Continued from,
“The Monkey on my back!”
Meanwhile back home on the range trouble was brewing in paradise, an emotional wedge had grown between my girlfriend and I and our relationship had become as cold as a snowman in the dead of winter. I tried to bunker down and wait out the storm but finally decided to pull the pin, one last bump and I had to run. They say the first cut is the deepest and in my case it was true. We had played our eighteen holes and we didn’t even bother to meet at the 19th hole to rehash our game, our relationship had run it’s course.
It was 2004; a new social media site that would come to be known world wide as facebook was born, Wiarton Willie predicted six more weeks of winter, John Kerry won the Democratic Party Presidential nomination, the last Oldsmobile rolled of the assembly line in Lansing, Michigan and Phil Michelson finally shook the monkey off his back by winning his first major. On the 18th hole, Phil drained a 15 foot birdie putt for a one stroke victory over Ernie Els to win a green jacket at The Masters and erase the title as the best player to never win a major. My claim to fame for 2004 was a failed relationship.
Suddenly I had a lot of idle time on my hands and Gerard, a good friend of mine at work and a member of our original foursome, approached me and suggested we start golfing again. My mood swings were up and down because of the break up and I needed a distraction to take my mind off what I considered to be an emotional handicap. I was on the fringe of making a decision to return to the game anyway and, I was already set up with all the equipment I needed.
The obvious thing to do was a no brainer. We recruited Terry, another friend from work and faster than a Caddie CTS race car, we booked a tee time at a local course.
At The Course.
I stepped up to the ball and nervously took my stance wondering just how much I had forgotten in eleven years. I took a deep breath, waggled the driver and took my swing. The ball rocketed off the tee, sailed gracefully through the air and split the fairway setting my self up for an easy approach shot with a short iron.
I smiled like a man who just won the lottery as we walked down the fairway to take our second shots and as we walked, I felt a slight tug on the back of my pants as if a small animal had jumped up and attached itself to the bottom of my pant leg. I looked down, saw nothing, shook my leg a little to get rid of the imaginary creature and continued my walk down the fairway. When we got to the first green, I felt the creature slowly scramble up my pant leg and by the time we reached the third fairway it had settled onto my back like a comfortable old shirt, the monkey had returned.
As we walked the course enjoying the sunshine, the great outdoors, the comaraderie, the jokes and the laughter, I could not believe I had abandoned this extraordinary pass time that was not only a grand and noble game, but a homage to male bonding. I could not believe that for eleven years I had walked away from a game I loved so much, and at that precise moment I took a silent, solemn vow to never give up the game again. There was still a link missing in the chain however.
There are some who believe that it goes against the grain of all that is sacred about golf that true golfing Nirvana is not attained until a foursome of friends become one, and I am one of those people. I could not imagine walking on to a course every weekend by myself and hooking up with complete strangers to play a round of golf.
Lonelier still would be to play the game all by oneself, with my luck I would get a hole in one, and oh the tragedy it would be to experience the ultimate shot in golf and have no one to celebrate with. I honestly believe I would not even bother to tell anyone because every time I recounted the story I would feel empty and hollow inside and I would wonder if people truly believed I had accomplished the rarest shot in golf.
Likewise, a duo or trio hooked up with strangers changes the mix, the conversation changes, the comfort level is not as relaxed. The ideal situation to play golf in, is to be a part of a regular foursome of friends willing to meet on the battlefield at the appointed times, in order to slay the bogey man and forge the bonds of friendship. We needed to find a fourth gladiator for our group!
Next post; The Four Musketeers!
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Hurray another winning blog entry!
I can see the images that you describe. I especially like the ones about the monkey on your back and getting a hole in one when playing a round of golf on your own.
I believe your blog may even enhance my golf knowledge!!
Hi Janice, Thank you again for reading and commenting on my post. I’m thinking the next post will close the book on that part of my story, then on to bigger and more exciting things. Glad to help out with your golf education, and getting a hole in one when you are golfing all by your self would be like winning the lottery when you were 90 years old, it would suck big time.
I truly believe you have great writing skills, you keep the reader entertained and looking for the next tidbit to take you to another adventure. That monkey really has you hooked I see, I could actually see him tugging at your golf shorts and finally snuggling down in the small of your back.
It is a rare thing to have a relationship with friends like you and your golf buddies, enjoy each and every golf game you sound like you really “breathe” the game when you are out there on the course. I’m looking forward to the next entry. Yvonne
Good morning Yvonne, Thank you again for the words of encouragement, it is comments like yours that will motivate me to continue to write through the lean, growing stage of my blog. One day soon hopefully, people other than family and friends will find their way to my stories. I truly cherish the friendships I share with our foresome (sic) and I do indeed “breathe” the game when I am on the course, it is a wonderful addiction to have.
Hey Howard this is getting exciting.I cant wait for the next post.
I so hope you find your fourth gladiator to help slay the weekly golf dragons …….. and a fresh new relationship that doesn’t end with you up to your neck in lost golf balls in the dragons lair.
Hey Wayne, thanx buddy, you are going to be one of the stars of the next post, so stay tuned.
Thanx for coming back for a visit Denise, I don’t want to give too much away so I guess you’ll just have to come back and visit again to find out “the rest of the story”. See you then
Although I have never spent a great deal of time reading, I know talent when I see it and I am looking forward to the next installment. I know that I am enjoying what I am reading when I hear myself chuckling out loud. And I am certainly getting to know you through your words. Thank you, Howard.
Thank you Betty, your words mean a lot to me, and it is comments like yours that I will come back to for encouragement when I feel like giving up because it just doesn’t seem to be working. I hope I can continue to entertain you with my stories.
Hi, Howard – I didn’t leave a comment after the first post, because I truly couldn’t find words to describe how pleased and amazed I was at your writing talent! But I just couldn’t remain silent and not tell you how much I’m enjoying your saga, and how I look forward to future installments. Still waters run deep, and I should have known you would have more talents than playing the guitar! Keep up the good work, and I’ll definitely pass your link along!
Lynda, thank you so much for the compliments and passing my link along, it is so appreciated. There is a lot of hard work and time involved in building a successful blog and you give me much needed encouragement, I hope I can continue to entertain.
Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say
that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. In any case
I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!
Thanx Mary, I appreciate the comment. I am working on a video this very moment to embed into my next post. The new post should be ready tomorrow sometime. Thanx also for taking an interest in my blog.