“You become what you give your attention to.” – Epictetus

“The things you think about determine the quality of your mind.” – Marcus Aurelius

Self-deprecating humor is some of the best kind of humor. Mix in some sarcasm and it’s even better, a delicious cocktail.

At some point or another, we’ve all poked fun at ourselves for absent-mindedly leaving our car keys inside the house or for a lack of willpower as it pertains to chocolate chip cookies with the large chunks of chocolate and just the right dash of salt (you know the ones). We chuckle at ourselves and shake our heads and if someone else is around, they’ll laugh too (but hopefully not too much).

The game of golf is ripe for these types of self-targeted quips coupled with a wry smile. Nice putt, left it short right in the heart, you little weakling. Look at all that water, I wonder how many balls we’ll put in the bottom of those lakes today? No one lays up into a hazard better than me.

It’s worth pondering though, if you are truly trying to get better at this game, are those seemingly benign jokes helpful and possibly even detrimental?

Think about the last time you tried to memorize something, a pin code or where something was in a big store after you asked a clerk, or your list of things to get on the way to that store. What did you do? You repeated it over and over again so that it would stick.

I’m old enough that we memorized multiplication tables by writing them down over and over and over again. Repetition, repetition, repetition.

And so while we all like to elicit a laugh from others or from ourselves or both, I can’t help but think those statements, over and over again, aren’t a death-by-a-thousand-cuts-type-of-thing.

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts” – Marcus Aurelius

Many an evidence-based sports psychologist will profess the benefits of not getting too caught up in thoughts as they arrive and turning them into narratives. If that’s the right thing to do, then on some level, it must be a net-negative to talk about how you like to three-putt like it’s your job.

To be clear, it also doesn’t make sense to try and talk yourself into being a better player than you actually are. You can think positively all you want about how you are going to hit every fairway today and you can repeat "no doubles" all you want but that doesn’t mean you can just mantra your way to better golf — that’s pollyannaish.

In the end, golf is hard and we need all the help we can get. So therefore, if the self-directed barbs are even just 0.001% detrimental, doesn’t it make sense to find something else to poke fun at than ourselves?

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Currently reading: Glory Enough for All: The Battle of the Crater by Duane Schultz. Historical fiction based on the true story of a Pennsylvania regiment from the coal-regions that dug a tunnel underneath the Confederate lines and packed it with dynamite.

Also currently reading: Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. I’ve been reading the book for ages now, actually. Reading a dozen or so pages and then putting it down for a dozen or so days. While informative and useful, for sure, it is not a page-turner. Reading, slow and slower.

Recently finished: Comanche Moon by Larry McMurty. It is the prequel to Lonesome Dove and like many prequels/sequels, it is quite good but not as good as what came first. I borrowed it from our local library and twice, without me doing anything, the system auto-renewed it for me, somehow seemingly knowing that 752 pages of moderate enjoyment might take a while.

Of all the games we play, none has a better playing field or setting than golf.

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"Confine yourself to the present." ~ Marcus Aurelius

“Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it.” ~ Sharon Salzberg

"Pay attention to your intention." ~ Lynn Marriott

"The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very root of judgment, character, and will." ~ William James

"Simply begin again." ~ Joseph Goldstein

Winter in the Philadelphia suburbs has been brutal, to use a popular term in the Philadelphia area to describe any number of things from weather to traffic to the Birds. There’s nothing so pointed and sharp as a "hoagie mouth" uttering "broodal".

In most winters here, there a few days in December thru February where the temperature edges above 45°F and the schedule aligns for a quick couple of holes and a dose of free Vitamin D. But this year, temperatures rarely get above freezing and snow with an upper crust of ice has been on the ground for weeks. I last played golf outside in November. (Very much a first world, Main Line problem, yes.)

This morning, the "feels like" was -10°F and even our dogs had little interest in being outside. Fortunately however, while the coffee was still quite warm, I discovered that No. 35 of The Golfer’s Journal arrived and that it contained a piece on the experience of attending the 2025 Walker Cup by Charlie Warzel. I wasted little time, pouring a cup and settling in on the couch.

Warzel described the uniqueness and intimacy of seeing a Walker Cup in person, which reminded me of Walker Cups and Curtis Cups that I have experienced first hand at nearby Merion. My most recent experience is the 2022 Curtis Cup and as I read the piece, I was reminded of something I noticed almost immediately as we walked down the fairways with the female players, many of whom were in their late teens or early twenties: their ability to focus on the task at hand — playing great golf.

