The original page will appear here.

The original page will appear here.

The original page will appear here.

The golfer truly believes in long engagements. He wants a mistress as fickle as she is bewitching. She leads him on with little favors that fill him with hope of conquest. Then she scorns and humiliates him and leaves him despairing. He is through, finished, kaput. He hides in rage.

He comes back of course. Suddenly the miracle happens. He can do no wrong. He sees things clearly. He is Murder Incorporated off the tees and sudden death on his approaches and his putting accuracy on the greens is phenomenal. In his great joy, he inds he loves all his fellow men, especially those in his own foursome. He wants to share his newly discovered secrets. He gives them freely to everyone. He is a saint for generosity. But the game, the bewitcher, will take care of him. Just when his confidence is highest, his happiness indescribable, she will let him have it. He will dub his drive, he will blunder his way, into a trap, he will three putt. He will be chastised. He will know umility again.

Humility is the magic word. No man ever reaches that point at which he can say: I have learned the secret, I have conquered the bewitcher. Golf is man’s most humbling diversion. For that reason alone, the greatest game he has ever devised.

No man who golfs is so stubborn, so conceited, so arrogant or so accomplished that he is not constantly striving to improve his score. He may pretend that mediocrity is enough for him. He may say, “I’m having fun, that’s all that matters, that’s good enough for me.” This man is telling a lie and he knows it. Every golfer, at the bottom of his heart

wants to play the game relatively well. Wf /Z' YO P a é M

bos

Duin Redmon!

The dreaded Lon is one-of-a-kind.

He's the one who comes through in a bind. Sinking a 4-wood shot on number six

is only an example of his many tricks.

Unlucky Randy, Dr. Cook, Jim, Tommy and Mac all vow that they will pay him back.

That group, plus the ‘new’ Phil

ave some of the few he has stuck with a bill.

He could teach 'The Law' how to chip,

and he can put up with Piper's and Murphy's lip. To do both, he would rather not,

except that it serves to increase his pot

After a mid-game session of gin

that he and Bobby G. was destined to win,

he muttered as golf resumed, "rain, rain, go away, little Johnny came to play."

He's not strong, vulgar or burley.

He can't be with a great wife like Shirley. Nothing matters very much and few things matter at but one thing for sure, goif with Lon is a bali.

He's good with people and at golf he can learn

to keep his head down, and buy when it's his turn. Mild mannered from his toe to his pinkie,

but he can get pissed when his dinner's a twinkie.

John Casey May 26, 1989

all,

As | look back on my golfing career, It never did exist. I tried most everything, I truly did persist.

There must be a reason

Why I never came in first And now I’ve gotten older and | thought I’d shucked the curse But somehow things are the same; in fact they’ve gotten worse.

I never win. There’s always something wrong The clubs were faulty and | was taking much too long It’s not my fault. It never is, the sun was in my eyes. My cap flew off, the ball flew high, | wasn’t synchronized.

Well, friends, it’s sad to say | learned it yesterday | was always in the running But was pressing all the way. John Casey 12/07/06

Mike

ARES “a Lag Jt Mase ible ape lm £ pGbs at

Atle – 7p

Speed . Ufele.

Saturday at 8:00

and were not late.

All packed, all smiles,

and ready to cover 700 miles.

The threesome of autos:

Terry, Mike, Bob and Otto;

Doc, Jack, Dusty and Kell;

Then Pilgrim, focus, Pooter, all going pell mell.

The sun was out, our spirits high. Were heading for Hilton Head, MY MY. Everyone was feeling lucky

and our first stop was in Kentucky.

We cleared Atlanta in mid afternoon

and knew we would be on the coast soon. A pizza dinner at the Red Roof Inn

we all watched Michigan State win.

It's off to the Huddle House

who choose this – the louse?

Food came late, but we ate every bite and loaded out coolers with Miller Lite.

We donned Caps, jackets, shoes and belts some smeared stuff to Stop no-seemums welts. A putt or two and some free balls we eagerly awaited out tee time calls.

Sunday it was golf at the Golden Bear

I started it off with a birdie, | was on a tear. Then clink, pow, crack and thud.

I hit em in the woods, water and mud.

We would both love and cuss

what Cupp, Jones, Nicklas, and Player did to us as we played their magnificent links

and never minded that our golf game stinks.

You’re left handed for goodness sake And it seems it is the long putts you always make Know what? — You’re everyone’s champ But it’s your mouth you need to clamp

You act like you are in a snit And hundreds of times you threaten to quit Every excuse is just plain lame I’ve heard them all, they’re all the same How good you play is always dazzlin It is unbelievable and simply am ig You’re an “A” player and hit from the back Now leave me alone, give me some slack

You make more money than you can count It has to be a gianormous amount And yet you have golf buddies at which you sneer When they suggest you buy them a beer

Dotty puts up with you because she’s a saint You aren’t a prize — you isn’t, you ain’t And your children love you and you have a nice pet You’re simply the luckiest person I have ever met

Jipitup Lee Letitbe

aman

ifan

“B” john 9/15/08 Green with envy

If you are a friend of these guys you are a friend of mine

Our games go South When we play up north Because we hit the ball East and West. “Nuts-now hook dammit.”

