Lent 2018 -- Gratitude Diary, Day 14

Golf has been very important to me in my life. I am grateful for the role it has played across the years.

There is a picture of me somewhere, I wish I had it, holding a plastic golf club at the age of 2 and that club is longer than I am tall. I took my first lessons at age 8. My Grandaddy Dallas took me every day for two weeks. It was a group lesson on the driving range at Mohawk Golf Course in Tulsa. At the end of the two weeks there was a golf tournament, and I won that tournament in my age bracket.

Golf was a continuous bond for me and Grandaddy Dallas. I played with him and his retired golfing buddies always at Mohawk. I rarely played with anyone under retirement age in those early years. It was a great place to learn and a couple of the holes ran along the fence line of the Tulsa Zoo. You could play golf and see some elephants and giraffes at the same time.

Lovely view of Mohawk Golf Course in Tulsa

 I had an aptitude for it early on. I was never really skilled at golf. I was skilled enough. I enjoyed golf. In a way you could say I loved it. But it was never something I thought I would pursue any further than in a recreational and school competition sense. I didn't practice enough. I wasn't disciplined enough. It mattered, but not that much.

Grandaddy got me a locker at Mohawk and I used to ride my motorcycle to the course and play. I got my motorcycle license at 14, and I went to the course most every day during the summer.

When I got to high school I played on the golf team. I didn't make the starting 5 until my senior year. The skill sets of those around me were more developed than mine. I did OK that senior year. I played well enough in the Regional Tournament that Southwestern College offered me an activity grant to play golf, and of course I accepted. At Southwestern College I was in the starting 5 for 4 years earning 4 letters. I played every position from  1 to 5 and in my Senior Year I was medalist in 1 tournament at Salina Country Club in Salina, KS.

Since I finished my competitive years I have played golf with church members, friends, other ministers, in scrambles with people I had never met. I have met a ton of people on the golf course and most of them were good people. Some took it a little too seriously for my liking. And after all these years I am a better golfer now, comparatively, than I have ever been. I like that.

I have been to 2 PGA Championships, 4 Colonials, 6 Bank One Senior Classics, the Ryder Cup and 1 US Open. That US Open was at Southern Hills CC in Tulsa, in 1977. I was chosen to work that tournament as a scoreboard carrier. It's my very best golf memory. I was able to watch all the top players. I carried a scoreboard one day for Gil Morgan and another day for Al Geiberger. It was a great experience.

Tiger Woods approach shot, #18 at Southern Hills CC in Tulsa

So today, I am grateful for the game of golf and all it has given me over the years.

Peace and Love,
Jerry