The first thing.....

There is an interesting dynamic in golf. If you have never gone out as a single, I highly recommend it. There is a whole new world to be explored in golfing with someone you don't know. You don't know how good they are, what kind of temper they have, what kind of language they use, or how far they can throw metal objects. I was recently at my home course and found an opportunity to go out as a single. Something I have rarely done, and certainly not in the last few years. There is an air of high anxiety when coming upon a group of unknown golfers. Golf is such a pride game. The dynamic of sizing up a playing partner is something that could take up years at a university research think-tank. You first look at the apparel. Though this is not always a tell-tale sign of talent, it does allow for some determination of catagories. Now, I must iterate something here, I am not a golf snob. I do not condone belittling someone based solely on their apparel. There are many examples of good golfers throughout history who have golfed in denim, though none come to mind. But the traditional apparel has come to be thought of as these examples:Of course Tiger.

Paula Creamer, stepping on her ball because it does not have a green stripe...

And no golf apparel discussion is complete without Jesper.



But alas, I was golfing with this guy:


The next step is analysis of the equipment. Large, titanium driver or persimion wood marracca? Forged, cavity backed irons or niblicks, brassies or spoons? This too can be deceiving. But these gentlemen had all the right stuff. Titleist, Callaway, etc. So you get a little nervous teeing off in front of someone you don't know, who may be a total player. The fear is spending the next few hours wasting their time and yours, wishing you had been working on the course as a gardner you are doing so much weeding, mowing and trimming instead of golf. But you could also have your career round. So you wait and watch with anticipation as he sets his ball, warms up and.......puts on his lumberjack hat. This guy spent more time in the woods than Paul Bunyan. I think he hit every tree on the first hole, some more than once. I knew I could relax when, from his third shot, he yelled out, "Been a couple of months!". I then ran over to explain where the green was. He apparently didn't understand my english because he continued to punch his ball into the tree's to the right. My second shot, after what I consider a beautiful drive into the fairway, landed about 10 yards short of the green. It was a par 5, so I felt very good about this start. More to finish this hole to come....