| I was fortunate as a youth to grow up on a | | | | occasionally dive into the golf course ponds |
| golf course. Besides the scenic view, there | | | | to pick up golf balls. This was very |
| were numerous benefits to living on the golf | | | | profitable as we could on a good night pick |
| course. | | | | up 75 or more name brand balls and sell them |
| | | | the next day for 50 cents a piece. For a |
| I could pull up a lawn chair and observe and | | | | young kid I was rolling in the dough! |
| take in all of the free golf lessons a young | | | | |
| aspiring golfer could ever want. There were | | | | The best finds out of the ponds were not the |
| many good golfers worthy of picking up | | | | golf balls. Once in a while we might pick up |
| pointers, but the golfers that really stuck | | | | a club or two. But the grand prize of all |
| into my memory over the years were from the | | | | was finding complete sets of golf clubs. |
| bad golfers. | | | | Evidently for some golfers wrapping the club |
| | | | around a tree wasn't enough. So if you're |
| Golf, while a serious competitive game, was | | | | that frustrated why not throw the club into |
| taken a bit too serious by some. One of my | | | | the pond! |
| first golf lessons was watching the turf fly | | | | |
| further than the ball. While we have all | | | | Looking back I think the guy that threw his |
| done that once or twice, the real lesson was | | | | whole set of clubs in at least had something |
| the four-letter vocabulary I learned that was | | | | right. He knew that he had to walk away from |
| used to describe such a shot. That lesson | | | | the game. Golf is meant to be fun! We all |
| could then proceed to the more advanced | | | | have bad shots or bad days but don't let it |
| lessons on how to ground your club hard into | | | | eat you alive. |
| the ground. If it was a real special day I | | | | |
| might even learn how golfers wrap their clubs | | | | I still wonder how the guy that threw his |
| around trees. | | | | whole set ever got home that day. I still |
| | | | have his keys! |
| Living on the course I would also | | | | |