Since creating this blog at the beginning of the year, I've attempted to share information from books and other resources that I've found helpful in my quest to play extraordinary golf, as well as highlighting some successes and failures I've experienced implementing what I've learned on the course. I hope at least a few readers have found some of these resources and experiences helpful in their own efforts to improve.

But going forward, instead of boring you with only stories of my own, I thought I'd begin to share the stories of other artful golfers -- ones who have inspired me along the way. I'll introduce you to some of the the golfers I've played with, along with golfers I've never met, but who nevertheless inspired me.


Fab Foursome by Gerard at flickr.com

Just in the past year, I've already played with nearly two-hundred different golfers. I've probably met nearly four-hundred golfers since taking up the game in 2005. And I honestly haven't met one I didn't like. I've played with a 45 year old who won 6 PGA tournaments but didn't make the final cut at Q-School in 2005, a 70 year old who still throws clubs, a 40 year old who is a retired drug dealer, an 80 year old who shoots his age, a 50 year old who has 15 career aces, a 60 year old who is still hitting 'em 300 yards, a 20 year old who only weights 140 pounds who hits 'em further than anybody, along with hundreds of others who shot rounds anywhere from under 70 to over 140. In some way each of them taught me something that helped my game.

I'll start by introducing you to my friend Russ who got me started playing golf in 2005, and who I still play with several weekends each month. As long as I've known Russ, he's been an avid golfer. He plays to about an 8, which is pretty respectable for someone who picked the game up as an adult and who only has time to play once a week. In early 2005, Russ was between jobs and looking for someone to play with during the week, before getting busy with a new job. I had quit playing hockey about a year prior due to ongoing back pain, and needed a new physical activity to get me moving again, so I joined him. We've been playing together regularly since.

Our approach to the game and individual strengths are entirely different. Russ is a technical golfer who depends on lining up and swinging correctly to make the ball go where he wants. I just focus on the target and visualize where I want the ball to go and trust that my body knows how to make it go there. Russ is long, but inconsistent off the tee, but has an incredible recovery and short game. My strength is my accuracy off the tee. We make great scramble and best-ball partners.

More than anyone else, Russ has taught me how to play competitively. In fact, Russ isn't that interested in playing unless it's competitive, so every round we play includes a low-wage nassau. He used to give me as many as 8 strokes, now I give him a few. But we always seem to take turns taking each other's money. And since the winner buys drinks afterwards, it's essentially meaningless. Our serious matches, along with his British wit, not only make for enjoyable rounds, but have shown me how to play with integrity and by the rules, and how to stay patient and calm when I want to get frustrated and discouraged.

But what's most interesting is that Russ and I have synchronous lives. I was born in California in 1959, just 3 days before Russ was born in England. We both got married in the summer of 1984 and are still married. We started careers in software development soon after, experiencing major career milestones in the same years. We both managed software projects at competing, and later the same, companies, developing the same type of retail software. We both had daughters born in 1987 who both graduated from the same high school and who both went on to UC Santa Barbara to major in Psychology. We both have sons, but of different ages.

When we started playing golf together, I discovered we had the same make and model laptops, the same make and model digital cameras, and the same make and model cars (and color). Even our personal license plates nearly match. One day, I went over to Russ's house to pick him up for a round of golf, and noticed that he had a hole in his front bumper in the exact same spot I did. We both had something fly up and hit our bumpers during the same week while driving on the freeway. The list goes on. I told Russ to be really careful not to get hurt or come down with some disease. Turns out he dropped his motorcycle on a sharp turn yesterday, injuring his shoulder. I'll stay in the house and be careful for a few days!

Next post, I'll introduce you to Josh, an artful young golf pro I met a while back and played with recently, who you'll actually meet soon too, if you watch Big Break VIII.

Labels: About, Golfers