Our balls go straight Sideways — sometimes. Dead Straight putts break Sometimes uphill. “Can you believe that?”

Holes shrink And are farther or closer Than we think. “They’re SLOW — They’re SLICK — Son-of-a-bitch!”

Pick-er-ups picks us up Except when we Have to putt them. “You bastards!”

We roll-em — we sky-em And we skull-em And maybe, sometimes We nudge them. “Dll move it just. little bit.”

We fear sand Even when we bump it, and tell our partners to “Watch it.” then stick our clubs in the sand. “Dirty ratzelfrat.”

We wear rubber cleats, Shirts we didn’t buy, And expensive soft leather gloves- Sometimes on both hands. “That looks funny.”

We look for wayward balls of ours. “It has to be right here.” And look wayward when others hit. “7 didn’t see it.”

Flocks of Rosters on the rail crowing in the early morning with expectations of brightness that they believe they can bring.

As the dew begins to leave

the dark green grass,

the starter's siren wails

the signal for all golfers to start.

The sound of ball and club are everywhere, east, south, here and there.

Skyward soar some balls and others skid and come to rest, wet and tired.

A laugh escapes tense lips

and the pros says "that's great." All is well amoung the group when everyone has hit a shot.

The ladies clap and smile

because they have come so many miles

to play a game of golf with pros, and the rail bird caddy is now forgotten.

John Casey 9/3/94

Experience of the first day in my attempt to caddy for a LPGA Pro at the Rail Classic,

Springfield, Il. Unsuccessful from 6:30°f6

4:00 PM on Wednesday. Successful on Thursday. Susan Thielbar, Clearwater, Fla – a rookie.

9:00 to 3:36K@ (30 min for lunch break) was caddy time. Pay $40.00 plus $10.00 for yardage book. Susan shoots 70,71,72 over the weekend and wins $1376.00.

As | look back on my career, It never did exist. I tried most everything, I truly did persist.

There must be a reason Why I never came in first And now I’ve gotten older and | think I’ve shucked the curse But somehow things are the same, in fact they’ve gotten worse.

I never win. There’s always something wrong Damn things were faulty and it was taking much too long It’s not my fault. It never is, the sun was in my eyes.

My cap flew off, the gun was jammed, it wasn’t synchronized.

Well, friends, it’s sad to say | learned it yesterday | was always in the running But was pressing all the way. John Casey 12/07/06

Handicaps, Bridge, bets and strokes.

It's hard to get even with some of the folks. Snowmen, pars, a thirteen and dueces.

Don't move the ball when itS under spruces.

Manhattens, Millers, chilli and peaches.

When you go out, wear PJ's under-¢your britches.

Prime rib, crab legs, cokes and tea. Food for a Cherokee, retiree, doctor and me.

Windbreakers, turtle necks, cold and raw. Sand, water and the slickest greens you ever Crockett, Hampton, Chevy's and Twitty.

Are some of the sights in Nashville City.

To err is human, to forgive devine.

Money matters a lot if it's yours or mine.

Golfers come in all sorts of classes.

My game got away when I smashed my glasses. A

Jol sey 8/24/89

saw.

I recall a particularly misery producing game with a few old men. Warm sunshine greeted us on the first tee. After a while clouds gathered and produced a fine mist. Then it became a struggling drizzle. My old men friends, all claimed to be on fixed incomes, put on their $300 rain pants and $350 rain jackets, unfurled a one-man umbrella, donned a rain hat, and covered their clubs with a club caddy. They were wearing Dry Joy shoes. I had on a wet-suit; shorts, a Good-Will shirt, golf sandals, but no hat.

The drizzle worked its way up to a highly successful down pour. It was damn cold, almost sleeting. On we played. My clubs slipped out of my hands on every shot. I was chattering like an angry squirrel. Goose bumps as big as boils popped out on my bare legs. I looked like I was wearing blue leotards. I began to see news stories in my head; “The futile search for a drowned golfer has been called off”.

I never suggested that we might turn back. When I go this far to golf, I am going to play golf. When the old men started singing a drinking song; “how dry I am, how dry Iam, nobody knows how dry I am,” I cut loose a 13-letter cuss word.

Mercifully, the rain let up and the sun came out. My dry-as-a-bone buddies, after carefully folding their stuff and putting it in their dry bags were ready to play and so was I, after all, I expected misery and it was happening. I slogged miserably through the rest of the round. Right then and there I decided to never trust a weather guesser again.

