Yours (and mine) First Round of Golf

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By John M

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  • 27 Replies
  1. John M

    John M
    Asheville, North Carolina

    Military

    First Round

    A few days before I was to be discharged from the Navy, I was wandering though the Exchange, (basically a department store, also called a Commissary in the Army) and I saw a set of Gary Player irons for $ 42.00. For some reason, I bought the irons. I didn’t play golf although I had caddied a bit at the California Golf Club where I grew up. What possessed me to buy the I will never know. My Dad was happy. He was a golfer and when I drove up to the house, almost immediately, he gave me a set of Jerry Barber laminated woods and a ratty canvas golf bag. I was happy although the next day as I was driving to Eugene, I realized he had an ulterior motive. By giving me his old stuff, he could tell my Mom with a straight face that he needed to buy some new clubs.

    So, the clubs sat in my dorm closet for a couple of months until I got the urge to actually play on the first weekend that I didn’t have a race or a bunch of papers due. So off I went one Sunday morning to the Oakway golf course, a puny muni on the north side of town.

    As I pulled into the parking lot, my rapier like mind saw that there were 4 cars in the whole lot. Maybe the pouring rain had something to do with it. You see, like the moron I am, I chose to play my first round of golf in November, in the pouring rain, in Eugene Oregon.

    In the pro shop there were 4 elderly men there. One behind the counter, the other three sitting at a table drinking coffee. I do remember all of them giving me a strange look when I paid my greens fees and headed out the door.

    The round went as you would expect-big slices, topped balls that caused huge rooster tails of water and the rare good shot. My clothes were soaked and at times I couldn’t see well because my glasses were all wet and fogged up. And….I loved it. I loved how the forged irons felt when I hit a good shot. I loved the “twack” of the woods. And, because I had the course, I loved the quiet.

    When I finished, soaked and borderline hypothermic and stumbled into the pro shop, the four men were still there. I saw they were drinking whiskey. I’ll have one of those I told them. So I did and made four very good friends. I also fell in love with this crazy wonderful game.

    Please tell me your story of how you came to love golf. Cheers everyone.

  2. No'l

    No'l
    Palmdale, CA

    Love your story, John!!

    The day my brother showed up with my dad's old blades in a black and white staff Titleist bag on my driveway, I asked him, "How do we catch fish with those?" Minutes later we were on a driving range with a jumbo bucket each.

    In that midsummer of '92, just a week after the range session, I took my (*step) dad's other old blades and persimmons in a red Titleist staff bag- all 14 were in and I headed down to the VA in the valley where a course with all par three 9 hole charged me $4 for a round. I had on my cleats and kiltie (dad's old shoes), baggy long pants, oversized collard shirt and a Hogan cap. I was looking sharp. (Magazines and TV doesn't always tell you everything after a week's glance... I didn't want to bother my dad.)

    There wasn't much of a clubhouse- no bar, but much like your story, the old guys were sitting there for breakfast and if looks could speak... man, awkward (lol) Anyway, I was joined by a couple who later went ahead of me after two or three holes. My guess was they were probably tired telling me where my ball went than I was lugging a what seems like a ship on my shoulders and not knowing what to do on the course.

    And no, I never came back to that course for very long time, and I neither told my dad and my brother what just happened for also a very long time.



    I did not have a push cart so I carried
  3. John M

    John M
    Asheville, North Carolina

    Military
    Great story!
  4. No'l

    No'l
    Palmdale, CA

    John, I really had no clue what golf was about, but out of that jumbo bucket, I had one that flew about 150 and rolled to about 170 from a 4i and needless to say that was the hook that got me sort of speak.
    My dad was a fan of Hogan, and one of the lines I read about Hogan was he never stepped on a course without looking his best and I liked that about him and about golf even though I was totally clueless about hitting a ball and golf all together. I mean it was totally funny, and we laugh about it every time it comes up. :-)
  5. Erich F

    Erich F
    NY

    Hi John,
    Amazing how the game pulls you in. After surviving that round I am sure you have no trouble with anything the sport brings your way.
    My golf life started at Conestoga Country Club, much more of a working man's club as early members not only built the course but were encouraged to help maintain it. They had a good junior program with group lessons and tournaments on Monday's when the course was closed. I have fond memories of playing at least 36 holes on those Monday's if not more. The big red cooler kept the Coke's nice and cold.
  6. Frank P

