筆者常喻高爾夫球為人生的縮影,古今高球名人眾多,在他們的高球生命中,說過很多雋言,洋溢高球情懷,但礙於中文絕非高爾夫文字,筆者力絀,譯後自知未夠原汁原味,故不得不響應孫公微調,雙語並用,與球友分享高球訣竅和精義,箇中三昧是也。
Bobby Jones說過:
如果生命是個遊戲,高爾夫球就是最接近這遊戲的遊戲。打得好時會變壞,打得壞時會變好──但你依然要原地續打。(Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots; you get good breaks from bad shots - but you have to play the ball where it lies. )
反映生命循環
你顧慮最少時,才能揮出最好的桿。( You swing your best when you have the fewest things to think about. )
一般球員面對最大的困難是,他們完全誤解了何謂專注;他們以為是全心專注時,其實只是擔心。(A leading difficulty with the average player is that he totally misunderstands what is meant by concentration. He may think he is concentrating hard when he is merely worrying. )
我們打球一定要懂節奏和掌握時間這兩樣事,但任何一樣也沒有人懂教。(Rhythm and timing are the two things which we all must have, yet no one knows how to teach either. )
感激人家依照球例打球,有如感激他不去打劫銀行。(You might as well praise a man for not robbing a bank as to praise him for playing by the rules. )
Peter Jacobsen說過:
高爾夫最令人著迷處之一是反映生命循環。無論你打得怎麼樣好或壞,第二天也要重新從第一洞打起,而不知將會發生什麼事。(One of the most fascinating things about golf is how it reflects the cycle of life. No matter what you shoot - the next day you have to go back to the first tee and begin all over again and make yourself into something. )
Arnold Palmer說過:
高爾夫是有趣的,我愈練得多,我便愈好彩。(It's a funny thing, the more I practice the luckier I get. )
當我發了一記好球,感覺就如別人在詩中和博物館裡找到的一樣。(What other people may find in poetry or art museums, I find in the flight of a good drive. )
高爾夫的迷惑是如此簡單,卻複雜得永無止境,滿足我們心靈,卻令聰明人沮喪,與此同時,又令人覺得有益和發顛 ─ 毋庸置疑,這是人類發明最偉大的遊戲。(Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. It is at the same time rewarding and maddening - and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented.
Jack Nicklaus說過:
在任何場合,永遠沒有人會記得誰是第二名。(Nobody ever remembers who finished second at anything. )
職業高爾夫球賽是唯一的體育競技,一生中十場贏到兩場已是最好的了。(Professional golf is the only sport where, if you win 20 percent of the time, you're the best. )
高爾夫不是,亦從來不是一個平等的遊戲。(Golf is not, and never has been, a fair game. )
恐懼是最糟
Ben Hogan 說過:
高爾夫場上,打接下來的一桿才是最重要的一桿。( The most important shot in golf is the next one. )
Sam Snead說過:
在所有球場上的障礙物中,恐懼是最糟。(Of all the hazards, fear is the worst. )
Jim Murray說過:
高爾夫不是一個遊戲,它是一種束縛;很明顯這是人類飽受罪疚感煎熬,渴望靈魂得以救贖之下設計出來的。(Golf is not a game, it's a bondage. It was obviously devised by a man torn with guilt, eager to atone for his sins. )
Billy Graham說過:
我的禱告,只有在高爾夫球場上的上帝沒滿足到。(The only time my prayers are never answered is on the golf course. )
Chi Chi Rodriguez說過:
我推桿時從不向上帝禱告,我只是祈求衪如果我推失了便幫我控制脾氣。(I never pray to God to make a putt. I pray to God to help me react good if I miss a putt. )
時值六四二十周年前夕,最後這句由美國前加州州長George Deukmejian說的比應景:
高爾夫與政府最大的分別是,在高爾夫球場上,你不能把球停定的位置(lie)移到更佳的位置,政府呢?用語帶雙關lie的意思,就是謊言可以愈講愈動聽。(The difference between golf and government is that in golf you can't improve your lie. )(完)
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本文原刊於《信報》,現經作者修訂重刊。
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