Namaste

When I hit a ball from the fairway (grassy area before the green) I sometimes also hit some turf with it. This is called creating a “divot”. As golfers, we’re morally obliged to repair the divot by putting the bigger clumps back. This is because if the divot were to become large enough, it could then become a ditch, and no one wants to be accused of being a ditch digger. Ditch digging is considered less prestigious than grave digging now, but I don’t think that always used to be the case. I think grave digging was elevated in the popular consciousness by Gravedigger the monster truck known for its entertaining and damaging crashes.

Somewhat relatedly, I used to think “surf and turf” meant going surfing, then going golfing. Actually its a prepared food consisting of fried fish and french fries. “French fries” is a bit of a misnomer, because they’re actually from Belgium, a country bordering France. In French we say, “pomme frites” which means “fried apple” which, quite frankly, sounds more American than anything.

As a professional athlete, it’s important for me to stay flexible. One of the ways I can stay flexible is by practicing yoga. I think there’s an opportunity for a specialty brand of yoga for golfers called “Yogolf”, but I’ll save those ideas for a different post. The last time I invited one of my professional golf friends to go to yoga he said, “nah I’mma stay” but I thought he said, “namaste”. Boy did we laugh and laugh. I still say namaste to him when I see him, just to remind him of the fun we had related to that confusion.

- Martin

Golfing in a tropical paradise. Surf and turf - makes sense right?