What's Your Gongfu?

This quote from Aaron Rai, winner of the 2026 PGA Championship in May, deeply resonates with me:

“Golf is an amazing game. It teaches you so much humility and discipline and absolute hard work because nothing is ever given in this game.”

Isn’t that the truth?

It doesn’t matter if we are a PGA Tour professional or an amateur who simply loves to compete against ourselves and our friends. Golf has a way of exposing us. It humbles us. It tests our patience, discipline, focus, and emotional stability. Some days it lifts us up. Other days it brings us to our knees.

And maybe that’s why I love it so much.

Golf as the Teacher

As I was immersed deep in the chip yips, I started to see that golf could become the teacher I had been waiting for. It could become the guide leading me back to who I truly am.

The game stopped being merely about mechanics and scorecards. It became a mirror. A spiritual training ground.

In my book, Presence Golf: A Sacred Path to Self-Mastery, I talk about a Taoist principle called gongfu. This is what Aaron Rai is pointing toward when he speaks about humility, discipline, and hard work through the game of golf.

“There is a term in Taoism called gongfu, which means mastery attained through practice and discipline. Gongfu is about more than simple physical skill — it is about cultivating the mind and soul through relentless dedication. Golf is our gongfu. It is a sacred training ground, sharpening us into better players, and, more importantly, better humans.”

That quote means even more to me now than when I first wrote it.

The Weirdest Round of Golf

I played a round last week that felt rather chaotic.

I went out as a single, as I often do, and was supposed to be paired with three other singles. None of them showed up on the first tee, so I ended up teeing off alone.

After my second hole, I was invited to play through a foursome. In the past, I would have rushed and felt pressured. But this time I stayed calm, took my time, and ended up making birdie.

Then I caught another foursome celebrating a birthday and having a good old time. Honestly, I wasn’t in a hurry. I’ve learned to meditate between shots and enjoy the mountain views. But the ranger told me to play through them as well.

On the following hole, the same ranger asked if a twosome could join me. I said, “Sure.”

Normally, all of this would have completely thrown me off my game. The constant playing through, slow pace, random partners, shifting rhythms — it was one of the strangest rounds of golf I’ve ever played in terms of pace and playing partners.

But something was different.

Interiorized Presence

Through my gongfu practice, I kept my mind interiorized.

That doesn’t mean I played perfectly. I still had lapses in concentration. But I didn’t spiral. I didn’t allow external circumstances to dominate my inner state.

That round became a beautiful reminder of how much progress I’ve made through the practice of Presence Golf.

Even though I was a single stranded in no man’s land behind foursomes all day, it was still a great day.

Not because everything went smoothly.

But because peace was no longer dependent on conditions.

What’s Your Gongfu?

Anything can become our gongfu.

Golf just happens to be mine.

Your practice may be golf, music, parenting, business, art, meditation, writing, or the way you care for your body. The form matters less than the devotion you bring to it.

What practice are you willing to dedicate yourself to for the evolution of your mind and soul?

Can you begin to see your craft as more than physical training or achievement? Can you allow it to become a path of awakening?

Because nothing is ever given to us — not on the golf course and not in the game of life.

It takes effort. Discipline. Humility. Practice.

But what I am learning is that inner peace can be maintained through effortless action and deep concentration.

Thank you, golf, for being the teacher that continues to lead me back to my true nature.