Our Game
Gary Woodland’s journey is everyone’s journey
Every so often, golf gives us something bigger than a leaderboard.
Recently, that moment belonged to PGA Tour player, Gary Woodland. Perhaps you’ve followed his journey, or maybe his story just recently showed up on your news feed.
If you saw it, you probably felt it. The win. The emotion. The release. But the part that stuck with me wasn’t another trophy or a large purse for an already decorated golfer – it was everything that led up to it.
Over the past few years, Woodland has battled a brain tumor, undergone surgery, and more recently opened up about dealing with post-traumatic stress (PTSD). While returning to the PGA Tour, he had galleries full of support and encouragement for every shot. But while he could hear it, he didn’t feel it.
At one point, he described his feelings: “I appreciate that love and support. But inside, I feel like I'm dying, and I feel like I'm living a lie.” Woodland reiterated the challenge of trying to be inspirational, while also staying focused on his own goals. "I want to live my dreams and be successful out here. But I want to help people, too. I realize now I've got to help myself first.”
And yet, there he was, back in the winner’s circle. This time with a message: “Anyone struggling with something, I hope they see me and don't give up. Just keep fighting.”
And it hit me that this is exactly what golf asks of all of us, just on a different scale.
Because let’s be honest, this game can wear you down.
You can feel great about your swing on the range and lose it by the third hole. You can put in the time, care deeply, and still walk off the course wondering what just happened. It has a way of humbling you right when you think you’re close.
And that’s just the golf part.
Add in everything else we’re all managing – work, family, health, the day-to-day – and it’s no surprise that sometimes the game feels heavier than it should.
But here’s the flip side, and maybe the reason we all keep coming back: Golf also gives us perspective.
It reminds us that progress – like most of our golf shots – doesn’t take a straight path. That control is limited. Some days, the win is simply showing up, getting outside, and being part of something we enjoy, even on the days it doesn’t feel like it.
Woodland didn’t find his way back because things suddenly got easier. He found it because he stayed in it. Through uncertainty. Through frustration. Through moments that would have been completely understandable to step away.
That kind of perseverance, it’s not just a professional’s story – it’s the fabric of the game.
What also struck me was the timing – he had just recently shared his struggles with PTSD more publicly, including how difficult galleries and attention had become. It was a heartbreaking account, but perhaps in sharing it, some of that weight lifted, allowing him to swing a little freer and play his best.
Gary Woodland’s story is one we can appreciate – hopefully, not one we ever have to replicate. Hopefully none of us have to have brain surgery. More than likely, none of us are going to play on tour. It’s about finding our own goals and using golf as an outlet – something that is equal parts meaningful and meaningless.
As we begin another season, we hope that you’ll use the tools available to you through your membership, like the GHIN app to post scores, track progress, and stay connected to your goals.
You may be trying to break 100 for the first time, or looking to make the final group at your club championship, or maybe win more matches than you lose in your weekly golf league.
Whatever this year’s goals are, somewhere along the way, I think we all need the reminder: This is supposed to be fun.
Not perfect. Not stress-free. But fun.
Fun in the everyday challenge. Fun with the people we get to tee it up with. Fun in those moments where everything clicks, even if it’s just for a few holes.
I became a Gary Woodland fan when the story of his friendship with Special Olympics golfer Amy Bockerstette was publicized during his victory at the 2019 U.S. Open.
Woodland’s likability became further entrenched in the hearts of many golfers as his struggle through brain surgery and recovery was documented in Netflix’s Full Swing, Season 2.
Gary Woodland is an elite athlete – a two-sport collegiate athlete (basketball and golf). While everyday golfers may not relate to his prodigious power off the tee, we can also be amazed by the other characteristics he has displayed off the course.
The reality is that life doesn’t pause for golf, but golf can still be a place we go to reconnect with ourselves and others. Many of our members have gaps in their playing record as they manage the challenges of life, but golf is a lifetime sport and we hope one that you get to play later in life.
So as we get deeper into the season, I’d encourage all of us to keep balance in mind related to our own golf games and our lives.
Care about your game. Compete. Try to get better.
But also enjoy the serenity of the walk, the laughs in the cart with friends. Don’t let one bad hole – or one bad round – take more from you than it should.
Because at the end of the day, the scorecard fades. What sticks is the experience. The relationships. The perspective.
And if we’re doing it right, golf gives us all three.