In anticipation for the Ryder Cup that kicked off today, we sat down with Clayton Hromadka, the Executive Director of the PGA of Tennessee. While his career is now consumed with the game of golf, it’s one of the few sports he never played as a kid growing up in a small town a few miles outside of Waco, TX. If he had played, however, he would have likely excelled at the sport, as he did with just about everything else he set his mind to as a kid. As an all-state athlete in multiple sports, student body president and academic standout, he resembled the type of picture perfect, “all American boy” you’d find in the movies. At home, however, Clayton faced a different kind of reality. One he was not proud of, one he did everything he could to hide, and one that had been passed down from generation to generation in his family.

Clayton’s story of confronting generational sin, while unique to him, is not uncommon for any of us. As men, we are all carrying the weight of sin around with us. Some we may have inherited from our parents and some are the result of bad decisions we’ve made along the way. But, as Clayton shares in his story, we all have a mulligan at our disposal; an opportunity to start fresh, leave the past behind and move forward as a new and better Christ follower, husband, father, boss, and leader.

Clayton shares in his interview that the first step to moving forward is forgiveness. You have to be willing to accept God’s forgiveness and then forgive yourself if you ever hope to move forward. There is an old saying that, “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” You can’t change your past, but you can own your future. And today, gentlemen is as good a day as any to take that first step.