(written in 2014)
In the Beginning
In the beginning, I had some clubs but I didn't have a bag. I had to use a loaner bag from the course my stepdad and I were about to hack our way around. Unfortunately for me, it was a pink bag. I was 12 years old when I first stepped foot on a golf course, not knowing it would become a passion for me all my life.I remember playing that day as if t were yesterday. I was absolutely horrible, shanking, topping, missing, and losing balls right and left. I hit every hazard that was in front, beside, or even behind me. It was a wonder we even made it through the 9 holes we did. My stepdad wasn't much better, but he had some practice playing on the company golf team at the brake plant in Tennessee.
That first day I even tried my best to keep score, even though the math was so complicated it could merit an invisible algebra equation. I can't remember exactly what I came up with, but the score for 9 holes was probably around 100 if I were to count all the penalties. And if I were to keep a good score, I would have had to disqualify myself I'm sure.
Nevertheless, the rusted old blades my stepdad got me back in the early 90s were my first set of clubs. I cleaned them up and even got a used bag later for them. I constructed a mini golf course around our farmhouse with hula hoops and a Wiffle ball. I challenged my brother, stepdad, and mom to compete. I kept score and we all had a lot of fun. I even drew out the course design and put the stats on paper. It was the beginning of a lifetime love affair with golf.
Getting Better
As time progressed, our family moved back to where we were from in Oregon. I didn't get the chance to play golf for a while, but when I entered high school the opportunity to play again presented itself with the golf team.As I lived in a small rural place in Eastern Oregon, having a golf course was a dream come true. It was as if God put it there for me. I played that course all the time, every chance I could get. Because I was a member of the high school golf team, they let me play all year round for a membership of $90/year! I even had a golfing buddy who would come with me often and we would challenge each other to get better.
Those times were the heart of golfing in its essence. I didn't know about St. Andrews or the Masters. We didn't have cable or the internet and I knew very little about professional golf, or even where golf came from. All I knew was that I loved the game.
In the first year of high school at our 1A school, I was about the third best player shooting rounds around 110-135 on eighteen holes. By this time, I had learned the rules and was playing tournaments where I needed to show golf etiquette.
I became a strict rule-keeper and wanted nothing to do with mulligans and cheating whatsoever. I was tempted a few times of course, and admittedly even bent the rules, but was deeply burdened at my lack of integrity until I became an uncompromising rule keeper as I still am.
This is how I got better at golf, playing on a lonely course in Eastern Oregon, playing on the high school golf team. We played 1-3A schools and in my 10th-12th grade years I was the top player.
This is how I got better at golf, playing on a lonely course in Eastern Oregon, playing on the high school golf team. We played 1-3A schools and in my 10th-12th grade years I was the top player.
I progressed each year until finally in the last tournament I broke 90 with an 88. This was the highlight of my high school golfing career. This was the district's tournament and I believe I came in right in the middle of the pack after the two-day tournament was over.
I played all the time, read magazines, and started to learn about the golfing scene and history. Tiger woods was emerging about this time and I remember being pained if it was nice outside and I had to work and couldn't play golf.
The Dream is Still There
In high school, I began to dream of becoming a college golfer; after high school when I was in the Air Force I began to dream of becoming a professional golfer. I played on the Air Force squadron golf team where I was the second-best player out of our security forces squadron.I played all the time, read magazines, and started to learn about the golfing scene and history. Tiger woods was emerging about this time and I remember being pained if it was nice outside and I had to work and couldn't play golf.
At this point, I was threatening to break 80 on many occasions but never did, nor have I shot better than a +8 on any 18-hole course to this day. One time I played a par 71 and shot a 79, but this didn't count in my book. Still, I chase this elusive goal of breaking 80. (Update, I did finally break 80 a few years after this article with a +7, but only one time).
I was an 11 handicap playing on one of the toughest courses in Utah, Hill AFB course, where they often held the state amateur championship. And at one point during a squadron competition, I shot an -1 on 9 holes, so a 35! Too bad on the front nine I shot a 50!
The dream was there and I thought all the time about golf. When I got out of the Air Force all I wanted to do was work on a golf course. God had other plans for me though, and I had a long road of discovery in my personal life to go through. I needed to get right with Jesus, and my search for truth overrode my dreams of golf. Still, the dream has always been there.
At one point when I was 26 years old, I got my handicap back and entered two amateur tournaments in Oregon. I was an 18 handicap at this point, a bit rusty. In the first tournament, I barely was able to shoot under 100 the first day, and on the second I shot 102 or so. I came in about 97th out of 120 golfers. This was discouraging, but I was very excited to be competing again.
The next tournament I entered was different. I was ready for this one and I ended up shooting two rounds in the mid-eighties and winning the net score for the entire tournament! So, I am actually a winner of an amateur golf tournament with my net score. Although I had a high handicap, it was accurate at that time in my life.
About ten years later, here I am about 35 years old. I still golf about 10 times a year and have a driving range across the street from my house. I have been keeping meticulous stats on each round I complete and I always keep a tournament accurate score. I don't have a home club or an official handicap, but at this point, I am about a 15 handicap.
The dream is still there, but there are other dreams and priorities that are more important in my life at this point. I am married and serve the Lord Jesus Christ, own and operate a lawn care business, and am a part-time writer on the internet.
I was an 11 handicap playing on one of the toughest courses in Utah, Hill AFB course, where they often held the state amateur championship. And at one point during a squadron competition, I shot an -1 on 9 holes, so a 35! Too bad on the front nine I shot a 50!
The dream was there and I thought all the time about golf. When I got out of the Air Force all I wanted to do was work on a golf course. God had other plans for me though, and I had a long road of discovery in my personal life to go through. I needed to get right with Jesus, and my search for truth overrode my dreams of golf. Still, the dream has always been there.
The Aging Dreamer
As I got older, I would go through golfing phases and still do. At times the dream would awaken and I would play more golf, and other times I would put it away and pursue other dreams which I had in me. As I also wanted to be a writer and a musician.At one point when I was 26 years old, I got my handicap back and entered two amateur tournaments in Oregon. I was an 18 handicap at this point, a bit rusty. In the first tournament, I barely was able to shoot under 100 the first day, and on the second I shot 102 or so. I came in about 97th out of 120 golfers. This was discouraging, but I was very excited to be competing again.
The next tournament I entered was different. I was ready for this one and I ended up shooting two rounds in the mid-eighties and winning the net score for the entire tournament! So, I am actually a winner of an amateur golf tournament with my net score. Although I had a high handicap, it was accurate at that time in my life.
About ten years later, here I am about 35 years old. I still golf about 10 times a year and have a driving range across the street from my house. I have been keeping meticulous stats on each round I complete and I always keep a tournament accurate score. I don't have a home club or an official handicap, but at this point, I am about a 15 handicap.
The dream is still there, but there are other dreams and priorities that are more important in my life at this point. I am married and serve the Lord Jesus Christ, own and operate a lawn care business, and am a part-time writer on the internet.
My plate is full you may say, but when I do get out there on the course it's like I'm out there on my home course in Eastern Oregon again; I start to think if I could just shoot par I could become a professional. The dream is still there.
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