IF Kipling Played Golf
If you can dream of breaking par,
And master that dream by not then topping it off the first tee;
If you can wait, and not be tired by waiting,
For the slow foursome playing up ahead;
Or hearing lies, not give yourself to stating,
Your partner’s six was actually an eight;
If you can meet with Birdie and Disaster
(A 20 foot putt versus a ball lost in the trees),
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can trust your read when others doubt you,
And still two-putt, as you were meant to do;
If you can watch the swing you spent all winter perfecting,
Break apart and lose its flame,
And build it back by thinking “soft hands, weight left, body rotation”;
Then yours is the Course and everything that’s in it,
And, what's more, you’ll be a True Golfer, my friend!
© Parwinder Sekhon August 2025