Golf is my handicap
OK, I admit I have never understood the attraction of Golf as a sport. Now, I’ll also admit I’m not very sports minded at all, that particular trait was passed from my Father to my three brothers, but somehow missed me. Anyway, I never noticed much being mentioned or advertised about golf until I joined the Air Force. All of a sudden it was all around me.
The guys in the office were always talking about golf, in addition to the sport of the season such as baseball or football. People visiting from other offices in the building or other units on the base would be inviting each other to play on the weekends. When dignitaries visited from other bases or headquarters, someone was always putting together a game, either on base, Shaw AFB has a beautiful course, or at one of the many local clubs. The Inspector Generals (IG) visit was always a reason to do two things; go to the officers club and set up a “tee time’, both were attempts to get extra points on the inspection.
When I was stationed in Minot, North Dakota, a close friend was the “Government Employee Golfer of the Year”, three years running. Occasionally he would invite me to go along. When I said I didn’t care for golf, he told me I could just sit in the cart and drink beer. I figured I could do that at home without even getting dressed, so what was the point. Eventually he stopped asking and just came over afterward for a beer.
During a visit to Egypt, for a military exercise, I discovered that many of the guys I was working with, played golf on the weekends during the exercise period. Not wanting to sound stupid, I waited until I was with a good friend having a beer and asked him if he knew how they did it. After all, the area of Egypt we were in was just one big sand trap. He said that there was actually a golf course there. When they rented their clubs and carts, which was actually a small All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV), they were given a piece of outdoor carpet, similar to Astro Turf, that they used for teeing off and as the fairway. I figured you had to really be crazy about the game or just plain crazy, to want to go through that.
Well I never could figure out the attraction of hitting a ball several hundred yards just to chase it down and do it again. Maybe it’s the chasing part that I find unattractive.
Now, miniature golf, that’s a game everyone can get into. I’m sure all the golf ”fanatics” are calling me names about now, and yelling that miniature golf is not the same thing. I don’t care, I like miniature golf. There are several things that make it more appealing to me. First, it doesn’t cost as much and any old club will do. That’s right club not clubs, I don’t have to decide between a driver, a wedge and an iron, whatever they are. I don’t have to walk as much and I don’t have to worry about the cart being stolen. I also like the idea of the obstacles, which add a certain skill factor to the game, and the wood frames to keep the balls from getting away, unless you’re playing with my grandson. The best thing is that it doesn’t take all day and there is plenty of time to do and see other things in the same day.
If you prefer the real thing, then you’ll love my Golf site. So please take a gander at all the latest articles, ads and equipment sales. If you’ve enjoyed my article, you can see more on my blog at www.TellMeAboutThat.com. If you didn’t enjoy my article you can still see more there. So have fun and send me a comment and tell me how the game went.
