As a child I watched golf on the television long enough to realize what was on so I could change the channel. I was the victim of the stereotype that golf was a rich man’s game when I was growing up. And no, I can’t blame that on my Dad. I never heard him put down a golfer. To the contrary, when he did mention a golfer, it was complimentary. Dad did not watch golf on TV when I was growing up. We did watch Wimbeldon tennis. That was fascinating to watch a game I was closer to…the tennis court was close to the football practice field at my old school….and the one that would be my new one for that matter. Golf just was not our thing.
Here is the chasm of that kept golf “over there” for me when I was younger and took into early adulthood. They guys on TV playing golf had slacks on. That is all it took. If they are wearing slacks while they are playing a sport, they probably hold their pinkies out when they drink their tea. Right or…well, wrong, that was the prevailing sentiment for this game for me and my young cronies.
My attitude for the game of golf took a turn for the best in 1992. I was coaching high school football. Our team’s head coach was a golfer. We became friends and ultimately he showed me how to play the game of golf. He gave me a hand me down set of clubs and I put them to good use. The bag was green…about the color of the jacket the guys will be playing for this weekend. There were some old Taylor Made woods (metal) and they hit the ball true. I had no idea what had been given to me. These were some good tools for a first timer. Thank you, Mark Black.
So Captain Black took me to the golf course. I then took to it. Soon after Carrie, my dear wife, and I were married we got a membership at the The Old Capitol Golf Club in Corydon. I dear friend Gus, we lived in the same New Salisbury neighborhood, joined me. We played a great deal of golf together. The Corydon Course is an 18 hole behemoth. We walked every hole. It was expensive enough for a young couple to be there. Paying for a cart was out of the question. Anyway, like Pete Rutherford told the club attendant on a 101 degree day when he and I were walking the course, “It ain’t a game if you don’t walk!”
To date, my best 18 hole round was an 84 at Corydon. I shot 39 once on the nine hole course in New Salisbury. I kept the card for my 84. The ball I shot 39 with is just a few feet to my left in a safe place. 5 pars and 4 bogeys. One of the bogeys was on a par 3 I negotiate more times than not.
And of course I play in a tournament, the Corner King Classic every year. I have written about it on these very pages.
For me, golf goes back to Tom Watson and Jack Nicklaus in the 1970s. Though I did not watch the game on TV, I did read the newspapers and Sports Illustrated. Remember there was no ESPN to screw up what we were leaving to our imaginations.
When Fuzzy Zoeller won The Masters in 1979 I was watching. He was a local guy compared to Seve Ballesteros or Gary Player. We could understand what Fuzzy was saying without having to adjust our hearing.
When I was a senior in high school, thirty years ago, Jack Nicklaus won The Masters at age 46. And we thought he was old. Well, no one older than that has won it since. I guess he was. Phil Mickelson is 45 this year. Many are picking or pulling for Lefty.
When Tiger Woods won his first Masters in 1997, we figured the Green Jacket tailor could probably take most of next two decades off while Tiger collected the same size or just put on the same jacket. Tiger has won this tournament four times. The last one came in 2005. And he is not competing this year.
When Tiger lost his crown, or got hit in the crown, folks thought golf was in for a bad time. Yes, rating are probably better when Tiger is playing in the hunt for a championship. He is Tiger. Still, the game is in good hands with a great many exciting young golfers. Rickie Fowler, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson, Adam Scott, and the 37 year-old Matt Kuchar, my pick for to win the 2016 Masters, are fun to watch. There are many more here that I have not mentioned.
And the course at Augusta. Oh my. That is worth tuning in to watch. You may not like golf, but you can watch it being played at this place and enjoy it. Amen Corner, the azaleas, Rae’s Creek, The Hogan Bridge, it never gets old. The best thing is that it lasts for four days and looks better the next day every time. When Sunday comes and a Green jacket is fitted, there is a bit of sadness that comes when the winner puts his arms inside and shrugs his shoulders a bit to get the right fit. It is over. It is sad for a moment. Then I always think bring on The US Open Championship the second of Golf’s four MAJORS in June. Though my second favorite is The British Open…or should I say…The Open. That is in July.
If you get a chance, watch The Masters.
There is a Green Jacket waiting. I think Matt Kuchar is the man this year.
Speaking the Golfing Prognosticating Rights…
Danny Johnson