    Frank P
    Port St. Lucie, FL

    Military
    Summer of 1966, was caddying at the long ago defunct Hudson River CC in Yonkers, NY. Played on caddy day which was a Monday. Felt like I shot a million and three my first time out, but was actually about 120.
  7. Mike M

    Mike M
    Marblehead MA

    Great story John. Here's mine.

    i was a baseball player as a kid. Golf was not in the picture, at all, aside from hitting a few rogue 9 irons at the park I was 16. There was an elderly gentleman who lived across the street who drove a Ford convertible at the time (1972). Every weekend morning he'd open the garage door, throw his clubs in the car and off he's go.One day he saw me walking up the street, with my baseball glove hanging from the end of my bat, which is how we all carried a bat and glove back then.

    Out of the blue, he asked if I'd like to play 9 holes on Saturday, I told him sure, but I didn't have clubs or balls. He told me not to worry about it.Saturday morning came, and when that garage door opened, he threw his clubs in the car, but also a canvas bag with a 3 wood a putter and a few irons. Off we went.We played a scenic little 9 hole course on Cape Ann (north of Boston MA). We played about a dozen times that summer.

    He ended up giving me that old bag of clubs at summers end.His kindness and generosity still resonate.

    That was my introduction, and I haven't looked back.
  8. Abdon M

    Abdon M
    Northern California (because it's a big state)

    That was a good one John...thanks for sharing.

    My foray into the game of golf was more of a challenge to myself rather than anything else. While in professional school in San Francisco, my room mate and I were invited to play 9 holes at the Golden Gate Park golf course (and executive 9). At that time neither my room mate or I had any related golf items so between the two of us we used a couple of irons and a putter.

    My prior experience playing golf was a PE class I took in middle school so all knew about the swing was the concept of "just hit the ball." Let's just say I didn't have any knowledge of a nothing beyond a full swing. Of course, I thought, how hard could this be; at the time I was a pretty good tennis player so playing golf was a change since the ball was static. You could probably conclude how that first round went.

    So my room mate and I were completely decimated by the two some that invited us and that totally deflated us. Shortly after that outing, we went and purchased a mismatched set of golf clubs; we ended up with a full set and the only matching clubs were the driver and 3-wood.

    I failed to mention the two some that invited us were a couple of female classmates. Apparently, they had played golf for years and didn't mention that little fact. I ended up marrying one of them and to this day she still beats me at golf but sometimes I get lucky and the W is on my side.
  9. Rick D

    Rick D
    Weston, WI

    What some of us will do for a pretty girl!

    I don't remember my first round. I grew up playing baseball. Our family didn't have any money. Dad had an old set of hickory shafted clubs, that I still have. But I only remember him playing with grandpa a few times.

    Dad knew someone on the greens crew at our local course. My brother and I scrounged balls while walking the course picking night crawlers with dad for fishing. Paper route money and then jobs sweeping floors, got me a greens fee every so often, maybe a couple times a summer.

    I was a good hitter in baseball and it drove me nuts that I couldn't consistently hit a stationary ball. The couple times a year was the norm and I didn't get my first set of clubs until after graduating from college and getting married. Once the kids got older and I had more free time, golf became a regular thing. The game didn't start out as a passion, it grew into one.
  10. pulplvr

    pulplvr
    Spring, TX

    Military
    More years ago than I like to admit, I got the bug. I played baseball and tennis as a kid and had been to a driving range once or twice. There was a lighted range and course not too far from us in NW Oklahoma City. One evening, I got on my bicycle and rode up there. i don't recall if I had clubs with me or if I borrowed some or rented some, but ended up playing the course. My folks had no idea where I was. When I straggled home, tired but exhilarated, I knew I had found something that I loved to do (as well as being grounded for a while). No need for others to play (as with baseball) or a partner (tennis), I could go by myself, either play solo or join up with others at the course, and have a good time. No matched clubs, no spikes, no fancy clothes. Just me, a golf ball, and the course. I rode all over the northern part of OKC going to various public courses over the next few months. Now, 65 odd years later I am still enjoying myself on the course and completely hung up on this wonderful game.
  11. Mike D., Titleist Staff

    Mike D., Titleist Staff
    Ashland, MA

    Team Titleist Staff

    Great thread, guys! Love reading all of these stories. Here's mine...

