I take back almost every bad thing I’ve ever said about golf. I still think it’s a sport for old white guys - for “people who are waiting to die,” I think I put it (to which my brother Eric replied, “You dead yet? Me neither, let’s golf.”)
Let me set the scene for you. In lieu of gifts, my dad wanted to go golfing with my brothers and I for Father’s Day. Since it was a crappy weekend, we agreed to do it sometime later in the summer. This past weekend was perfect, so I went home Friday night. Now, I haven’t golfed in about five years. My dad hasn’t in almost as long, Eric (20) in probably 3 years, and Shaun (15) had only played once, a year or two ago. Thankfully, Eric spent three summers working at a country club and had collected a couple hundred golf balls along the way. I knew we were likely to lose a lot of them, so I loaded about 20 into my bag before we left. We only lost six, as far as I know - Eric over-shot one hole, into the woods, and Shaun put five in the pond. We had every imaginable type of ball, including a handful of those yellow and orange ones you only find on the driving range.
Shaun: “I think I’ll start with a Callaway.”
Eric: “Those are like forty bucks for a dozen.”
Shaun: “Perfect.”
We played on a small par 3 course not far from home. We’re only talking 100-160 yards each, so it certainly wasn’t anything major. Shaun tried his 1 wood on the third or fourth hole, and since it was his best drive yet, he decided to just use it for the rest of the game. Eric had great form and was really consistent, but never quite on - he kept landing drives to the left of the green and didn’t do too well putting. I was all over the place. Dad didn’t seem to stand out one way or another, but he beat us all soundly. Around the 14th hole, I mentioned that I couldn’t keep my left elbow straight.
Dad: “You’re supposed to keep your elbow straight?”
Me: “Um…yeah.”
Dad: “Oh. I wonder if that will help.”
As it turns out, it WILL help, and he did a lot better in the last few holes.
Shaun declared toward the beginning of the game, “First one to 100 wins!” By his rules, he won with a 102. I got a 97, Eric had 90, and Dad 80. We certainly didn’t do well, but it was better than expected, and I had a blast. I almost never get a chance to see all three of them at the same time, and we had a lot of fun. The game was actually fun to play - I remember it being incredibly frustrating, but I guess it’s more fun if you go in expecting to suck.