Between shots, if you listened to the young women talk and if you closed your eyes (inadvisable, given the depth of many bunkers at Merion), the conversations were like any other conversation you might overhear from young women everywhere: comparing college campuses and the quality of the food they offered students, TV shows they were binging, the inconveniences of plane travel, often laughing with their teammates and opponents. The only thing missing were smartphones.

But once the players got to within 10 yards of their ball, a switch would flip. Their countenances changed from that of happy teenagers to that of neurosurgeons as they assessed wind, elevation changes, lie, distance and coming up with the best answers to the questions the course and the match were asking at that moment. They would rehearse their swings for the shot at hand, execute, and then calmly assess the process and outcome. As they began to walk after their balls again, their minds usually shifted back to the politely gregarious camaraderie.

Over and over again, I watched that process repeat itself.

It was an incredible display of efficient mental, emotional — and therefore physical — control.

At such a comparatively young age, these players knew that to stay locked in for four hours was unrealistic and unsustainable. But they also knew how to get themselves out of socializing mode and back into golf mode quite well. It was hard not to be aware of their awareness.

Amazing to witness and something to emulate, regardless of age, skill level, or setting. Be locked in when it matters, but in between? Maybe not so much. Just don’t forget to begin again when it matters.

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One of the reasons a Charlie Warzel byline will catch my eye is because it was an article that he wrote in TGJ No. 19 about the Chasing Scratch podcast that alerted me to my now favorite pod’s existence. If you think you would enjoy listening to two good friends spontaneously and hilariously riff on any number of tangents while attempting to reach 0.0, Chasing Scratch is for you.

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Speaking of Chasing Scratch, a recurring guest on the pod is Dr. Jason Novetsky, a sports psychologist who recently published the Stoic Journal for Athletes. If you are reading this newsletter, you’re going to want to check that out.

“Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not, but reckon up the chief of the blessings you do possess, and then thankfully remember how you would crave for them if they were not yours.” ~ Marcus Aurelius

“Nothing will content him who is not content with a little.” ~ Seneca

Every golfer has their "miss". I have two, a straight block to the right or a big hook, both of which come from a pronounced inside to out swing path. For others, it’s it might be a weak, spinny slice or having a tendency to catch the ball a groove (or two) fat. If you suffer from the strike on the hosel that shall not be named, we’re so, so sorry.

On some days, these misses happen less often than others. There are days where you got just the right amount of sleep, food in the belly, caffeine and/or adult libations that allow you to avoid your miss regularly.

Unfortunately, there are also days were the stars did not align and it seems like the only shot you can hit is your miss.

On those days, it’s pretty easy to get annoyed with yourself and the game of golf in general. The mind leaves the present moment and starts asking unhelpful questions. Why do I play this game anyway? What’s the point of coming out here? Why do I suck so bad at this when the ball is just sitting there?

But are those questions actually unhelpful? What were to happen if you were to ask yourself in a curious, non-judgmental tone, "why do I play this game?" and "what is the point of coming out here?"

If you take the time to truly think about those questions and answer them in a thoughtful way, you probably arrive at something like, "I enjoy being outside", "I enjoy the social aspect of the game", or "I enjoy the challenge, frankly" or a combination of all of the above.

And so, when Your Miss seems to be happening more often than the good shots are happening, if you can remind yourself of why you play the game and be thankful for the opportunity to do so, it’s amazing how your body and mind lighten and good shots return.

“…the more grateful we are to take the opportunity to play today, the more we create the conditions of being in the place all of the sports psychology books tell us to be: The present moment.” ~ Karl Morris, The Lost Art of Playing Golf

At the risk of being preachy, be thankful for the chance to be outside when you could be in a cubicle somewhere. Be thankful for the opportunity to take on the challenge of getting that little ball into the slightly larger hole. Maybe most importantly, be thankful for the opportunity golf provides to spend time with friends or make new ones.

Try your hardest, but be thankful for the chance to do so.

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It’s always interesting to consider how often the observations and recommendations of the Stoics, ancient Buddhists, and other philosophers are often proven out in today’s science. Gratitude practice has been shown as a tool to reduce anxiety and depression, likely improves emotion regulation, and improved cardiovascular health.

"Above all, it is necessary for a person to have a true self-estimate, for we commonly think we can do more than we really can." ~Seneca

So often on the golf course, our decisions are made subconsciously and stem from what we think we are supposed to do in order to play the game the right way.

