Growin' Up Golfer: Part 1

      You have probably figured out by now that I love the game of golf. It is with great pride that I can say that I have been accepted into the huge community that call themselves golfers.  The journey has been a long one and continues.  In fact, this journey will never end and I will not get to my destination of golf perfection. One thing is for certain, that light that shines as a reminder of my passion for the game has never been extinguished or dimmed. From my introduction to the playing of the game, I have been hooked.
      I think I have already told the story of how I got into golf as a bargaining to close a grocery products deal. I feel very fortunate that I was thrust into the game without my actually wanting to learn how to play.  My first lesson was set with the guy who was on the selling side of the deal who was a teaching pro as well as grocery salesman.  My golfing days were about to begin.
      Off to the local discount store to purchase a couple of clubs we went.  I still remember the 5 iron and the 7 iron that my mom bought for me.  My mom was basically a card carrying pessimist and always asked why I wanted to play that stupid game. In fact, both my mom and dad doubted that I would keep it up for longer than a few weeks.  Boy, were they wrong. Here I am almost fifty years later still playing and enjoying our great game.
      My first lesson came.  Wow, did I dig up a lot of dirt. As far as the flight of the ball, I hit a lot of snakes in the head.  However, I was not deterred.  I hit a few towering shots with the five iron and seven iron--about one in ten but those towering shots kept me going.  As my lessons progressed, I was hitting less ground and more shots into the air.  It is amazing how addictive that can be and soon it was time to move on to the course.

Kind of like my first lesson.