eagleparbirdie

Thank You, Bob

Filed in archive Golf Wanderings on August 7, 2007

Thank You, Bob
I received an involuntary lesson in appreciation the other day.

My wife and I took my 82 year old father-in-law out to play 9 holes. Bob has been an avid golfer all his life, a former champion at his club in Toronto and in Palm Desert where he and his wife lived for about 10 years after retiring.

But kidney disease has put Bob on a dialysis machine three times a week for five hours at a time. He's frail and skinny as a rail.

However, his mind still works and he knows he still loves the game.

All the way to the course Bob commented about how beautiful the countryside was, how lovely and blue the sky was, what a wonderful day it was to play golf.

We arrived at our chosen location, a pretty and very hilly 9-hole track that boasts some exceptional views on holes with higher elevations. Indeed, it is a lovely little course.

But I began to focus on how many ball marks were unrepaired on the greens, how hard the sand was in the traps and what mistakes I was making in my swing.

Bob, on the other hand, would drop his ball on the tee, take a couple of short, relaxed backswings, mutter once or twice, "now don't try to kill it, Bob" and then swing. His shots were very short - he has so little strength, these days - but he made contact and the ball went straight down the middle.

Stepping out of the cart at one particular green, Bob said to Wendy, my wife, "this is a dream come true. I can't believe I'm doing this".

You see, Bob didn't care how well he hit the ball. He didn't have a goal of shooting a number. His aim was accomplished every time he looked around at the golf course that surrounded him, every time he stepped out of the cart and drew a club from his bag, every time he shuffled onto a green with his putter and stroked the ball toward the cup.

Bob was playing golf again. And that's all that mattered.

Me? I struggled on some holes and beat myself up, did very well on other holes and berated myself for not doing better.

In other words, I didn't play golf. I "worried and fretted" golf.

Bob played golf. And he loved it.

He played like it was the last time he would ever play.

I hope to God it isn't; he's a very good teacher.



Permalink: Thank You, Bob

Tags: golf  teacher  golf  course  ball  marks  sand  traps 

Vote for Thank You, Bob:

  • Currently 10.00/10
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
Rating: 10.00 out of 1 vote(s) cast.
 
Share It
RSS rss
Google google
Yahoo! yahoo
Bloglines Bloglines
TwitterFollow us on Twitter!
Most Popular   Best of   Did you know   European Tour   Golf Business   Golf Courses   Golf Equipment   Golf Fitness   Golf Humor   Golf Instruction   Golf Interviews   Golf News   Golf Travel   Golf Wanderings   Information About   Misc   Quick introduction   US Open