Enrich Your Life and the World with the Game of Golf: Every day is an opportunity to change the world

By Stephen A. Vigiano

PGA master professional Stephen A. Vigiano, who also holds five degrees in advanced education in the PGA of America, has written the definitive book tying golf to life success. The qualities that we must all possess if we wish to move mankind in the right direction to save our world are integrity, empathy, compassion, and love, and they are all found also in the great game of golf. Enrich Your Life and the World with the Game of Golf: Every Day Is an Opportunity to Change the World offers no golf lessons-but the life lessons within it are invaluable not only for this generation but for the next.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Outskirts Press
• Release date: Sep 10, 2020
• ISBN: 9781977233998

Stephen A. Vigiano

Stephen A Vigiano, PGA Master Professional, was born and raised in Long Island, New York. At the age of 18, he pursued a career in acting in Los Angeles, California, where he studied the art of acting for over ten years with some mild success. In the mid-eighties he fell into the game of golf, which changed his life forever. His professional resume is highlighted by the prestigious Master Professional Certification, as well as certifications in all five areas of advanced education in the PGA of America. Stephen was featured in PGA Magazine's "Lessons in Humanity" for charitable contributions of his time and energy. Over the last 28 years, he has given over 15,000 golf lessons of which many were free of charge, golf has allowed him to pass along many of the life lessons he learned from the game of golf.

Book preview

Enrich Your Life and the World with the Game of Golf

Every day is an opportunity to change the world

All Rights Reserved.

Copyright © 2020 Stephen A. Vigiano

v1.0

The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Outskirts Press, Inc.

http://www.outskirtspress.com

ISBN: 978-1-9772-3399-8

Cover Photo © 2020 Stephen A. Vigiano. All Rights Reserved – Used With Permission.

Outskirts Press and the OP logo are trademarks belonging to Outskirts Press, Inc.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Content:

Introduction: By Stephen A. Vigiano

Foreword: By Evan N Vigiano

Chapter one: Golf is life

Chapter two: The game of golf

Chapter three: Golf lessons are life lessons

Chapter four: Integrity in golf and life matters

Chapter five: To golf or not to golf

Chapter six: Golf is a game of breaks

Chapter seven: Mulligan’s are life’s do-overs

Chapter eight: If only I had a crystal golf ball

Chapter nine: There’s no need to take a mulligan in Heaven

Chapter ten: Your footprint will leave an imprint

Chapter eleven: The Imbalanced World of golf and life

Chapter twelve: Can we quietly caddy for the next generation?

Chapter thirteen: What was then can still be now

Acknowledgments by Stephen A. Vigiano

Introduction

My life has been so much more than just being a PGA golf professional. The journey has allowed me to share so many positive experiences and life lessons the game of Golf has shown me. To see how something as simple as a game can change the lives of both the young and old, is truly a miracle. For the young, it is a sport that anyone can play, that can teach life lessons that will positively shape their lives forever. Golf creates an environment that will shape our honesty and integrity, sportsmanship, and kindness and compassion towards others. For the adult golfer who may have just retired from a long career, it opens up a whole new world of possibilities that they may have thought passed them by. A new sport that will challenge them, get them outdoors in the beauty of green grass, fresh air, exercise, and some friendly competition! The social aspects of golf can renew your enjoyment in life. Golf is a game that can change your life and simply put a smile on your face while bringing back the enthusiasm some may have previously lost for life.

Through inspiration, and in moments of reflection, I’ve come to realize that the game of golf is very much like the game of life. This book is an accumulation of my professional and life experiences that brought me to see life through a different lens. We have all had powerful thoughts on changes we’d like to see for this world. It is up to every one of us to turn these thoughts into action, because that action is the change our world needs right now.

Retirement is a word that is no longer in my dictionary because I will never retire from golf or life. I will continue to live this story that I have written for myself, not the story that society seems to think we are destined to live. If we could all live our lives according to our dreams and desires, then our cries of yes we should would become chants of yes we did. The first step in making this change is to live a life that brings you fulfillment. A life that brings out your passion and allows you to strive to become the best version of you that you can be.

Although my passion for golf has provided me with a foundation for living a meaningful life, to truly live a fulfilling life, we must first learn to love ourselves unconditionally. To be accepting of your flaws and to continuously strive to be a better version of yourself. To be your own best friend means you can be the best friend others can rely on. To me, a true friend is someone who listens without judgment and is there for us when we need them most. They are there to pick us up, dust us off, and help get us back out into the game that I like to call life.

Self-love and being able to forgive yourself are the beginning of the healing process. We have the power to heal ourselves and to heal our world. The question is, do we want to put in the effort it will take to change the current ways of thinking? The kind of thinking that has been a part of the history of our world for centuries? I believe we can, and I don’t see much of an alternative to that question. Many concede that the world we live in is what it is and nothing will ever change it. To change this, we need to take back what is inherently ours: our dignity and the power of humanity. It will happen, and it will happen much sooner than the current powers of the world would like to see.

