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Golf Fest 2007, Part 3 (the Golf continued)

                                                    The other courses we played during Golf Fest 2007 were Ayala Alabang and Southwoods. Southwoods is a Jack Nicklaus design and has been the recipient of numerous awards and host to several tournaments over the years. Alabang is part of a large community, boasting shopping areas, polo field, facilities for children, in addition to a substantial residential area. I've visited other golf clubs around the world but I've never seen a facility that was so family-oriented, providing facilities for old and young, golfer and non-golfer, even including schools.

                                                                 The common thread in our Philippines golf experience was the feeling of community. There was a feeling of good cheer among members, guests, staff and non-players alike. Even though the natural hierarchical feelings, based on membership, skill levels and history, were present, they seemed secondary to the feelings of sharing, of pride in doing one's best and of humanity. The tireless caddies, the shop workers, the members, the better players, the old and the young, while aware and proud of their status, were neither servile nor arrogant. They were appropriately proud of doing the best they could, of showing respect to others, of trying to make others feel good about themselves.

                                                                 When I wrote about the sin of pride, I wrote about being proud without being sinful: The virtue of pride . . . [is] the satisfaction of a job well-done, [of] trying to do right. [of] doing one's best, [of] treating others with kindness and respect. We should take pride when we cheer someone up, when we help someone to do a better job or complete a personal project, when we assist in someone's education, when we act courteously and kindly. This is not sin, this is the appropriate self-respect derived from trying to be a good person. It's only when this self-respect becomes excessive, when  self-respect causes us to ignore others, to invoke other faults such as greed and envy, that we become guilty of the sin of pride.

                                                                I saw the virtue of pride in our Philippines golf experience. That's what made Philippines golf so memorable, so much fun, so enlightening. Let's all look to that virtue in everything we do.

2-26-07