Sue and I arrived in Scotland last week where life and golf is all about Walking. No golf carts allowed.
We quickly got started with a jet-lag walk near the North Sea beach at Brora Golf Club. Later that evening I walked eight holes with six clubs, playing with my two young friends Luke (age 15) and Timmy (age 10). No one kept score. We just walked and talked.
The next morning was a 7:08 a.m. tee time at Royal Dornoch to play with the only opponent I can regularly beat- myself. I was disappointed to discover a lady teeing off at 7am, wondering if she would ‘hold me up’. The starter Vinny quickly corrected me on that thought, explaining that Jacqueline Bents has the 7:00 a.m. tee time every day. “You’ll never see her”, he said, and boy was he right. I was on the 16th green when I finally noticed her on the 18th green at 9:25am.
And then best of all, Sue and I took a late evening walk around Brora, where the late June sun sets at 10:21pm.
We walked the fairways out to the 6th green, turned around and headed back down the 12th fairway for home. A huge half rainbow appeared over the ocean. The bottom of the rainbow dipped into the sea, lighting up the Tarbat Ness Lighthouse on the horizon. It was soon a full rainbow like a Hollywood production of lights and wind and nature and sounds, with seagulls flying and waves crashing.
It was our Caddie, God Himself, speaking to us as we walked. “Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice! Let the sea and everything in it shout his praise.” (Psalms 96:11 NLT).
And then Psalm 23 got involved in this walk!
Near the 15th green we were greeted by over twenty sheep enjoying a lovely evening dinner of tall grass in the left rough. Climbing the uphill 16th, four sheep provided an evening silhouette on the steep hill above, with the rainbow and lighthouse in the background. Even the moon was there.
Sue and I both started spontaneously quoting the 23rd Psalm. “The Lord is my shepherd…”
And for me even better, the Lord is my Caddie, He walks with me.
Click here for more about walking in Scotland.