I grew up in a middle-income, immigrant family. We lived in a neighborhood where the kids played outside all the time. Depending on the season, we played baseball, basketball, and football. I loved sports. I soon realized that I was a much faster runner than the other kids and, as a result, I drifted toward track & field, which became the sport at which I excelled. Golf, however, was never on my radar screen.
During my freshman year at college, one of my classmates, who loved golf, suggested we play a round together. Of course, I didn't have any clubs, so he lent me some of his old ones. I shot a 13 for the first hole; but then I began to get the hang of the game. Although my total score was well over 120, I actually managed to hit par on two of the easier holes.
Still, I can't say I enjoyed myself. I found the game very frustrating and it took way too much time to play. By the time we finished the round, I realized that I could have run a marathon, studied for all of my exams, mowed my mother's lawn, and washed the family car. It took another 22 years before I gave the game another try. By this time, I was married with kids. My wife thought it would be amusing to present me with a set of golf clubs for my 40th birthday.
A Student's Passion for the Game
I was a finance professor at the time and I had become friendly with one of the graduate students who had come to the U.S. from India to study. He had recently discovered golf and he had developed a real passion for the game.
One day he suggested I play a round with him and his friend from Pakistan. When I told my wife what I was planning to do, she began to laugh. “An Armenian, an Indian, and a Pakistani went to play golf? This sounds like the start of a joke!”
Once again, I found myself struggling. My play was extremely erratic. I took more than 10 strokes to get the ball into the first hole; yet I hit one hole in par and two others in one over par. (I'm told that's called a bogey, but what do I know.) I enjoyed spending time with my friends, but I would have preferred to do something else — like watch paint dry.
He Kept Playing and I Didn't
The point of this story is that my friend from India kept playing and I didn't. He signed up for golf lessons and he hit the golf course every weekend at 6 a.m. Before I knew it, he was getting really good at the game.
Just a few years later, we had both left the university. I took a job as an executive at a major financial publication. I thought I had struck it big. My friend took a job at a mutual fund company. Soon after he became a technology analyst. We were both doing well financially, but there was one big difference. He kept playing golf and my clubs simply gathered dust.
We were living in different parts of the world and didn't keep in touch very often; but thanks to Google and Facebook, we were able to keep tabs on each another. Just a few years later, my friend actually took a job at Google. He had also become a very serious golfer. He was spending a fortune playing on some of the best courses in the world. He even played in tournaments that paired professional golfers with business executives. According to one website, he has an 11 handicap.
A Big Difference
And here is another big difference between us. My friend makes more money than I do. A lot more. According to Google's proxy statement filed with the SEC, his total compensation in 2012 alone was more than $51 million. As for me, I work hard, frequently sacrificing weekends to write my investment newsletter, teach a finance class, and manage other peoples' money. I'm still doing fine financially, yet I don't make even a fraction of what my friend makes.
Clearly, I should have played more golf.