I decided to give myself a mini-Spring Break and take a long weekend before Easter.  I had a chance to catch part of The Masters, and although I think of golf as kind of a dull sport, there was fierce competition and plenty of exciting moments.  Here are 7 fun things I came away with:

1. We’ll always have Paris.  I mean Augusta.  Louis Oosthuizen lost the sudden death round, but he’ll always have his hole in one.
2. Be Generous.  I was shocked when Louis threw the famous hole in one ball into the crowd.  And then the crowd passed it around for others to see.  Even veteran announcer Jim Nantz was amazed – “Can you imagine if this were baseball?”
3. Everything Changes.  Recently I read an article that Tiger Woods prohibited Elin Nordegren from throwing victory parties for him, although this was something her former employer, Swedish golfer Jesper Parnevik, regularly enjoyed with his family.  After not being in the hunt this weekend, I’ll bet he wishes he had taken some time to enjoy the moment.  P.S., Tiger – please stop acting like a jerk.
4. There’s Always Room for the Class Act.  Phil Mickelson had a hard round on Sunday, but he took it all in stride.  From green to green, it was always remarkable how much people LOVE him.  Even when he didn’t play that well, people were really rooting for him.
5. Get By With a Little Help From Your Friends.  Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia embraced on the course, and laughed in their interview later that the bad things were REALLY bad, and everything else was just bad.  Your friends can help you keep your sense of humor when things get really tough.
6. Do What Comes Naturally.  Hard to believe, but winner Bubba Watson has never taken a lesson.  It’s a big endorsement for going with your natural talents, instead of trying to become artificially good at everything.  Columnist Steve Eubanks commented, “…you’re welcome for being the only guy on the range who doesn’t have a coach, and has never had a lesson – and for being the anti-Tiger, ever approachable, never pretentious.”
7. Let It Show.  And by the way, Grow Up.  I was really taken aback when Bubba Watson let his emotions out when he won.  It was so touching to learn how he had been encouraged by his father, who died of throat cancer in 2010.  And how much Bubba’s matured over the last few years after a lot of difficult moments.  Bubba said about his Dad, “He would be so excited.  Just like my Mom was excited.  We didn’t have any words.  We just cried in each other’s arms.”

And there’s still hope for everyone else struggling on the course this weekend.  Take Arnold Palmer’s advice: I have a tip that can take 5 strokes off of anyone’s golf game.  It’s called an eraser.