MIDLAND, Texas — Texas native and nine-time major professional golf champion Ben Hogan once said, "Golf is a compromise between what your ego wants you to do, what experience tells you to do, and what your nerves let you do."
The comparison between the game on the links and in life is strikingly similar.
For one local youth golf group in Midland, those similarities led Former President George W. Bush to dedicate his time to their fundraiser on Tuesday.
"It is an unbelievably effective program. [...] I truly believe it's saving lives," Former President Bush said about First Tee West Texas.
First Tee President Tony Parish said kids will have a place they are always welcome to.
"The kids of this area are going to have a place that they can come anytime and call their very own," Parish said.
First Tee West Texas is a youth development organization that enables kids to build the strength of character that empowers them through a lifetime of new challenges through the game of golf.
That’s why Former President Bush and two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw were in Midland Tuesday, as the guests of honor for the organization's Fairways Fore the Future fundraiser.
"First of all, it's about the kids of the Permian Basin," Former President Bush said. "No telling what kind of character will be developed out here and who will become the future leaders. Probably people in the First Tee program for sure."
Future leaders, that are being guided by current trailblazers like Crenshaw, who designed this very course that First Tee kids can not only develop their golf games on, but build relationships.
"Through my travels and through my playing days, Midland and Odessa produce some good golfers," Crenshaw said. "There are some very good golfers, and people point to them as examples. But to have it mean a lot, like it's been accepted, is the main thing, so we're only happy for everyone in this area."
For Midland Legacy Freshman Jacek Madrid, First Tee has not only helped his game get up to par, but the growth on the greens has also spilled over into his life.
"It's actually helping me grow a lot," Madrid said. "I've been in some of these big situations like this that I've never thought I'd be in, and it helps me with discipline and all that. Yeah, it's really special to me, changed my life, actually."
One of those big situations was introducing Former President Bush during Tuesday's dedication. Not bad for a freshman in high school.
"And so I want to thank you for supporting the young in Midland," Bush said. "I want to honor golf; it's an unbelievably important sport because it is one based on honor and integrity. Whether it be here for the First Tee or in the communities in Midland, serve somebody else, and your community is much better off."