As an example, the subconscious brain says, “There’s the fairway, I should aim at the center of the fairway because if I want to be a good player, I need to be in the center of the fairway.” Forget about the fact that there might be a vast area of medium rough on the left of the fairway and a penalty area tightly hugging the right side of the fairway, you still aim down the middle because that’s how you think the game should be played.

If we are more intentional in our thinking and more realistic about our capabilities, we would realize that the proper line off the tee might be the rough/fairway line on the left, which would greatly reduce or ellipsis the chances of the tee ball finding the penalty area.

The irony here is that the better the player, the more likely they are to aim away from trouble, and the mid-to-high-handicapper with the wider dispersion off the tee is more likely to take a line that brings trouble into play.

It’s not just tee shots – as a matter of fact, the lack of realistic tactics is even more noticeable with approach shots to greens. The subconscious brain says, “There’s the flag, I’m aiming at the flag.” Forget about the fact that the flag might be tucked close to the edge of the green and that there might even be a sand trap or water hazard tight to that edge, never once considering the fact that it’s pretty difficult to get even a 130 yard approach shot to within 30 feet every, single time.

"Plan conservatively but execute aggressively." ~ Bob Rotella, sports psychologist

Aim at the rough off the tee. Play to the center of the green, no matter how boring it might seem. Eschew the big-swing flop with the lob wedge from the deep rough, just get the ball on the green. While these might not be the “hero shots” that get discussed after the round, there’s a certain reward in knowing you’re playing smarter, not harder.

While it might not come naturally, over time, your scores will come down.

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About "Sticks and Stoa".

Over twenty five years ago, Bob Cullen* wrote Why Golf?, which remains an intriguing read for any golfer who has ever wondered something along the lines of, “why in the world does this game hold so much of our attention?”

Through conversations with experts, Cullen dug deep into several theories as to why humans have been enamored with golf for centuries. There was the psychiatrist who explained the innate explorative-assertive motivational system we all have and another expert who lectured Cullen on our evolutionary psychological attraction to “prospect environments”. While these sound like dense, esoteric topics, the book is a fun read – I promise. (But probably only if you love golf.)

More recently, I was having a discussion with some fellow golf sickos. The original purpose of the conversation was to get together and discuss Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle is the Way (I’m not the only one, apparently, that sees how Stoicism makes for a great golf mindset) but as group conversations often do, the topic drifted and we got onto tricks and hacks for staying focused on the golf course, which in turn drifted to the benefits of mindfulness meditation and the benefits of anchoring your attention on the breath or another sensation**.

There is a misconception that the point of mindfulness meditation is to reach a state of calm, blissful, Zen. Rather, the point of mindfulness meditation is to simply notice when you are distracted (which will always happen) and bring your attention back to the breath or your anchor of choice, and the repetitive act of doing so, if you trust the process, builds up the “brain muscles” responsible for preventing us from endless distraction, daydreaming, and ruminating. Attention drifts off, you realize it, you focus your mind again, it drifts off, you realize it, you re-focus, lather, rinse, repeat.

Even more recently, I was in a practice session, trying to ingrain a movement pattern. Frankly, the movement pattern has me hitting the ball better and more consistently than at any other time in my long, long time playing this sport but even so, after a poor swing on the range, I might find myself getting distracted and thinking about another movement pattern – maybe something I read or saw on YouTube or Instagram, who knows. After another mediocre swing or two, I realized hey, you aren’t paying attention to your intention, c’mon man. I went back to the pattern that has been working for a while now and the shots felt solid and pure again.

After the session, a thought came to mind: is it possible that one of the reasons we are so enamored with golf is the same reason that we find mindfulness meditation to be beneficial? On some level, do we know that bringing our minds back to the task at hand and not being distracted by thoughts or feelings or swing thoughts or swing feelings is what’s best for us? Maybe. Sure seems like, at the very least, it’s worth adding this to the very long list of reasons we love golf.

Seneca wrote, “To be everywhere is to be nowhere” and this little essay is becoming a bit everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. I’ll close with this: next time you are on a practice range and as the crazy loud huge aluminum mechanical box deposits a hundred balls in that green plastic basket, ask yourself, “what am I trying to accomplish today?” Make a point to work on that one thing and one thing only with each ball that you rake from the bucket. No big deal if your mind drifts for a swing or two, but realize that, say to yourself, “not now monkey mind” and re-focus on your original intention.

