body tired, and my ball-striking wasn't spectacular. Yet I shot 81 without making anything worse than bogey. The lesson wasn't about hitting great shots. It was about patiently responding to the poor ones—getting back in position, resisting the heroic recovery, and simply playing the next shot.

I was playing reasonably solid golf until the head professional joined us late in the round. Almost immediately, I felt something shift in my body. Nothing about the golf course had changed, but suddenly I felt watched. I had moved from Presence into performance. This Lessons from the Dojo reflection isn't about fixing what happened. It's about noticing what golf revealed when someone's opinion suddenly seemed to matter.

My first golf tournament in years brought fear, expectations, score, and attachment to the surface. Instead of seeing those things as failures, I began to see competition as another part of the dojo. Here are three simple lessons I learned about competing fully, staying rooted in Presence, and keeping golf in balance with a bigger life.

Before my round at Marianna Butte, I committed to one intention: Peace begins with me. During the round I battled snap hooks, chip yips, and moments of hesitation, yet I discovered something far more valuable than a lower score. Peace isn't something golf gives us—it is something we bring to the course. This reflection explores how Presence transforms not only the way we play, but the way we live.

Preparing for my first tournament in years revealed something unexpected: I still cared deeply about score. But I also realized that score no longer defines me. In this first Lessons from the Dojo reflection, I explore the tension between competition and Presence, why golf is my practice rather than my identity, and how true self-mastery begins when we give our best effort without losing ourselves in the outcome.