No More Mulligans

I know very little about golf. Basically, I can identify Tiger Woods, golf carts and golf clubs. I also understand a little golf lingo. A slice, a bogey and an over par is bad. A hole in one, a birdie and an under par is good. And then you've got the mulligan.

This is my understanding of what a mulligan is: A mulligan is when a person has a "do over" after making a horrific shot on the golf course.

In general, I think mulligans are good. After having witnessed a few tantrums from golfers, I'm pretty sure mulligans have prevented many a heart attack. I don't believe mulligans are meant for constant use, though. Who would want to play with someone who yells, "Whoops! Re-do!" over and over again?

I've come to the realization that, in relationships, I have tended to allow unlimited mulligans.  To an extent, this is what I feel you should do in a relationship--provide forgiveness and support to those who have made a mistake. The problem is, I've tended to provide unlimited mulligans for the same mistakes made by the same people. At some point this stopped being forgiveness and support and became emotional masochism.

So, from this point forward, I will allow one mulligan per major mistake. After that, if the other person can't improve, I'm leaving his or her butt in the sand trap!

The term "mulligan" is really a contraction of the phrase "maul it again”