By Peggy Weber
Catholic Observer Staff
CHICOPEE — God and golf ; might seem like a strange combination to some but to PGA Member (Professional Golf Association), Teaching Professional, Tim Kilcoyne, they are the right ingredients for enriching one's spiritual life. This golfpro/religious educator says one can deepen one's relationship with the Lord through the game of golf.
Kilcoyne spread his message of golf and Christian spirituality ; in a talk entitled "Fairways To Faith." He spoke on Jan. 29 to about 35 people gathered at St.
green. ‘It's the same in life as it is in golf. Do you know where you are going down the road in your spiritual life?
Where are you with Jesus Christ right now and where do you want to be?"
The golfer said that all Christians and golfers should be realistic about their game and their life. "And remember that God is your caddy. He is there through every hole no matter where you are turning," he said.
Marian Father Dan Papineau, rector for the National Shrine of The Divine Mercy in Stockbridge, made the trip from Eden Hill with several friends and fellow golfers for the lecture.
"I was intrigued as to how he was going to integrate golf and spirituality," said Father Papineau. He said he hadn't made some of the connections between golf and God before listening to Kilcoyne but noted he now had a new perspective on the game.
Kris Jackson, a member of the Holy Cross Parish in Springfield said, "I came tonight out of curiosity. I can see that he is into evangelism and has a message to spread," she said. "Whenever you are enthusiastic about something, whether it's golf or religion,
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Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Basilica Parish, here.
"First, I want to dispel the notion that we are turning golf into a religion," said Kilcoyne with a grin. However, the Boston College grad did do his master's thesis on
“The Theology of Sports.”
He began by asking the golfers why they golfed. Most responded that it was "fun." And most said they had been attracted to the game by another person.
"In a sense we give testimonies to why we like the game, said Kilcoyne. Now we have to ask if we are doing the same as Christians? Are we inviting or enthusiastic? We hear good golf stories. We need to hear good faith stories and sharing,"!
He advised golfers to keep their grip light and to have it form a 90-degree angle at the top of
other people can't help but catch it.”she said. Ron Crevier, who only golfs a few times a year, said he sees golf as a chance to spend time with his brother. "I go for the fun of it. 1 like the atmosphere — being out in the open. And I like the challenge of learning to control the ball," he said.
When asked if he had ever connected spirituality with golf before, he smiled and said. "Well, I pray a lot when I'm golfing."
Kilcoyne got into some technical aspects of the golf swing in the latter part of his lecture. He said that some golfers use more hands and arms while others use more of their torso. He advised golfers to find their niche and see what works best for them.
Kilcoyne, in an interview with
The Catholic Observer, said he has always mixed golf and the
spiritual life. When he developed the women's golf team at the University of California at Santa Barbara, he also was active as a youth
minister.
He describes himself as a "teaching pro and lay minister." Kilcoyne said he became convinced that golf and God went together “when I told one gentleman I was thinking about doing golf school retreats.
email:tim@pga.com
the Swing. "However you grip
the club it is significant that you have chosen to do it. It is the same with faith. It is not how you come to believe; it is the fact that you are going to hold onto the club — to your
faith," said Kilcoyne.
"Alignment is the most neglected aspect of the golf swing," said Kilcoyne. "If you go out to any driving range and look at these people firing away you wonder, does anyone have a target. These golfers are in the machine-gun mode. They just don’t focus!
Spiritually, in order to get aligned properly you need feed back. And you need a target. In the spiritual life you need a coach whether it be a parent, priest or friend or other “spiritual advisor”.
He also said that golfers often do not think ahead to their second shot, except perhaps on the putting
The man said, “I’m a lapsed Catholic of 35 years, haven’t been to Mass forever but I might go to that!"; that was my cue,- Kilcoyne said.
The golfer's enthusiasm is obvious. He wants to share his love!
He also has developed an adult/youth ministry religious education program entitled Talk Catholic! "There is such a great hunger in post-confirmation Catholics,"he said. His program is described as a "classic Catholic/Christian curriculum that is most relevant to contemporary issues."
Kilcoyne said that through his
program he wants people to see that "in life if they want to excel in anything, they need to have the basics. You need to have a regimen and a routine that leads to excellence. It's not only the case with athletics; it's the case with life in general, it's the case with sports and it's certainly the case with the spiritual life."
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