After 11 months less a day, the old man, a super senior citizen with slightly drooping shoulders, was spotted on the Army Golf Course today. Amidst all the fears caused by lockdowns and ‘stay home’ advisories, the old man had been dithering about resuming golf and had not contacted anyone to join him. On arrival at the Club, he wondered if he should first head for the driving range and work on his swing for a while. But then he thought, what the hell, practice would be boring and he might as well chance his arm on the Course straightaway.
As he was alone and there were people on the first two holes, he headed for the third tee. In the middle of the third fairway, there used to be a tree which often caught a good drive. He noticed that the tree was gone, so he took that as a helpful sign. As he addressed the ball, the sheer joy of being back on the Course after such a long absence filled his heart with joy and his eyes with tears. Then doubts whether he would be able to swing properly entered his mind and his hands started shaking. He gritted his teeth and went for the drive. And lo and behold, it was not bad at all and was ahead of where the tree had been. An ordinary four iron for the second but the third was on the green and with two putts, the old man had scored a bogey, not a bad start after 11 months!
The fourth hole, a par 3, had been kind to the old man in the past and he strode to the tee with more confidence. His drive was just off the green, the approach shot a tad too strong needing two putts for another bogey. As he had caught up with the foursome ahead, his caddie suggested he play the fourth again. This time the drive landed on the green and the ball stopped about 8 feet from the pin. A good putt for a birdie lipped the cup but he was quite happy with his first par on just the third hole of the day.
The old man now felt he had not really stayed away from golf for any length of time and with renewed confidence, breezed through a total of 15 holes with some more pars including a couple of birdie misses. A satisfying round at his age.
With the Course in good shape, adequate grass on the fairways and well-maintained greens, we should, God willing, see the old man returning to the Course regularly now.
Great going young man! Happy golfing. May you find more greens than roughs!!
ReplyDeleteNot so old after all, if the old man could swing after 11 months! Unfortunately, I do not understand golf at all, so cannot comment on the Game, only on the Old Man!
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