Earlham Echo

April 26, 2022

I make a lot of jokes that I don’t have a ‘real job’ anymore. That’s somewhat true, but I do put in a lot of hours. Between writing, editing, going to events, and taking care of the business side of things, I’m putting in over 40 hours in most weeks. And that’s seven days a week. I’m usually working on something every day.

But the flexibility of the job has its advantages. I can put off writing a story or doing the billing for a few hours if I need or want to do something non-newspaper related. Weather permitting, that usually means golf. During the warm months, I play twice a week—maybe more. Normally I consider April a ‘warm’ month. We all know how that’s gone this year. Since I haven’t gotten much golf in yet this year, I may have to double up on my rounds during the summer to hit my self-imposed quota.

During the week, I mostly play by myself. Most people—my family included—are working, after all, so it’s hard to get a game going. Sometimes I can’t help but feel a little guilty that I’m out recreating while the fam is busy with work and school. None of them really cares, of course, but I do get a sarcastic or slightly envious comment every once in a while. I texted my sons last week while I was playing and one of them responded, “I’m just grinding.”

Playing golf is a lot like running for me. I can get into an entirely different zone, both mentally and physically—especially playing alone. My mind clears and I get in tune with the surroundings. All that is relaxing, for sure, but there can be actual measurable effects, as well. Often, I get ideas out there—about a story or business opportunity—that I never would have gotten had I been at home or anywhere inside. I take those ideas home and they end up in The Echo, or some other project, in one way or the other. Sometimes I even conduct business when I’m on the course—texts or phone calls that act­ually effect the bottom line.

So with that in mind, I’ve decided to change how I look at my weekly or bi-weekly golf games. When I’m on the course, I’m now officially ‘working.’ As soon as I tee one up on #1, ‘I’m just grinding.’

I put this new work/life concept into action last Thursday with 18 holes at 5×80 Golf and Country Club. The Cardinal boys’ and girls’ teams would compete out there later that day, and my mission was to thoroughly research the course for my story about the event. Never mind that I’ve played out there a million times. During this round, I’d take notes (mental notes, anyway) about the nuances of the course that would help bring the story to life. Because writing about golf isn’t easy. There’s no leaderboard—you never know who wins until the end when they total up all the scores. The course is crowded and golf balls are flying all over the place, so a lot of time is spent just staying out of the way of wayward shots. You can stay in one spot and eventually see all the kids at some point, but that’s not a great perspective for a story. So unlike most spectator sports, a diligent reporter needs to keep moving.

As my tee shot sailed into the low-hanging fog that morning, headed right (of course), and landed in the middle of some trees, I thought, “Yeah, the kids won’t want to be there.” My first shot, and I already had a nugget for my story. Nugget number two was on the short second hole. “Chunking one into the pond is bad.” Usually when I have that thought on that hole, plopping my tee shot into the water is exactly what I do. I managed to avoid that pitfall this time, but I still had the note for my story.

I played the rest of the front nine and made more notes. My score was pretty good, for me—but of course, that wasn’t the point. I was there to work. 5×80 is a 9-hole course, so plenty of reporters would have stopped at the point. Not me. I went around again, just to make sure I had enough information for my story. Pure research.

It was still early when I finished 18 holes, and I was filled with pride at how hard I had worked and how much I had already accomplished that day. I was already making plans on when I could get out on the course again to ‘grind’ some more—and pondering whether or not I can write off golf expenses on my taxes.