The Front 9 Will Test You — Don't Give Up Before the Back 9

Last week I watched my son Renner compete in an international golf tournament in Barcelona, Spain.

It was one of the proudest moments of my life as a father.

But this story isn't really about golf.

It's about what happens when you show up somewhere completely unfamiliar, face conditions you've never experienced, and have to decide whether to give up or keep going.

The Journey to Barcelona

Renner is a varsity golfer at Strake Jesuit in Houston, Texas — one of the top Jesuit high schools in the country. When the opportunity came for the team to compete in the Manresa Cup in Barcelona against Regis Jesuit from Colorado, it felt like something bigger than just a golf tournament.

The Manresa Cup is named after Manresa — the city in Catalonia where St. Ignatius of Loyola spent time in spiritual retreat before founding the Jesuit order. More on that connection later this week.

We flew into Barcelona on Sunday and drove to Salou — a beautiful coastal town about an hour south of the city — where the team stayed through Wednesday.

Monday the team had a practice round at Infinitum Golf Course. Tuesday another practice round at Golf Costa Daurada.

These weren't just warm up rounds. They were the first time these Strake Jesuit boys had ever played on European golf courses. Different grass. Different terrain. Different everything.

You could see them adjusting in real time.

The Course That Tested Everything

Thursday was the actual tournament at Masia Bach Golf Course.

I want to paint a picture of what this course looks like because it matters to the story.

Masia Bach is not like any course these boys had played in Texas or anywhere else in the United States.

Deep elevation drops on some holes where you're hitting down into what feels like a valley. Steep uphill holes where you can't see the green from the tee box. Ravines everywhere. Thick roughs. Very few water hazards but the terrain itself was the hazard.

For a group of high school golfers from Houston — a city that is famously flat — this was completely unfamiliar territory.

Renner generally felt good going into the tournament. He had prepared. He had put in the work. But the uncertainty of a course like this is something you can't fully prepare for until you're standing on the first tee.

The Front 9

The front 9 tested him.

The elevation changes, the unfamiliar terrain, the pressure of competing internationally for the first time — it all came together in those first nine holes.

But here's what I saw from the sideline that made me proudest.

He didn't give up.

He kept his composure. He stayed focused. He trusted his game even when the course was working against him.

And on the back 9 he came back stronger.

He finished with a 79 on one of the most challenging courses he had ever played in his life on an international stage.

That number doesn't tell the full story. The full story is what happened between the first tee and the 18th green — the adjustment, the resilience, the refusal to quit.

Regis Jesuit ultimately won the Manresa Cup. They played beautifully and deserved the victory. Strake Jesuit fought valiantly and showed tremendous sportsmanship throughout.

What Mattered Most

But honestly the scores weren't what I'll remember most about that day.

What I'll remember is everything that happened around the tournament.

Watching these young men from Strake Jesuit bond as brothers throughout the week. Seeing them encourage each other on the course. Watching them show genuine respect and sportsmanship toward their competitors from Regis Jesuit.

And one moment in particular that I keep coming back to.

On the beach in Salou earlier in the week I watched the Strake Jesuit boys play hacky sack and soccer with locals and foreign visitors who were also staying in the area.

No language barriers. No cultural differences. Just young men from Houston Texas playing on a beach in Spain with people from around the world.

That image — more than any score on any scorecard — captures what this trip was really about.

They went to Barcelona as a golf team.

They came home as young men who had experienced the world.

The Dinner

Wednesday night before the tournament Renner and I had dinner alone together near Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.

I gave him his space with his teammates throughout the week. That was important. This trip was about his experience with his brothers — not about dad hovering.

But Wednesday night was ours.

We sat together in the shadow of one of the most magnificent buildings ever constructed and just talked. About the trip. About the tournament coming up. About life.

I won't share everything we talked about. Some conversations between a father and son are just for them.

But I will say this — I looked at him across that dinner table in Barcelona and felt something I can only describe as gratitude. Gratitude for the young man he's becoming. Gratitude for the opportunity to be there with him. Gratitude for a trip that felt like it was always meant to happen.

The Lesson That Applies to All of Us

I've been in live entertainment for over 30 years.

I've played on a lot of unfamiliar courses in my career.

Moving from San Antonio to New York City for a $28,000 a year job at Tommy Boy Records when I was making three times that in Texas — that was an unfamiliar course.

Walking into Z100 in New York and building relationships from scratch in a city I didn't know — unfamiliar course.

Running live events in Houston during a 30-40% market downturn while navigating agent expectations and shifting audience behavior — unfamiliar course.

Every time the terrain was different than I expected.

Every time the front 9 tested me.

And every time the only option was to regroup, refocus, and finish strong on the back 9.

Watching Renner do exactly that on a golf course in Barcelona reminded me of something I already knew but needed to hear again.

The conditions are never perfect.

The course is always different than you expected.

What matters is whether you keep going.

Whatever unfamiliar course you're navigating right now — in your career, your business, your personal life —

Let it test you on the front 9.

Just don't give up before the back 9.

The back 9 is where champions are made. Read part 2 of the Barcelona story — coming Wednesday