    My earliest memory of golf (and one of my earliest memories ever) doesn't involve me playing but I was on the course with my dad and one of his friends. I want to say I was around 5 years old and we were at Gannon Municipal Golf Course in Lynn, MA. My dad and his friend decided to take a cart that day, and I remember thinking it was the coolest thing ever. So cool in fact, that I couldn't wait for my turn to drive it. So, as soon as both my dad and his friend were out of the cart, I got behind the wheel and took off. I remember them laughing and chasing after me. Luckily I didn't get too far away and I didn't get into any trouble. My dad was cool like that.

    After the cart incident, my next foray into the sport was launching golf balls with a 7-iron in my back yard toward my neighbors house. I think I was around 7 years old and was so excited with the solid strikes I was making (at least they were solid in my mind) that I had to show my dad. Yet again, he didn't lose his mind as he watched me send a ball sailing toward the neighbors but instead encouraged me to go to the field down the road next time.

    My first round ever was at our local muni, Kelley Greens, in Nahant, MA. This is where I learned to play the game and absolutely where I fell in love with golf. As a kid, I spent most of my summer playing golf and then hunting for golf balls in the marsh around the course. The course had plenty of colorful characters but also plenty of kindred souls that would look after the juniors and help us along in the game. So many great memories from there.

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  12. John M

    John M
    Asheville, North Carolina

    Military
    Thanks everyone for your great stories!
  13. Mike M

    Mike M
    Marblehead MA

    Mike I've played at both places. With respect to Kelly Greens "colorful cast of characters" is an understatement!
  14. Mike D., Titleist Staff

    Mike D., Titleist Staff
    Ashland, MA

    Team Titleist Staff
    Very true, Mike. Very true. :)
  15. Eric H

    Eric H
    Ridgway, PA

    Just remember grabbing some golf clubs and equipment at a yard sale and heading up to the HS football practice field to figure out how to hit the ball! Then saving money all the time to get the chance to walk 9 at the local club. Glad i got the golf bug!
  16. Chris B

    Chris B
    San Diego

    I was 7 or 8 Id guess, but honestly dont really remember. My Dad was very in to golf, won a couple local amateurs, tried to turn pro but never made it and ended up giving lessons and running the junior clinic at a course called Singing Hills here in San Diego. So I got started pretty early and had been working in the junior clinic for a bit before he took me out. Singing Hills has three courses, we played the par 3 executive course Pine Glen. I dont remember much, other than I shot like a 110 and was embarrassed to say I was over 100 lol.
  17. Les M

    Les M
    CT

    How I wish I had been exposed at a much younger age, and could have taken advantage of the instruction which kids today can get! Grew up so financially strapped, family barely getting by. Golf was a total elite activity and never did I get through the front gates of the clubs around me in Georgia.

    I did not take advantage of the great golf available while I was in the military either. But then my MOS did not give much free time for golf either.

    Fast forward to day job, night school and finishing my degree and golf slowly became more a part of my life. Those first rounds with great friends who had experience and skill were quite difficult. I sure appreciate their patience and helpfulness in getting started.

    Now, lessons revolve around breaking bad habits and the battle that goes on between my ears!
  18. Chuck Z

    Chuck Z
    Mt Pleasant, SC

    Military
    Started playing with some guys that I played softball with a Patriot's Point in Mt Pleasant. A bunch of hackers. Slow pitch softball and golf did not go well with one another. Could hit the driver a long way but got a lot of exercise finding it. After that hit the ball a lot of times. But we had fun. Everyone said golf is supposed to be fun. But we looked good.
  19. John M

    John M
    Asheville, North Carolina

    Military
    I do remember watching golf obsessed guys on my ship, the USS Ranger, hit balls into the ocean from the flight deck.
  20. Emily B., Titleist Staff

    Emily B., Titleist Staff

    Team Titleist Staff
    This is such a fun thread and some amazing stories.

    My earliest memory is my Dad (a big golfer) sending me to the Wake Forest University girl's golf camp in the 5th grade. I really hated golf and all I wanted to do was play soccer, but agreed to go. I spent the week with a bunch of girls who all had really cute golf outfits, a lot more stylish than the Old Navy polo and khaki shorts I was wearing.

