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カワナミゴルフスクールのアドバイザリースタッフであるJim　Fletcher氏
によるインターナショナルな話題を英文で皆様にお伝えします。

〈The best golf lesson I ever got 〉

As a junior golfer growing up in Ireland, Wattie Sullivan, the professional golfer at the Grange Golf Club in Dublin, would give free golf lessons to groups of junior golfers during the summer holidays. Going to these golf lessons, I was always thinking about what he would teach me to help improve my swing to make a better score.

It was at one of these lessons that I received the best lesson ever, without even holding or swinging a golf club. The lesson did not involve any swing technique or theory and even today is has no affect on my score. It is however a lesson that remains fresh in my mind to today, as if it was only learnt yesterday.

At the beginning of the lesson, Mr. Sullivan asked all the juniors to listen to him. Thinking that this did not apply to me, I started to joke with a friend beside me and was not listening to the lesson. Immediately Mr. Sullivan called out and ordered me to go back to the clubhouse for not paying attention. I was shocked.

Walking back to the clubhouse I started to get worried. Would he report me to the golf club secretary?, would my membership at the club be terminated?, what would happen to my father's membership at the club?, had I disgraced the family name?

I decided to wait outside the Pro Shop until the end of the lesson to apologize to Mr. Sullivan. I went over to him after the lesson and apologized for my bad manners during the lesson. His response amazed me. “Jim” he said. “Today you did have a lesson. Please join us again next week for the next lesson.”

And then I realized what the lesson was. Pay attention when you have the opportunity to learn, particularly when an esteemed professional golfer offers his time for free of charge to help you improve your game.

That is one of the reasons why golf is such a great sport. One can learn a lot more from the game than just a good swing.

それでは、皆さん次回をお楽しみに！　See You next！