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*If you recognize that name, Cullen was a professional writer who co-authored many of Bob Rotella’s books on golf psychology and mindset.

** Yes, I too see the irony in a conversation about focus meandering to and fro’ on adjacent topics.

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“The superior man thinks always of virtue; the common man thinks of comfort.” ~ Confucius

“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I'm going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?” ~ Marcus Aurelius in Meditations

One of the infinite ironies of human existence is that we seek comfort, we avoid resistance, avoid the hard thing, in order to conserve energy and increase the odds of survival. (Remember, nearly everything we do is rooted in the need to have enough to eat and not get eaten.)

And yet, the hard-wired tendency to avoid discomfort is also preventing us from reaching our full potential. As a species, in particular in developed countries, we’ve gotten so good at surviving that whatever we need is just an app away. Got some errands to run? Just pull out the MegaStoreDash app and it will all arrive at your house within 1 to 24 hours. And all of that leads to less exercise – both physical and mental. We’re not thinking through the steps needed to navigate the world to get the errands done and we aren’t getting in any steps either.

It’s so easy to fall into the trap of doing the easy thing – again, it’s just hardwired within us. Take, for example, a practice session on the driving range. If you’re not careful, you can fall into a habit of practicing your best club over and over again, session after session. Why? Because it’s easier. If you are prone to flubbing chip shots but can hit a fairway club high and far, you’re more likely to rake ball after ball with that club than you are to bring some balls to a short-game area and figure out how to make better contact. There’s no shame in it, that’s just what we do as humans without even thinking about it.

"The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." ~ Marcus Aurelius

In order to improve that part of our golf game that’s inflating our scores or in order to acquire a skill that gives us a leg up on the competition in our occupations, we need to get comfortable with discomfort.

Do the hard thing, just do it. Just get started. Ask yourself, what is the one simple thing that I can do right now in just a couple minutes. Some mobility stretches? Some putting drills in your living room to work on start line?

Think you can’t row any longer on the rowing machine? Just do a couple more strokes. Now you think you can’t? Just do a couple more, just a couple. Almost like a mindfulness meditation, when you find yourself losing the task at hand, re-direct yourself and keep going.

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Thousands and thousands and thousands of years of evolution and yet, the human brain still defaults to survival mode. Flight, fight, or freeze and ask questions later is the default for our brains.

After finally winning, Rory McIlroy was asked how he felt before teeing off on the final round of the Masters.

Knot in your stomach. Haven't really had much of an appetite all day. Tried to force food down. Your legs feel a little jelly-like

That’s the brain preparing the body to take flight or fight. Survival mode comes first, even for a guy that has hundreds of millions of dollars from playing golf and is capable of hitting shots no one else on the planet can hit. Rory’s brain wants to see Rory excel within the tribe and not be embarrassed in front of the tribe, risking expulsion and eventually becoming the saber-toothed tiger’s breakfast. No, that’s not what would happen in the year 2025, but our brains haven’t evolved to that extent as of yet.

One of the amazing things about golf and the Masters is that we can relate to what Rory was experiencing, despite the fact that we’ll never be in that position. But we’ve all been in positions where the outcome is both in doubt for something that we are incredibly vested in. Whether it’s a local qualifier for a national tournament, a finals match in the club championship, breaking 80 (or 90, or 100) for the first time, or winning your winter sim league – it matters to us. It’s one of the many reasons we play the game – to see what we can accomplish.

The trick is finding a way to function at the highest level/your highest level despite the shaking hands, the short breaths and the hint of nausea. As Karl Morris says, the question is, can you access the skills you’ve worked hard on developing on the range and in practice? That’s the big question, and look, if it was easy, everyone would do it and frankly, the game of golf probably wouldn’t be as rewarding.

The ancient sages – Buddhists, Stoics, etc. – didn’t have access to the neuroscience and neuropsychology that we all have now in bookstores and the web. But yet, they realized, through centuries of journaling, contemplation, and reflection, that the best way to overcome the swirling thoughts and emotions and the physical symptoms they illicit is to stay in the moment, a mindset that’s backed by today’s science.

“Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” ~ Buddha

“Don’t let your reflections on the whole sweep of life crush you. Don’t fill your mind with all the bad things that might still happen. Stay focused on the present situation and ask yourself why it’s so unbearable and can’t be survived.” ~ Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 8.36

Wonderful, wise observations and advice. Also, much easier said than done.

