For some of us, a passion starts at a very early age. And so does a talent.
I wonder, though, how often the passion and the talent aren’t for the same thing?
I’ve talked before about my son, Colin — it was his observation to me three years ago that led me to start this blog (and inspired its title). Our conversations over his life have given me things to thing about, like whether “schmooze” is an actual leadership style.
Colin is the youngest of TJ’s and my four sons. He and Graham were born during our Tour years and they’ve grown up around golf courses. Unlike several of the Tour kids of their generation, they didn’t grow up to have careers in golf. But all of them have a natural talent for the game.
Talent + passion. Or not.
I think it was my oldest son, Matt, who once said that he thought Colin had the most natural talent of all four of them. There have been times when the boys played together for the first time in a season and Colin — not having touched a club for a year — ended up beating all of them. They hate that when it happens. Good-natured ragging goes on.
When Colin was about 11, he played in his first sub-junior district tournament (his only sub-junior tournament). Unlike Graham, who wrote about his competitive thoughts while playing in the same tournament, Colin’s style was completely “hang loose.”
I walked around with Colin in his first match. This was played on the same course where his dad had won the NY State Amateur at 19 — Locust Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY.
Parents were allowed to walk around with their kid, but not to give any coaching or tips — which was a good thing, because I had none to give as a non-golfer.
Here’s where we come to the diverging path between passion and talent.
Colin has had a passion for nature, wildlife, fish and the environment since he was just a Kindergartener. As we walked around from shot to shot, Colin would often be paying more attention to the birds, or the fish in the ponds than whether it was his turn to hit. In fact, he’d have to be reminded by one of the parents of his competition (or by me) that he was up.
At one tee, he wandered toward the adjacent woods while his opponent took his tee shot.
“Colin, it’s your turn,” I reminded him.
He pointed toward some bushes. “Look, Mom. There’s a rabbit.” I don’t think he even heard me when I said it was his turn. His focus was completely on the nature he observed.
“Colin!” the parents called. I think they were getting a bit peeved.
Colin walked up to the tee, and without taking a practice swing, striped it down the middle of the fairway.
The dads shook their heads. They said they envied his relaxed state.
I tried to split my time between walking with Colin and with Graham, who was playing his own match at the same time in a very different “state”.
Colin and Graham both won their morning matches. When I joined Colin before his round in the afternoon, he had — in the true style of a kid whose dad played on the Tour — “hired” himself a 12 year old caddie, one of the boys who had lost his match in the morning.
I think I should also mention that Colin was wearing one of his dad’s size XL golf shirts — XL has become the “universal golf shirt size” of the Diehl men. It bagged around his 11 year old body like a sail. He also wore one of the gazillion golf visors that resided in our house. It was like someone had hit a Tour player with a shrinking ray or made a golf-version of the movie “Big.”
So Colin’s passion (the natural world) never interfered with his talent on the course. He ended up winning his division and getting his picture in the paper.
Maybe his passion helped him win. In turning his attention away from competing, he allowed his natural talent to flow. He really didn’t care whether he won or not. It just happened.
Though they come from the same genes, each one of the “the boys” is an individual with a different nature, which serves them for good or ill on the golf course.
And like each one of us, they all have natural talents and their own passions.
Colin is now a wildlife biologist and environmental scientist. That’s where his talent and passion meet.
I have a talent for drawing, sculpture and art, but I never had the passion for it. Fortunately, I do have both the talent and passion for writing.
How about you? Do you have a passion for something, but your talent lies elsewhere? Have your passion and talent aligned? And how much does your nature — laid back, competitive, whatever — serve or hinder your talent?
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