"That Guy"

Looking back on the first time I ever golfed on a course I have to sit back and laugh at myself. I can only imagine what any of the other golfers were thinking seeing me ramble up to the tee with my, i'll call them retro for lack of a better word, clubs. Now at 28 years old and about 16 years having passed since that time, I realize that seeing someone like me then was pretty much the equivalent of driving on the highway being stuck behind the 1978 Cadillac sedan deville with the honk if Jesus loves you bumper sticker driving at a crisp 46 miles per hour. You know there isnt much you can do to get around them but you still slam the wheel and shout curse words for all the world to hear. All the time knowing right now you cannot honk because Jesus definitely does not love you. I know I was "that guy" you all know him or her the one who holds the entire course up turning every tee box into a virtual line for a new hot disney theme park ride. There should have been someone following me with a few monitors showing the approximate wait time until you can tee off and maybe a few of those really uncomfortable benches that the registry of motor vehicles seems to own stock in. I could have looked behind me at any given moment to see a golf edition of Where's Waldo. In all fairness though at that time I did not know any better, I was an egocentric twelve year old who was trying to golf for the first time. Now there are days when I go golfing and see that kid with his set of clubs that were hand me downs from a bygone era in the sport and I cringe. I watch him swing away over and over again barely if ever making contact and my heart drops thinking I cannot believe I have to golf behind this kid. The truth is I should have more compassion, as most of us that play the sport should because at one time we were all similar to these kids. Unfortunately these kids now screw up our rhythm and mess our games all up so we cannot see past that. In the end most of them will go on to be like me a streaky golfer who can go out one day and play the round of my life hitting somewhere in the mid to high 80s and the next day go out and hit a cool 120 for no good reason. The point is with time those who stick to the game will get better, not to say that they will ever be great because aside from the top 10 golfers in the world I don't know if any golfer is truly great all the time. These golfers however will be a lot like most of us in time and they will in turn look back and laugh at themselves, hopefully. In the end I can only imagine the pain and heartache that I brought on all who saw me walk on that course that day, but I will always remember that day for what it was for me and that is the beginning of a beautiful friendship with a game that is not like any other. This game is both relaxing and over the top stressful all at once and that is why I love it. Golf can be a lot of things, but I have said it before and I will say it again that one good shot will keep you coming back for more every time!