So how do we go about actually following the advice of these wise men and applying it to our golf games or, say, an important event at work or in our personal lives? Unfortunately, it takes practice.

“No man is free who is not master of himself.” ~ Epictetus

And then it takes awareness to actually apply them on a regular basis when the time calls for it.

“However many holy words you read, however many you speak, what good will they do you if you do not act upon them?” ~ Buddha

The tournament could have gotten away from McIlroy any number of times. On Thursday, the double bogey on no. 15 could have actually been worse — he could have hit his ball in the water more than just once. On Sunday, the double bogey on no. 1 could have easily snowballed into another bogey on no. 2 (though some would say the par was functionally a bogey). He righted the ship with a birdie on no. 3, somehow getting his head straight.

On no. 13 on Sunday with a four stroke lead, he decided to play the hole conservatively and with around 85 yards to the pin, which was 5 yards from the creek that defends the green, Rory pushed his pitch into said creek! A genuinely bad shot for even a mid-handicapper with so much room to the left and to compound the situation, Justin Rose and Ludwig Aberg were making a charge ahead of him on the second nine.

But somehow, perhaps through mental practice, perhaps through innate ability, Rory once again righted the ship at a time when so many past would-be Masters champions were not able to get through Amen Corner well enough to keep the lead. Yes, Rory took double bogey on a hole that averaged under par for the week, but many people would have spiraled after dumping the easy pitch into the water.

“It is not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” ~ Epictetus

The funny thing about golf though, is that sometimes what happens to us is our own doing, which can make it even more difficult to forget about and focus on the task at hand.

“Your head could blow off for all I care just as long as you're 100 percent committed to the next shot. That's all that matters. That next shot should be the most important shot in your life.” ~ Tiger Woods

Tiger has had a colorful, to say the least, personal life. But his ability to make good decisions and focus on the task at hand on the golf course was second to none.

So how do we build that skill? Meditate. Journal. Put yourself out there and see how you hold up, and then learn from the experience.

Just keep on going. It takes time. Thankfully, it’s a ton of fun isn’t it?

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Recommended Reading/Listening:

Charlie Warzel penned a great write-up of the tournament at The Golfer’s Journal.

Kyle Porter is writing like Will Ferrell’s Frank Ricard in the debate scene in Old School at Normal Sport. Possessed and really, really good.

The Shotgun Start podcast unpacks the Masters over two episodes (and counting?)

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If you live in a part of the world where winter is a real thing, then you probably love the Masters, in part, because it is one of the first signs of spring. In the piedmont of Georgia, the blooming shrubbery at Augusta National is a couple of weeks ahead of what is to come here in the Philadelphia suburbs and so the same anticipatory emotions kick in as on Christmas Eve or the day before a big party that has become a tradition in your neighborhood.

We love the Masters for the lead changes, birdie runs, and bogey trains that happen on Masters Sunday, in particular at Amen Corner and #15 an #16. Augusta National’s layout, design, and the weight of the importance of the tournament are all ingredients in a wonderful recipe for drama and entertainment on a Sunday afternoon in April*. The NFL is in the offseason, early-season baseball is nice, but the games have yet to take on real meaning and so even if you aren’t a golfer or fan of golf, the Masters is something to latch onto and focus on.

An underrated reason we love the Masters is because it is held on the same golf course, year after year and so there are the good feelings that familiarity brings. A tradition unlike any other, as we say. And perhaps you have traditions within the tradition – you might annually fall asleep for a wonderful, life-altering nap before the second nine begins** or maybe you have the same meal every year or maybe you have a little party, a more quaint version of a Super Bowl party.

But all of that is well-known, well-contemplated and are just givens at this point. Cliches, even.

For me, yes, I love the Masters because of the signs of spring, the traditions within the tradition, and the Sunday chaos the second nine provides, for sure. But there are other reasons that the tournament holds my focus year after year and I can’t imagine I’m alone in having these reasons.

The Momentus Decision(s)

There’s not another golf course on the planet that tempts players, hole after hole, the way Augusta National tempts players with nearly every hole asking players, “want to play it safe or go for it?”

The 13th at Augusta – Azalea – is a prime example of how the course asks the players that question from the tee shot until the ball is in the hole. Off the tee, do you want to hug the left side as much as possible for the reward of a shorter shot with a flat lie for the second shot with the risk of ending up in the creek hugging the left? Or do you want to just get one safely in the middle of the fairway? You can do that if you want, but then your next shot has a tough lie with the ball above your feet and a longer distance to the green.

