Winning by Winning

May 16, 2024

Can a round of miniature golf convey an unforgettable lifelong lesson? You be the judge.

Last Saturday, May 11 was (really!) official National Miniature Golf Day. You missed that, didn't you? So did I. But we can make it up by taking our families to play mini golf this weekend, or next weekend, or whenever life frees us up enough for a peaceful couple of hours out in the sunshine tapping a ball gently toward a hole. Here is a list of local places to play mini golf.

My best tip for success at mini-golf is: DON'T CHEAT. You probably think I'm joking. But I'll never forget one summer day when I was 12 at Bowcraft Playland in Scotch Plains, NJ. I was in charge of the scorecard, and boy did I take advantage of it. When I'd get a score of 6, I'd write down a 4 or 5. When a friend would get a 4, I'd write down a 5 or 6. So, of course, I won. Er... that is... I "won." I "won" by pretending that I was better than my friends, and, because no one was paying attention, they bought it. I looked at the scorecard where I had the winning lowest score, looked back at my group of friends who had already moved on to bigger and better things like the Tilt-a-Whirl, and tossed the card in the trash, feeling a little ill. I'd sold my honor for a putt-putt score. Yuck.

Later, when someone explained to me the definition of a Pyrrhic Victory, my first thought was: Like the time I cheated at mini-golf. As you can see, the lesson stuck, given that I'm writing about it decades down the road. Life hands you plenty of opportunities to cheat, and not once have I regretted choosing to fail with honor rather than gain a little ground by twisting the truth. As my friend June always puts it: You can't win by cheating, you can only win by winning.

At miniature golf, as in everything else.

—Deb