I have since decided to make a misery kit. It calls for an aerosol can for spraying cold air down my back, refrigerated shoes, and a box of mixed insects that includes yellow jackets, no-see-ums, mosquitoes, ticks and chiggers, plus a sprinkler bottle of water to replicate rain.

I also want a portable lie detector kit if | am going to play with those miserable old men again. A test would be administered at any time of suspected need. It would go like this:

Question: Is your name (insert proper name)?

Question: Have you every owned a dog?

Question: Have you peed within the last 15 minutes?

Question: Did you get a 5 or was that a 6 on the last hole?

John Casey

810

Tera

GOLF

You hit down to go up Swing left and the ball goes right Lowest score wins The winner buys drinks

Trying to make everything perfect Before taking a shot Is a waste of time Hit it and be off

Fight the fear of getting worse The most feared opponent is you If you like playing golf in the rain

Your: life is in trouble

At best golf

Is an endless series of tragedies With an occasional miracle Followed by a good bottle of beer

Je – 3/2007

Golfers Beware For your own sanity Stick to food, the telly, frocks, anything. I mean it. You have no idea what you're getting into.

Golf ruins perfectly nice tracts of land. It is overtly racist, class ridden, snobbish and sexist. It makes widows of decent women and orphans of blameless kids.

Golfers are not born, they’re made. It’s a game that takes perfectly good people And turns them into boorish narcissistic Wankers,

Games that involve sticks and spheres, And hand-and-eye coordination, generally feel natural. Like Baseball, tennis, even ping pong

But the moment you pick up a golf bat Yourre faced with the realization that this is an unnatural act Anything you do with a golf wand that feels right is wrong.

The world is a pretty big potato, it’s a planet, And trying to hit an egg-size ball that’s sitting next to you With a walking stick, you'll miss both.

It’s a game of ceaseless torment With brief flashes of contentment And a false sense of accomplishment

I’ve tried the Swing Factory gurus They are like lessons from a fox or a cat. The fox grins and the cat sniggles and pocket my money.

You use putters that look like veterinary equipment, Wear weird pants held up with branding iron belt buckles, And think nothing of wearing stripes with plaids.

No sport has spawned more ju ju and voodoo, Lucky junk, ticky-tacky gizmos, tasteless strap-on miracles, Magnetic bracelets range finders and laser sights.

If you start caring,

This golf thing will give you more pain than pleasure,

And the real bummer is that improving won’t diminish the misery. johnrichardcasey 6/10

The world is a pretty big potato,It’s a planet,

And to miss it with a stick you lift higher than your elbow You'll miss it and the ball that’s standing next to you That’s some indication of the diffulity you’ll face.

Addressing a golf ball is to stare at it meaningfully, And golf rhythm is everything

It’s easier to teach someone with no talent

Than one with talent and bad habits

My backswing is rough

But with my elbow pointing at my shoulder Hip, ankle, ball and the third star past the moon It’s definitely a half a swing nearly

If I were trying to swim I'd drown.

But, drowning with intent.

If you start caring,

This golf thing will give you more pain than pleasure And the real bummer is that improving

Won’t diminish the misery

It’s a game of ceaseless torment With brief flashes of possible contentment That are cruel illusions

Putters that look like veterinary equipment Are brandished by golfers

Who think nothing of stripes and plaids On their shoes even. It’ anti style

You get to wear one white glove Like a Michael Jackson impersonator. And trousers that Simon Cowell Would wear covering up a hernia spot.

It’s like the bottom of the barrel pickings. The trick is to play Michael Jackson, not be Michael Jackson

No sport has spawned more juju and voodoo,

Lucky junk ticky-tack gizmoos

Tastelessness Strap-on miracles, plastic coins with filty names And lazer red-dot rifle sights

Trying to hit an egg-size ball

Golf ruins perfectly nice tracts of land It is overtly racist, class ridden, snobbish and sexist

It is tedious to watch

It makes widows of decent women And de facto orphans of blameless kids Golf is worse than eating people.

Golfers are not born, they’re made.

It’s a game that takes perfectly decent people And turns them into boorish narcissistic Blokes and wankers — sort of like Englishmen

It was invented by someone else, not English How pathetic is that?

Sniggering cripples and bastards

You know where this is leading?

It’s seeing friends of past good taste

Knock balls across fields

With apologetic shrugs and wimpering vulgarities

Keen and enthusiastic are not words

That you can apply to golfers.

Deranged and psychotic are.

But so to is listing to country music hour after hour

For your own sanity,

Stick to food, telly, frocks

Anything.

I mean it. You have no idea what you’re getting into

The moment you pick up a golf bat You’re faced with the realization

That this is an unnatural act

That might, no will, end in your ridicule.

