Had a good laugh the other day. I saw a flyer for a golf tournament. The people who run the tournament evidently thought that they needed something to really grab people's attention. Right there it was in beautiful red ink on the flyer; the attention grabber. One single word that should grab attention. After all, it grabbed mine and I'm currently wrestling with it to get my attention back. The word is, "INVITATIONAL."
In professional golf, an "invitational" tournament is one in which you contact those whom you wish to compete and offer them the invitational to do so whether they qualify for the tournament or not. Hence the presence of Annika Sorenstam at the Colonial INVITATIONAL Tournament two years ago on a professional golf tour for which she has not qualified either by playing in a qualifying event or earning her PGA Tour card through qualifying school. She played because she was invited.
But back to the flyer I saw. I guess that the term invitational has always had a connotative meaning for me in that it lent itself to deciding who you truly wanted to compete in your event. The event organizer of the one given on the flyer evidently felt like everyone should be considered as on the "short list" of invitees rather than going by inviting those who are qualified in some pre-determined way. It is at such invitationals that I have witnessed some rather atrocious excuses for golfers; not in ability but in understanding of the simple boundaries of the game.
By their conduct they give witness as to why they probably should not have been invited. I don't mind the fact that people consider themselves to be golfers simply because they have a set of golf clubs. I do mind when I see actions that clearly mark them as a consumer rather than a golfer. From slamming a putter down on a green and gouging a hole in it to driving a golf cart over a tee box or a green to shouting at a fellow competitor who is in the middle of a their swing. These are not the actions of a golfer, but, by the general use of the term "invitational" they are on the course.
Guess what folks? Heaven won't be so lenient. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name, cast our demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.' " Matthew 7:21-23 The will of the Father in heaven determines the short list of invitees. So the question is begged, "Are we doing the will of the Father?"