Don't hurry, don't worry. You're here for a short visit. So be sure to stop and smell the flowers.

Walter Hagen, the celebrated American professional golfer, is often quoted in connection with a relaxed, pleasure-forward philosophy of life that mirrors his public persona on the early 20th‑century golf circuit. This saying is widely circulated in quotation collections as a piece of practical, almost pastoral advice: resist haste and anxiety, remember life’s brevity, and attend to small, immediate joys. However, despite its frequent attribution to Hagen, I cannot confidently place it in a specific speech, interview, book, or contemporaneous newspaper account. It appears to function primarily as an aphorism attached to his legend rather than a securely documented utterance.

The quote urges a deliberate, unpanicked approach to both sport and life. “Don’t hurry” speaks to resisting impatience and rash decision-making; “don’t worry” counsels against anxiety over outcomes beyond one’s control. By framing life as “a short visit,” the line introduces a memento-mori perspective: time is limited, so attention should be directed toward what is vivid and sustaining rather than toward constant striving. “Stop and smell the flowers” functions as a concrete metaphor for mindfulness—pausing to notice beauty, pleasure, and meaning in ordinary moments. In a golfing context, it also suggests that composure and enjoyment can coexist with competitive ambition.