“They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.” (Revelation 3:4, ESV).

February 6, 2024. 7’30am. Blue skies and 44 degrees greeted me for the opening tee shot for my annual “Second Tee” golf marathon.

Instead of the customary 100 holes in a golf cart (flying around the course six times), I decided to walk 54 holes. With ten hours of daylight in south Alabama, I knew it was possible if my 72-year-old body cooperated. I had never walked that many holes. Nearly twenty miles. Six amazing friends agreed to caddie for me in shifts. Paul Bell, Hamp Andrews, Stan Cowling, Richie Nobles, Shane Adams and Jack Rigsby got me the finish line. I am happy to report that we finished at 3:00pm in 237 shots with plenty of sunshine to spare.

The 54 holes was a perfect celebration of my 54th spiritual birthday. Angels in Heaven had rejoiced over an 18-year-old kid on February 6, 1970 at 1’30am. The journey has been better than I imagined in 1970. I was told that “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life”. In faith, I accepted forgiveness and believed it. So I took the first steps on a long walk.

I must admit also that the 54 hole expedition was a ‘protest’ of LIV Golf. LIV is Roman numerals for 54 holes in the new professional tour sponsored by the Saudi government. Even most of the PGA players seem to have caved in to the money. It all still bothers me. My personal vow for 2024 is to watch less TV golf and walk more real golf.

So why walk?

Ol’ Tom Morris with fellow walkers in Scotland.

For starters, walking is the right way to play golf. Golf carts, or buggies as they call them in Europe, are a modern invention and have changed golf from an athletic endeavor to a social event. Ol’ Tom Morris and the boys in Scotland would cringe watching us ride around from shot to shot.

But having said that, walking golfers are supposed to have a caddie. My six pals carried my burdens (clubs) and whispered encouragement all day. And I might add, Maxwell Jones was like a caddie. He met me in the gym twice a week for three months as I attempted to get in shape for the day. My goal was to do one pull-up and walk 54 holes. Just for the record, it looks like I will never be able to do a pull-up. But Max helped get me to the 54th green.

Golf can be a solitary walk, but friends sure help.

But maybe the most obvious reason to walk is that walking is found all over the Biblical story, starting in the Garden of Eden when God Himself was walking in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). Remember Isaac's first encounter with his wife-to-be: "One evening as he was walking and meditating in the fields (maybe the Country Club of Canaan) ... Rebekah saw him and said, "Who is that man walking through the fields (down the 1st fairway) to meet us?" (Genesis 24:63-64).

This all reminded me of my Links Players devotional from September, 2020. It is about the invigoration and beauty of walking the courses in Scotland. Here it is (with new emphasis on the word walk):

“The starter and a rainbow met Alexander McDonald and me on the first tee at 7:16 a.m. at Royal Dornoch. It was 55 degrees F, perfect for an early morning walk. The sun was coming up out of the North Sea on our right, creating shadows on the first green that extended across the whole putting surface. We were in no hurry. We just walked. Except for one birdie, we did not keep score. We were back in the clubhouse at 9:55 a.m. The walk was better than the golf shots.

Some would argue that there should be no golf without the walk. Scottish author Andrew Greig says in his book ‘Preferred Lies’, which I recommend, “Golf is a walking game. The walk between shots is not an interlude, non-golf. If it were, most of a round of golf would be non-golf and a great waste of time.” Like all Scots, Andrew thinks buggies (powered carts) are a major problem.

For golfers, “the journey” is perhaps the best metaphor for the Christian experience. We hear a voice that says “Come, follow me.” And off we go.

Great literature has followed this idea that life is a journey: The Odyssey (Homer), The Wizard of Oz (Baum), The Lord of the Rings trilogy (Tolkien), Gulliver’s Travels (Swift), Pilgrim’s Progress (Bunyan).

The idea of walking with God is all over the Bible. God himself walked in the garden in the cool of the day (Genesis 3:8). Enoch, Noah, and Abraham walked with God (Genesis 5:22−24; 6:9; 17:1). Psalm 1 warns not to walk in the counsel of the wicked. Isaiah heard a voice that said, “This is the way, walk in it” (Isaiah 30:21). Micah told us to walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).

Jesus showed up on a walk to Emmaus (Luke 24). And when Philip asked Jesus, “How can we know the way?” Jesus made it plain: “I am the way” (John 14:5-6). Paul exhorted believers to walk in love, walk in the Spirit, walk in the light, walk worthy, and walk carefully (Romans 13:13; 14:15; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 4:1, 17; 5:2, 15; Colossians 1:10; 2:6).

Modern versions of the Bible have often eliminated the walking metaphor. The scholars who translate the Bible have tried to help us by turning walk into life. I have no right to criticize Biblical scholars since I can barely speak English, but these translators probably ride buggies. For me, I still like the idea of walking with God. Walking with God is a lot less pressure than living for God.

Playing with a golf cart, as we Americans do, may be a good picture of how many of us live—hurrying from one church or social event to the next, thinking the only thing that matters is “the shot.” We have missed the quiet and peaceful walk with Jesus. He listens to us. We walk and talk. On my smartest days, I just listen to him.

And I must say, it is also good to walk with another human being who knows you well enough to speak the truth. Most people need a confessor, a teacher, a confidante, a mentor, and a fellow pilgrim. For many, it is your spouse.

Naturally, we hope to stay on the right path on this journey. But wandering off the path is always part of the story. Dante captures it in the opening lines of The Divine Comedy: “Midway along the journey (perhaps the 10th hole)… I woke to find myself in a dark wood, for I had wandered off the straight path…” (Dante may have been an 18-handicap slicer).

Indeed, note that Jesus never said, “I am the Fairway.” If you follow him, there will be some rough, some bunkers, and worse. Even a cross. Walking with God will not be easy. But it is truly the only way to live……………………..” (September 2020 Links Players Devotional).

Looking back on the 2020 devotional, my favorite line is this—- “WALKING WITH GOD IS A LOT LESS PRESSURE THAN LIVING FOR GOD.” Wow, I needed that in 2024. I still find myself ‘keeping score’ way too often, hoping God will be happy with my life’s scorecard. Thank you Jesus for letting me just walk with you. Thank you for not keeping score. Thank you for being my caddie. Amen.

So, I now have a new goal. My 74th birthday will be March 18, 2025. Seems to me that it is possible to walk 74 holes. But, I will need some caddies if you’d like to join me!