We all want to do something memorable with our lives. We want a life that counts. A life which makes a difference in people’s lives. A life which matters.
The question begs how do you do something memorable? Something lasting? Something that matters?
For answers, let us look an unusual place where memorable things happen often – The Masters golf tournament. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the most memorable shot in golf history – Tiger Woods’s chip on the 16th hole in the 2005 tournament’s final round. If you need a reminder of the historic shot, watch below:
On April 8th, the USA Today’s Steve Dimeglio interviewed many of the people involved with the Woods shot, including Tiger himself. From those conversations which you can read by clicking here, I gleaned the following 8 Things Necessary To Do Something Memorable With Your Life:
- Something Memorable Often Results From Sustained Excellence – Woods and playing partner, co-leader Chris DiMarco were six shots ahed of the field as they approached the 16th hole.
- Something Memorable Can Happen When You Face Significant Challenges – Calamity, chaos and confusion are the breeding grounds for something memorable to happen in your life. Because of his approach shot to the green, the likely outcome for Woods would be a bogey. A double bogey was certainly possible as well.
- Something Memorable Happens To Those Who Are Continual Learners – As Woods began to play the shot, he remembered Davis Love made a similar shot just two years earlier. Woods said, “I had that ability to play that shot. And I had already seen that shot, because either a year or two before Davis Love holed a very similar shot.But he was slightly further up the hill, and I saw him give it a little bit extra for it to break. So I kind of knew the line already.”
- Something Memorable Rarely Happens By Accident. You Need A Plan – Woods went on, “The shadows were coming down through the trees, and there was a glimmer of light. As I was reading it, I was thinking that if my ball hits that light and then starts to move to the right, I’ve got a good chance. So that’s all I was focused on, hitting that piece of light between the two tree shadows.”
- Something Memorable Happens With Proper Execution – Woods concludes, “And I pulled it off.” Woods’s caddie Steve Williams added, “Tiger had a long look at the shot and pointed out an old pitch mark on the green and asked me what I thought if he landed it in that area. Incredibly, when he pitched the shot it landed exactly on the pitch mark.”
- Something Memorable Can Happen In Mere Seconds – The entire shot took only 16.3 seconds. The ball was in the air 4.2 seconds before landing and beginning its descent to the hole for another 10.2 seconds. The ball then rested on the lip of the hole for 1.8 seconds displaying the iconic Nike swoosh before dropping in.
- Doing Something Memorable Today Does Not Guarantee Success Tomorrow – Woods has not won a major title since the 2005 Masters. Williams said, “It’s hard to believe Tiger has not put on the green jacket in 10 years.”
- The Most Memorable Thing You Can Do Is Be A Great Leader At Home – You cannot watch Woods shot and not think about his infidelity and subsequent divorce. Many people reading this post will do memorable things at work, church or with their hobbies. However, the most memorable leadership happens at home because we send people forth into a time we cannot see. I have found this is only successful through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I hope Woods one day discovers this relationship. It will be the most memorable thing he, or any of us, will ever do.
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