Do you want to go for the green in two? It makes an eagle-3 more likely, so yeah, let’s do that. But wait, that brings bogey and double-bogey more likely too, so maybe not.

When describing the 13th hole at Augusta, the club and tournament’s founder, Bobby Jones called the decision for players to go for the green or not a "momentous decision”. While 99.9% of us will never have that momentous decision at Augusta on any day of the week, much less Masters Sunday, golf constantly asks us to make our own “momentous” decisions which is one of the reasons we love the course and the tournament so much: we can identify with what the golf-equivalent of superheroes they are going through.

“My opponent just hit his drive in the trees. Should I stick with driver and go for the jugular or should I take something less, keep it in play, and play the odds?”

“Should I take the break out and ram this one in with everyone watching or should I cozy it in the side door?”

“The flop right at the pin or the ‘vanilla’ pitch 20 feet to the left?”

No, we can’t hit majestic irons straight up into the clouds with thousands watching in person and millions on screens at home the way Rory McIlroy can*** and identify with him on that level. But, we can certainly identify with him when it comes to the process in our heads, deciding what we want to try to pull off and what consequences we are willing to live with after the shot has been hit.

Whether you are Rory “Effing” McIlroy or Rory from Havertown, Pennsylvania, those decisions are why we love our Wednesday afternoons on the course after work as much, or more, as Masters Sunday before the work week begins.

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* Millions of words can and will be written and discussed about the 2025 Masters, Rory, McIlroy, and the glass case of emotions we found ourselves in on the afternoon of April 13th.

** If you fall asleep during the second nine on Sunday, you are either not really a golf fan or you have a sleep disorder and you should see a professional.

*** Hey, there’s a hundred guys on the PGA Tour who can’t do it either, so don’t get down.

Stoa – An ancient Greek portico usually walled at the back with a front colonnade designed to afford a sheltered promenade.

Sticks – A colloquial term golfers sometimes use to refer to their golf clubs. “Grab your sticks, let’s play a quick nine.”

One of the greatest books ever written is Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, a Roman emperor from 161 CE to his death, likely from a plague, in 180 CE. Meditations wasn’t meant to be a widely circulated book. Rather, it was Marcus’s personal journal where he wrote down all of the thoughts and routines and ideas and philosophies that he wanted to live by, day after day. Some of these philosophies he formulated on his own after regular reflection, but it’s clear he was greatly influenced by philosophers from the Stoic school, such as Epictetus. The first Stoic was Zeno, who taught from the Stoa Poikile, or “painted porch” in Athens.

Meditations is a series of entries, some just a sentence or two while others are a long paragraph, all with the intention of reminding himself – the most powerful man in the world at the time – how to think and behave.

"The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts"

“External things are not the problem. It’s your assessment of them. Which you can erase right now.”

“Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present.”

Marcus was emperor during a difficult time. Naturally, there were wars to contend with, there were also attempted coups (one by a close friend!), and a plague that went on for decades, so keeping his wits about him was no easy task and something that he made sure to do on a daily basis through reflecting and writing.

Golfers do something similar, reminding themselves of the same things over and over. How we want to behave and how we want to think.

“Keep your head still.”

“Don’t jerk the club back, stay smooth.”

“Fairways and greens, fairways and greens.”

“Keep your composure.”

“Stay in the moment.”

Whether it is dealing with events that shape the history of humankind or playing a casual round after work, humans are, for some reason, prone to losing focus of the fundamentals – fundamentals of the greatest game ever invented or fundamentals of navigating life, either way, we repeatedly lose our focus.

Just as Marcus reminded himself of how to think and behave in his journal, which became Meditations, a golfer might remind themself to “stay in the moment” in the back of their yardage books. Thankfully, none of our yardage books or golf journals will be published for the world to read, but nevertheless, it is a similar thought process.

Sticks and Stoa is a space to – sometimes seriously, sometimes playfully – apply some of the Stoic ideas on life to how to be better golfers. And, maybe, if we pay attention and take some time to think things through, we can take some of those same lessons and apply them elsewhere.

Sticks and Stoa is certainly not the first time someone has considered the fact that golf and life are intertwined. Bobby Jones, one of the greatest golfers of all time and the founder of Augusta National and the Masters tournament once said, "Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots; you get good breaks from bad shots – but you have to play the ball where it lies."

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