The spirit of humanity will overcome the evil powers of our world. We will take back what was taken from us. I envision a world that is fueled by compassion and love. It was how our world started out and it will once again revert to our natural state of living. In the beginning, humans were innocent and naïve. We focused solely on the necessities of life, and not coincidentally, humans were more connected to each other because it was vital to their survival. It is my true belief that these first humans were filled with love and compassion for one another. But slowly, over time, that love turned into hate and violence because of greed. Unfortunately, this is still the world we live in today. Someday, the world will come full circle and again revert to its original state of love. It must for mankind to change the course of history. If it does not change, we will stay on this current collision course that could end our world. That is just not right. This is not what we were destined to do. We are all one family under a much bigger and higher power than some of us realize or wish to acknowledge.

Somewhere deep in the minds of all of us, there is the original world that is free of sin and hatred. It exists. It just may be that over time it has been covered up with layers of poor decisions and wrong turns by the leaders of society. We still have time to turn the ship of life around. To point it toward the rising sun (HOPE) instead of the current direction of the setting sun (REGRETS). Let’s stop and take a minute to realize the difference between the two. United, we can do this; divided, we have no chance. It’s our choice, and I hope we choose wisely! It is my sincere hope that this book inspires you to live a fulfilling life. To make the changes you would like to see in your life, and this world. There is still time for us to make the world a better place for our children, grandchildren, and future generations to come. We have an obligation to get this right for them.

Stephen A Vigiano

PGA Master Professional

Foreword

By Evan N Vigiano

If you picked up this book, there’s a good chance you’d also enjoy a relaxing day out on the links. If so, then this book is certainly for you. For the rest of you who were curious enough to discover the similarities between golf and life, I’m here to tell you that this book is about so much more than the title implies. Yes, this book will explain the many similarities between the game of golf and the game of life, but more importantly, it will explain how golf can be used as the blueprint for a fulfilling life. This resonated with me as a very bold statement when I first read this book. It’s obvious that I come from a family where golf is life, right? Wrong. To me, it was always about basketball. This is important because it shows that the messages in this book are universal and can be applied to many different aspects of your life.

When I first read through my dad’s book, there were many times I found myself a little lost in his golf terminology and analogies? It wasn’t until I discovered the true message of this book that I was able to completely understand the golf aspects and how they may pertain to life. In many different instances, I found myself using basketball as a reference to the message being received. What golf is for my dad, and basketball is for me, could be something completely different for you. The message this book portrays can relate to anything for which you have a passion—a message that is much bigger than the parallels between golf and life. It addresses the current state of the game of golf and how it is directly related to the current state of our country. This book has a forward-looking perspective that many people may not be able to buy into just yet, but it is a truth that we all need to know. It’s no secret that our country is in a bad place, just like the game of golf. Enrich your life and the World with the Game of Golf will open your eyes to the many injustices we’ve allowed to happen right before our eyes.

There is likely no one more suited to write a book about golf and life than my dad. His professional resume is highlighted by achieving the prestigious Master Professional Certification in player development, as well as his certifications in all five areas of advanced golf education. He has worked in the golf industry for over twenty-eight years. There are not many people who can say they are more educated on the game of golf and the golf industry.

I can also proudly say that my dad’s outlook on life is light-years ahead of how most people think. He has always been a compassionate stranger, willing to help anyone and everyone who makes their way into his life. His selflessness and empathy toward other human beings is truly incredible, which is why he wrote this book. I could write all day about all the selfless things I’ve seen my dad has done in my lifetime, but no one is here to read about a son bragging about his dad. To put things in perspective, I will share one story about my father; it’s all you need to know about him to really understand him as a person.

Out of all his major accomplishments in his professional career, my dad’s proudest achievement is, without question, being featured in PGA Magazine for Lessons in Humanity. He volunteered to assist four seniors who had suffered debilitating strokes achieve something they never thought was possible, to play a game they all loved. Through patience and persistence, he got these patients out of their hospital beds and onto the golf course. He did everything he could to get them all on the course. He even taught Ray who had lost the use of the right side of his body and could no longer speak to relearn the game with just his left hand and arm. When he speaks of this experience, he doesn’t brag about what he did for these people. He only talks about how each of those individuals personally changed his outlook on life. Golf gave those seniors a reason to wake up each morning and an exciting way to challenge themselves. I could only imagine the pure bliss that was experienced from watching Ray, who suffered the most physical damage from his stroke, swing a golf club under his own power for the first time since becoming disabled. His true compassion and empathy for other human beings, combined with his knowledge of golf and life, are what truly make this book special.

Message from the Author:

This book started out as thoughts that came to me in the middle of the night, ideas inspired from a deep place in my mind. Throughout this book I end each chapter with a quote that represents the message from the context of the chapter. With the current state of our world and the current state of the game of golf, there has never been a better time to seek the truth and to understand that the time for change has come. Staying the current course is not in the best interest of civilization. We must change course and right our wrongs to reshape our destiny!

When we give of ourselves with no thought of what is in it for us, we enrich our own lives far beyond anything we could imagine.

Every day is an opportunity to change the world.

Stephen A Vigiano,

PGA Master Professional

CHAPTER ONE

Golf is Life

Golf is life, or so it would seem. The parallels between this game and my life have come to define me as a man. The game of golf defines your character and integrity. It determines if you have what it takes to be