The Moment of Impact

The Moment of Impact

Last Wednesday was the Four Generational Invitation, a truly amazing event featuring the Maxwell’s. Four generations, playing a round of tournament golf in five straight years is simply incredible. The tournament returned to the site of its reception, the home turf of the one and only Jim Maxwell. I was asked to provide some opening remarks before we all put the peg in the ground.

I’ve been blessed with knowing Jimmy for a long time, so after sharing a few stories, I delivered the following speech. I couldn’t finish the last few lines that day, because the man was sitting directly to the right of the podium and things got quite emotional for me.

I’ve been so blessed with having a plethora of mentors in my life, especially when it came to the game of golf.

This is what I wrote about the moment of impact which always tells the story.

The Moment of Impact

Memories, regrets, lessons and moments in time.

We want the memories to last, We want the regrets to fade away, We want to learn from the lessons, We want to stay in the moment,

I’m sure everyone has watched or has heard tell of The Last Dance,

In the final episode of the docuseries, one of Michael Jordan’s closet confidants and author of one of his books, stated that Jordan’s greatest super power was the ability to stay in the moment.

You see Jordan was always ever present. He lived in the moment in every facet of the game.

We all strive for that in the game of golf and life. It’s easy to throw that phrase around, living in the moment,

We can be conscious of it, but very few can ever truly live it.

In the game of golf, the moment of impact tells the story, but it’s the backstory where it all begins.

Everything surrounding that moment of time, the moment of impact is built on the past. Whether it be muscle memory, from practicing for hours on end, learning to hit a fade or a draw using the train tracks at your home course, or teeing it up in major events.

Those moments in time, memories or regrets teach us valuable lessons about who we are.

Very few people are willing to share those instances, it’s far too personal, far too private. That’s why when you discover someone who is willing to share those moments in time, we all should be open to listen and learn, but very few of us ever do.

Moments in time, Memories or regrets to be made, but always lessons to be learned, Jim Maxwell has always been willing to share his experiences to make us all better, even if we weren’t ready to hear it.

You see that’s a sign of a true mentor. Someone you can count on, to steer you in the right direction,

Jimmy is about has straight shooting as his driver,

“228 reasonably straight,”

You can listen to the advice or can choose to ignore it, that’s your choice, but you count on him always having our best interests in mind,

Over the years, the advice I and countless others have received from Jim has been spoken with the same conviction in which he approached every golf shot in his career.

His memory might not be the same, and hopefully all of the regrets have all faded away, but the moments of impact continue to tell the story,

Past, present and future,

Thanks Jim for sharing all those moments of time with us,

You have no idea the impact that you have had on the game of golf and those within this region.