Find a good teacher that will keep the game fun. Work hard and

Paula Creamer, champion of the fairways and bearer of wisdom beyond the greens, once counseled: “Find a good teacher that will keep the game fun. Work hard and don’t be afraid to have success or disappointment. That is what golf is all about.” At first, these words may seem meant only for the player of golf, but in truth, they speak to the game of life itself. For life, like golf, requires guidance, demands effort, and alternates between triumph and failure — and in both, the soul must remain unbroken.

The origin of these words lies in the balance every athlete must strike between discipline and joy. Without a teacher, one may swing blindly and never grow; without fun, one may wither in weariness and lose heart. The teacher is the guide who refines our rough edges, who steadies our hand, but also reminds us that the game is meant to be savored. For without joy, all labor is ashes; without discipline, all joy dissolves into aimlessness. Creamer, in her wisdom, unites the two, reminding us that the highest growth comes when work and delight walk hand in hand.

History itself proves this truth. Consider the legendary Ben Hogan, who rose from poverty and hardship to master the game. He worked with relentless discipline, his swing honed through pain and persistence. Yet even he admitted that without love of the game, without the delight of watching the ball arc across the sky, his work would have broken him. His story echoes Creamer’s words: the union of a guiding teacher, tireless work, and the courage to embrace both victory and defeat defines not only golf, but greatness.

And so we come to the heart of her teaching: do not fear success, and do not fear disappointment. Too often men shrink from victory, worrying about pride, or from failure, fearing shame. But golf, like life, is woven from both. One day the putts fall, the fairways are straight, and the heart soars with triumph. The next day, the ball drifts astray, the bunkers swallow, and the heart sinks in sorrow. Yet both are teachers, both are necessary. The wise soul learns to walk steadily through both — never intoxicated by glory, never crushed by loss.

The ancients would call this balance fortitude. Marcus Aurelius, emperor and philosopher, wrote that one must accept fortune’s gifts and misfortunes alike with equal calm, for both are part of nature’s design. In the same spirit, Creamer teaches that golf is not only about winning, but about learning how to stand in the winds of both joy and pain. To play the game with dignity is to live life with strength.

The lesson for us is clear: find guides who not only instruct, but inspire. Seek mentors who remind you that the road of growth must remain filled with lightness and laughter. Work hard, but let joy be your companion. When success visits, do not boast, but be grateful. When disappointment comes, do not despair, but take it as the next lesson. In this way, every stroke of the game, every step of life, becomes meaningful.

What must you do? First, honor your teachers, for they are the ones who shape your path. Second, commit to work, for without effort, even the best teaching withers. Third, embrace both triumph and failure with equal courage, knowing that both polish the soul. And finally, keep the game — whether golf or life itself — fun. Laugh often, rejoice in the small victories, and never let seriousness steal away the wonder of play.

Thus, let Paula Creamer’s words echo beyond the greens: “Find a good teacher, keep it fun, work hard, and do not fear success or disappointment.” This is not only the essence of golf, but the rhythm of life itself. Walk this path, and you will find that every victory and every failure becomes part of a greater game — one played not just on courses of grass, but on the vast field of the human spirit.