Golf: The Ultimate Connector
I can hear the groans of readers as they exclaim, “We get it! You like golf.” But, fear not, this post isn’t to talk about how much I love the game and certainly not to recount my recently setting of a course record (I don’t think they commemorate lost balls, or least number of greens hit in regulation). In fact, as a New Englander approaching the 12th month of the year, my winter mourning period is just beginning. So why did I spring out of bed early this AM with golf on my mind?
Well, being the last single and childless kid in the family offers me the opportunity to spend quite a few holidays visiting my parents in Florida. With four consecutive days of golf behind me and a quick 9 on the docket before I catch a flight home later today on this year’s Thanksgiving trip, it’s no wonder chasing a white ball with a stick is front of mind! I’ll play with both my parents today, which is a treat as we always need to pry dad away from his computer to get him to join. Two of my other rounds this week have been with my Uncle Jack who’s also one of my closest friends. With Gratitude Month passed and having just celebrated the holiday named for the emotion, I find myself filled with thankfulness for the opportunity to spend so much quality time with friends and family of all ages golf has provided.
It all started with having golf-crazed grandparents who introduced me to the game. While I didn’t keep track, I would guess that the total number of rounds played with either my mom’s parents or my paternal grandfather, Grampy, number at least a hundred with each. Assuming at least an hour of time before and after each round spent together, plus a four hour round, these 5 hour bonding sessions offered an amazing opportunity for me to connect with all three grandparents.
Playing golf with friends or family is always a treat, however, and I realize some people don’t enjoy the proverbial “crapshoot” of random pairings, I actually find just showing up as a single to be matched with a group to be great. In the early period of my TBI recovery, my speech was a great deal softer than now. Coupled with the memory challenges that I still deal with today, the frequency of hearing people with whom I spoke saying “what?” or “speak up, I can’t hear you”, left me hesitant to engage in conversation with others. So whether it was the gains in my walking I got from traversing the course or the progress my speech made while conversing with playing partners, perhaps I should have tried submitting a few greens fees to Blue Cross Blue Shield!
The value of golf as a way for people to connect really hit home after I played an especially enjoyable round on this trip. I had arrived at the course early and was able to jump out on the back nine to start. A morning start on the tenth tee start can be challenging when you’re looking to play 18 as the first tee is bound to be jammed by the time you make the turn. When I rounded the bend approaching the 1st hole a married couple whom I would say were just older than my parents (who I would later learn had children older than me) was just about to tee off. After zipping around the back nine fairly quickly, I can’t say I was thrilled to have my pace of play altered by a delay; but seeing that the front 9 was filled with groups, I asked if the couple would like to join up.
“Well I don’t play much and we’re not the fastest” replied the woman, “But as long as you don’t mind, sure.”
To be honest, the words, “Sure, that sounds great!” were out of my mouth before I knew it. After my exclamation affirming my joining their group I’ll admit I found myself wondering what we could possibly talk about for the next two hours? But wouldn’t you know it, after exchanging introductions and some brief facts about ourselves we were off on a thoroughly enjoyable conversation. While my short term memory challenges seem to have allowed my playing companions names to escape me, I do know we all had a great time. I was guilty of attempting a pet food sales pitch, but cut it short as they were pet-less! So if you’re the married couple from Boynton Beach who let me join up with you last week; it’s much appreciated.