    I came home and told my Dad that if he bought be some new golf outfits, I'd take golf more seriously and the rest is history. Pretty sure if you asked my Dad what is the easiest purchase he's ever made, it'd be that. :)

    Moral of the story, my advice to all the Dads looking to get their daughters interested in the game: It all starts with a great outfit.
  21. Abdon M

    Abdon M
    Northern California (because it's a big state)

    I know for me, my game may not always cooperate but at least I can look decent
  22. sonny k

    sonny k
    oviedo, FL

    Military
    My introduction to golf was as a six year old tagging along with my Dad and his weekend group as a "caddie". I thought it was so cool to be with my Dad and the guys as I pulled his cart and earned my hot dog and soda at the end. I wanted to go play since that day but I did not get to until the next year when I went with the kids I grew up with to our city course and played my first round, shot 73, for nine holes. Instantly addicted, have been playing ever since. Can't say I have enjoyed every round but can say there isn't much better than being alone on a course and forgetting all of the daily stresses and only stressing over making a 5 footer. I hope I can inspire my little buddy to find the same passion I have had for the game.
  23. Mike M

    Mike M

    I grew up 3 blocks from a 9 hole golf course. Back then, there were no fences around the course. When I was 12, my dad and I used to ride Motocross, but he (Dad) hurt his back and couldn't ride anymore, so we stopped. He was invited to play a round of golf with some family members, but he had not played since college. He needed to go to a driving range and asked if I wanted to go with him. I said yes and off we went. My mom had a set of clubs that my grandfather bought for her when she was in college, so I used those. I hit a few good shots and thought that was kind of fun, but really did not take it as something I could do on my own.

    A few months later, some friends surprised me and told me that they had played golf a couple of times at the golf course, and invited me to come out with them. The four of us met in the neighborhood, rode our bikes with our clubs slung over our shoulders, cut through the course, rode up to the pro shop, paid our green fees, and off we went.

    I can remember the exact moment when I knew that I wanted to play this game forever. It was the sixth hole, a long par four into the wind with three grass bunkers in the middle of the fairway about 150 yards from the tee. I hit a driver that connected solidly and the ball flew long and high, clearing those grass bunkers. I was hooked!

    I started working at that course a short time later, riding my bike every day to that course that paid me minimum wage and free golf and range balls! I can tell you, I got the better end of that deal, as I played golf from sunrise to sunset on the days I was not working. I learned etiquette, social skills, and forged relationships that exist to this day. I plan on playing this game until they put me in the ground.
  24. RHammond

    RHammond

    I'll never forget my first round. My grandmother had a set of clubs, no idea where they came from, back when woods were wood. I was about 11 years and Grandma dropped me and a buddy off at the local par 3 course. The 1st hole is about 72 yards. All I know is I had watched Jack and Arnie play a number of times and they almost always hit driver on the tee. So that's what I went with. I took a big swing and THWACK! I must have hit that thing 130 yards. Took me 4 to get back. That was probably my longest drive for a year! But I was hooked. 43 years later and still loving the game.
  25. RBeer

    RBeer

    I was 10 (1980) and my fifth-grade friend somehow got me into golf. Got a set of Sam Snead clubs from my neighbor, who a few years later won the Minnesota high school tournament. I remember the second hole, a front-end loader was parked to my left against the maintenance shed. I yanked my tee shot into the bucket and it caromed out. Sometime during the next year, I shot like a 63 (for 9 holes) and was a personal best. I played (if my memory serves me correctly) a Pinnacle golf ball and I wrote a letter to Acushnet / Titleist claiming that ball was a miracle. I got a return letter from (again, this is so long ago, I believe..) from Wally Uihlein, the company president, saying how happy he was for me to take up the game. Pretty cool. 41 years later, still playing and enjoying TT.
  26. michael f

    michael f
    brooksville, FL

    i remember my first round of golf i got to play with my granddad and grandma at their retirement community course since it was my first time playing i used a neighbors old set he let me borrow (i don't remember the brand) well needles to say i did horribly but that did not matter to me because i got to do something my grandparents loved to do
  27. Dave B

    Dave B
    Salem, OH

    As a 15 year old I got a job working at the 9 hole public golf course Sevakeen Lake. I knew nothing about golf and had never been on a golf course before. As I worked I would pay attention to the golfers that were playing. After several weeks and my first paycheck I bought a starter set of clubs. I don’t remember exactly my first round but I know that I would play after work and I soon become hooked on the game. That was 50 years ago. Golf became my passion and also my profession as I became a golf course superintendent. Have made many great friends and memories all that started with that starter set of clubs and that first round of golf
  28. greg p

    greg p
    Chicago 'burbs, IL

    Brandon, what are you thoughts on plumb bobbing and how effective is it for reading greens?

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