Why realism and responsibility should be par for the course

I've been an avid golfer for longer than I care to remember. As a result, I'm quite prone to viewing life through the prism of a pursuit Mark Twain supposedly described as "a good walk spoilt".  Perhaps inevitably, I see especially strong parallels between the task of coaxing a small ball into a slightly bigger cup and the challenge of building a solid financial future. A major reason for this is that golf, like saving and investment, represents a classic case of risk and reward.  Imagine, for example, that you're standing on the 17th tee of the fabled Old Course at St Andrews. This i...