Falling Back In Love … With Golf

I started playing golf when I was 3 years old. My Dad and Grandfathers would take me to the driving range and to the Rancho Park 3-Par Course. When I was 5, I earned my card that allowed me to play the 18-hole course at Rancho. I was hooked.

When I was 6, my Grandpa Arnie had a weekly game at the Rancho 3-Par with “The Guys.” The Guys were a group of Grandpa Arnie’s friends. Anywhere from 12 to 16 men my Grandpa’s age would show up every Sunday at 8:15 a.m. sharp.

I asked my Grandpa if I could play with him. He was a very proper and respectful man so I’d imagine that on some level taking me to play with his friends made him apprehensive. But he loved his family far more than that apprehension. So on one Sunday morning in late 1987, I became one of The Guys. They called me “The Kid” or “The Rotten Kid” if I hit one closer to the hole than Mel Moskowitz. Every Sunday I played with The Guys and we ate breakfast at the coffee shop afterward. I did so for about fifteen years until unfortunately most had either passed away or become physically unable to play.

Throughout my childhood, I’d play countless rounds with my Dad and Grandpa Herb too. Any chance I got I was either on the course or on the practice range and putting green. The starter at Rancho would see me and add me to the waiting list simply as “Kid”. Needless to say I also have chipped on every inch of my parents’ front yard. My personal favorite is the flop shot over the bush that has to land short of the driveway (I learned the hard way to ask my Dad to pull his car in before I would chip out front).

As I got a little older I started playing in junior tournaments. I won a couple and ended up playing for my high school’s team. My game drove my high school coaches and teammates crazy because I was a head case. We played nine-hole matches and they never knew whether I’d be one under or ten over. Neither did I unfortunately. I was a mid-level player on a very good team.

If you’re asking for a career junior golf highlight, we go back to when I was about 13 years old. The Maccabi Games were being hosted by Los Angeles so I tried out for the home squad’s golf team. I remember that we had to go to the driving range to be evaluated first. They gave us a token for the machine. So I took my token like I was supposed to and put it into the ball-dispensing machine like I was supposed to. Unfortunately, I forgot to put the basket underneath the machine where the balls came out, like I was supposed to. Roughly thirty balls poured out and went everywhere down a concrete walkway at El Caballero Country Club. I can still picture everyone turning, looking, and suppressing laughter as I scrambled to pick up all the balls. Somehow I still made the team.

After high school, I became less of a head case. I calmed down and my game started to come around. Rather than following bogeys with double bogeys, I started playing the game one shot and one hole at a time. In my early 20’s, I practiced a ton and got my index down to a 4 (my GPA at UCLA was slightly lower, and by slightly, I don’t mean slightly).

My goal was to get my index down to below a 2 so that I could try out for the U.S. Open (that’s the requirement). My Dad had promised me that if I tried out for the U.S. Open, he’d caddie for me. That was all the motivation I needed so I started playing and practicing even more than I was already. Unfortunately, with all the golf I was playing, I discovered that I had a congenital back problem. I tried to play through it by adding Aleve and other anti-inflammatory medication to my regimen, but it was to no avail. I had to stop playing for a few years.

In my mid-20’s, when I felt well enough to pick up my clubs again and play, I became your typical once a month to once a year golfer. I’d play, have some fun, and lament the fact that my best golfing years were behind me.

Fortunately for me, a friend of mine invited me to play a few months ago. I hadn’t played in about nine months. We became weekly golfing buddies, playing that same Rancho 3-Par I group up playing every Sunday. Unfortunately, an elbow problem of his flared up. Rather than stop playing on Sundays, I continued on. After all, I didn’t have an excuse. I’m happy to say that I’ve been playing once a week since (I’ve since graduated to a full 18 holes) and sneaking out to the range and practice green a couple of times a week too.

Moreover, I’ve played in two tournaments since joining the Rancho Park Men’s Club (the men’s club for the local public course I grew up playing) a couple of months back. I finished in the bottom half in one of the tournaments and T-18 out of 92 in the other. Neither was all that impressive, but it felt great to play golf in a competitive setting again. No gimmes. Tees back. It was a lot of fun. Current index you ask? 11.3.

Nevertheless, my goal remains the same. I want to get my index down to below a 2 so that I can try out for the U.S. Open. I realize that I have about a Powerball winner’s chance at doing so and a zero chance thereafter at qualifying. However, Dad, I know you’re reading this. I’m holding you to your promise to caddie for me at qualifying.

Dad, you may not be able to carry the bag too easily, but that doesn’t matter. I can do that myself.

I’d be out there to compete but nothing would be able to top the experience of trying out for the U.S. Open with my Dad alongside me for the entire 18. So keep your fingers crossed for me and my golf game. Who knows? Maybe the next golf piece I write about myself is about my qualifying round experience. That’s the goal and goals are what make golf great.

Note: I am beyond grateful that I have recaptured my love of a sport that has been a part of my life for over 33 years. Thank you to Jason for being the first one to invite me out to play in my newest comeback (I hope your elbow heals up! I want you back out there with me!). Thank you to my wife for being beyond supportive. Thank you to my family and friends to listening to my golf stories and for your everlasting support. And thank you to you, my RW faithful for taking an interest. I’ll report back when I’m down to single digits!