Golfing with the Family

I’ve been a golfer since I was 12 years old. I started caddying at Scioto Country Club in Columbus and eventually saved up enough money to buy my first set of golf clubs. My parents didn’t play so most of my rounds were either played on Monday afternoons when the caddies were allowed to play or if I asked my Mom to drive me to the nearby municipal course to play with friends.

I really started to enjoy the game and caddied whenever I could so I could earn more money to play. The Ohio State Golf Club in our town was known as a very good facility with two golf courses – The Scarlet and The Gray, but it wasn’t open to the public. My father was a faculty member at Ohio State but he wasn’t a golfer. I asked my Dad if he could join the golf course so I could play more. I even said we could get my younger brother involved and we could play as a family. Long story short, we joined and started playing there all through our high school days.

I can still remember playing on Sunday afternoons with my parents and brother. It was always a fun treat to take a golf cart or stay at the club for lunch or dinner after our round. As the years went on and we became better golfers, my brother  and I would get dropped off at the club by my father as he drove to campus. This was usually before 7:30am and we would stay at the club all day long. We’d hit range balls, practice putting and then play 18 holes. By the time we finished the restaurant would be open for lunch. We loved to eat at the club because the waitresses were all Ohio State coeds so of course we thought they were some of the hottest women we had ever seen. The grilled cheese sandwiches and milkshakes never tasted better.

After lunch we’d practice and putt and play another 18 holes. We usually got picked up by Dad on his way home from work but many days we’d be there until dark. I can still remember being the last people to leave the course, putting on the practice green by the light of the Pro Shop porch light until Mom or Dad’s headlights swept across the horizon in the circular driveway.

The next generation joins the club

Many of you know that I was involved in the golf business for a few years after graduating from college. I earned my “professional” designation and was working towards full membership in the PGA but I just didn’t have the determination and passion to pursue it as a lifelong career. I loved working with the junior golfers at the courses I worked at in Florida and Ohio and always remembered my days as a junior golfer.

I never wanted to be one of “those parents” who forced my kids to play golf because I like the game so while it hurt a little that both Riley and Ryan showed no interest in golf at an early age, it didn’t change my belief. They enrolled in a few clinics but just never got “the bug” the way I did back in my caddy days. I just said to myself, “they’ll eventually try golf and if they like it, great. If they hate it, that’s okay too.”

When the student is ready, the teacher will appear

After trying tennis and softball in middle school and just not having anything “click,” Riley asked me if I thought she could try golf. I smiled and said “sure” but inside I was probably turning cartwheels and high-fiving myself. She picked up the game quickly and really started to enjoy playing. Like most golfers, she enjoyed playing more than practicing but now that she’s approaching try-outs for the high school girls golf team, she’s really starting to understand the value of practice.

While Riley has been playing for a few years now, my son Ryan hasn’t had much interest in the game, instead focusing his time and attention on baseball. However, as school ended this year, he brought home a sign-up sheet for the 7th grade golf team and asked if he could possibly try out. It could have been that some of his friends were expressing interest too or perhaps he saw some of the enjoyment Riley was having with the sport.

Yesterday I had the chance to bring the memory of playing with my parents and brother full circle as I played golf with my family while on vacation in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Riley and I have played the last couple of years and I even remember Ryan and I playing a round a few years back but that was more an opportunity for a son to hang out with his dad and hit a few shots while driving in the golf cart and waiting for the beverage cart girl to come past so he could get some snacks.

The kids were excited to play and I was too. We booked a tee time at The Golden Bear course at Indigo Run. It’s near our condo and is a pretty fair course that wouldn’t be too difficult for Ryan. It also helped that Riley and I played the course last year so we had some familiarity with the setting. We arrived about 30 minutes before our late-afternoon tee time (fewer golfers out there to intimidate or pressure us) and loaded up our carts. Ryan was riding with me and Riley would be riding with my wife Ronda, who was along for moral support, photographs and to drive the other golf cart.

No First Tee Jitters Here

I led off with a good drive down the middle. We pulled the carts forward to the forward tees and Riley hit next. A solid shot right down the middle but hit so well it trickled through the fairway into the tall southern pines but still had an open shot to the green. Next up…the rookie. I encouraged him with some tips from our previous visit to the driving range and reminded him that we were just out here to have fun.

“Swing it smoothly and remember the high finish. Just like in baseball, be sure to swing the club out towards the pitcher and hit the ball to center field,” I said softly. He took a few practice swings and then was ready.

“Crack” went the shot as his first drive sailed in the air and settled in the middle of the fairway about 180 years away. What a start to what would be a most enjoyable day spent on the course with my wife and children. We laughed, we high-fived, we posed for photos and we hit some great shots. We got drinks from the beverage cart girl, we let the kids drive the golf carts and we even saw some alligators in the nearby lagoons.

I was reminded of the influence we can have on our children when Riley hit a bad shot then yelled in frustration. It’s hard to correct her when I was guilty of doing the same thing the hole before. I also was reminded of the innocence and excitement of playing the game the way Ryan enjoyed his afternoon. He went in anxious and excited but wasn’t expecting to do anything more than try his best and maybe hit a few good shots. He hit a number of good shots but enough bad shots to reinforce that golf isn’t a game that can be improved on without practice. Ryan’s innocent approach reminded Riley and I to not take it too seriously and Ryan’s mishit on hole #14 that crashed into the back of our golf cart at full speed had us all laughing so hard we had to take time to compose ourselves.

As we putted out on the last hole, I was proud of Riley and Ryan (and thankful to Ronda for tagging along on a 90+ degree afternoon) for their efforts and etiquette. I know golf is a game people can play for a lifetime so I will remember yesterday’s round as possibly the new start of a lifetime of golf with the next generation of my family.

Kind of makes me look forward to my first round of golf with my grandchildren.