Bernie,
GREAT story! I think I'll pass it on to friend who could use some
incentive to speed up :-)
/Ed
Bernie Baymiller wrote:
Tom,
The only problems that arise is when the all
too often "I hate playing with Joe" crops up.
Yeah, that seems to be inevitable with a bunch of old men. But
sometimes it gets funny...like a couple of weeks ago.
Dave is an early 60s, 15 handicap, kind of sarcastic guy (often funny
sarcasm) who is always needling somebody and can't sit or stand still.
He hits the ball, bitches at his shot a bit and jumps in the cart
ready to go. Chuck is 80, was a good player a few years ago, has
already shot his age a few times, but he is very deliberate...2
practice swings before every shot, even putts...and they are slow
swings, like he is drawing the arc he wants in his mind. Chuck and I
play together a lot and he's a good friend. Both were in my foursome
on "Friendly Friday". We play away on Fridays and usually don't get to
warm up, so take a Mulligan on the first tee if needed...thus the
Friendly Friday name. Chuck is taking his two practice swings on every
shot and it's about 90 degrees. About the 12th hole (par 5) Dave is
getting very frustrated (and so am I) at Chuck's slow play. I'm the
longest hitter of the bunch and waiting for a cart of the group in
front of us to get out of my 3W range (about 215 yards at best). Dave
says, "Hey Baymiller, hurry up. What are you waiting for?" I turned
around and said, "Well I don't take two practice swings on every shot
like Chuck does," with kind of a wink at Chuck. Dave is quiet for a
minute and says to Chuck something like, "Yeah, with an 83 and two
extra swings each hole, that's 166 extra swings. No wonder you get so
tired and slow, old man. " And we all bust out laughing at the
rationale...except Chuck. He kind of grits his teeth and says, "OK,
I'm not taking any more practice swings." Well, Chuck has an 18
handicap and has been playing to it or worse. All of a sudden, with no
practice swings, he starts playing par golf and pars five out of the
last 6 holes. That's good for five more net birdies and enough so we
win the $5 bet. We have been cheering him on every hole..."Look at
that shot! You don't need any practice swings." The last hole I make a
par with a stroke, which about wraps it up. When no one is watching,
Chuck turns to me and says, "Well, I took a practice swing on that
last shot," and grins.
I've played in a lot of tournaments, Club Championships, County
Championships and even a State Amatuer once, but they're not near as
much fun as playing with a bunch of retired old men on Friendly
Fridays...or the Oddballs on Mondays and Dirty Dozen on
Wednesdays...even with an occasional grouch.
Bernie
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