Games that involve sticks and spheres Hands and eyes, generally feel natural Pick up a baseball bat or a tennis racquet And the movement to hit the ball is innate

Anything you do with a golf wand that feels right, Is wrong

Not just a little clumsy,

But utterly and comnpletely un-right

With a walking stick And still have a comfortable routine Is just not in the cards.

I’ve tried the swing factory guru

There are like Lessons from the fox and cat And the fox grins

And the cat sniggles

Dang! It isn’t funny — it’s the truth

The syndrome is a rare disorder, it’s not a fake You feel it with every short putt you take.

It’s a sensation, you feel possessed,

And you know that you’re obsessed.

Dang!

The cause, a small white ball, very quiet On green, green grass where it was smite With a small opening for the ball to fall Just mere inches from the ball

Dang!

Your hand is wayward and disobeys

At times both hands don’t do what you say, And your stroke is like you’re poking

You can’t help it you’re just choking.

Dang!

To hide the pain you drink a beer

But it can hardly hide your tear.

But perhaps symptoms can be eased a bit By wearing an oven mitt.

Dang!

Sometimes the disorder goes away But it will come back again some day, After weeks or even years.

And when it does, it brings your tears. Dang!

john casey 8/18/08

When you are asked how You have been playing, Chances are about 50% of you Would answer “Lousily.”

Chances are about 49% of you Will respond, “Erratically.” You know, a good hole, a couple of bad holes, A couple of good holes…

But one time in a hundred You may respond, “Pretty well.” When what you really mean is “Very well.” Or, “Damn near perfect.

You've “been in the flow.” Being a period of time when it seems You could do no.wrong.

It’s an extraordinary phenomenon.

It’s distinctly periodic; it does not last. The magic will then be lost for awhile. Yet you will regain it — only to lose it again, And then, chances are, regain it again.

Suddenly, without an apparent reason Your fingers, hands, eyes, or all, were Being magically guided.

In those few moments you were in the flow.

Your ball has been guided, and It soars for the distant green Where the pin happens to be. This phenomenon is called “being in the flow.”

We are all instinctively perfect. It is our nature to hit a golf ball That just flows to where the pin lies.

Then Scoritis sets in by our awareness that we are scoring well.

March 19, 2015

Arnold Palmer Enterprises IMG Center 1360

E. 9" Street, Suite 100 Cleveland Ohio

Dear Mr. Palmer:

My first and only trip/visit to Augusta and The Masters was in 2013. It was a glorious experience.

I wrote a story of my visit before | attended and submitted it to the local newspaper, The Alton Telegraph. It was published on the Monday following the Masters. My golf friends and others remarked about my experience.

I arrived early and was excited that I would see the opening ceremonies with you, Jack and Gary. It was a beautiful morning and a particular joy. Earlier, as you were boarding your cart to head to the first tee, I called out to you, “Good Morning, Mr. Palmer.” You turned your head my way, waved and said, “Thank You.” My friend, said, “Don’t do that John, they’ll kick you out of here.”

“Hogwash,” | replied. Not calling out to you, only a few feet away, would have been my regret. Instead it will be remain a wonderful memory. Thanks.

Best regards,

John Casey 435 '4 Bluff Street Alton, IL 62002

I first saw you in Grand Blanc, MI. (1964) You buzzed the course in your jet. Wow!

We tied the second hole and Jack won the 34 with a bogey. The game was tied. We tied the 5t and Jack won the 6 with a nice putt. He went one up. Number 7 was bogeyed by both of us and Jack remained one up going to 8. Jack’s 3-metal landed in the center of the fairway, only the second fairway he hit all day. I was in the right rough about 147 yards from the hole. My second shot came up short in the right rough. Jack’s shot hit the green just past center and came up 18 foot short of the back pin.

I slowed down my thinking and settled into the process of golfing my ball. I needed a par to have any chance to play another hole. Jack had makeable birdie putt and a sure par. My wedge was good and rolled out to end up about 8” from the cup. It was conceded. Jack missed left and I conceded his 2 footer. Nine is tough but my handicap hole. I had a good chance to tie the match. _ _aweter ae Jack’s long towering drive landed out of bounds. He hit’agatn and his

ball sailed 275 yards into the fairway. I won the hole and match was square. We headed to sudden death.

On # 1, our playoff hole, Jack hit high and right into the rough. My ball was down the middle. Jack’s next shot hit a tall tree dropped and he had to chip out. I hit another good shot and was about 130 from the pin. Jack hit the green with his 4t shot. My 3'4 shot was pulled left and short of the green. I chipped to about 2 1/2 foot of the hole. Jack missed, he conceded the match. I had my first win in the 21st century.

I looked at my book of plans for the first time that day when I got home. The first sentence in the book was: This is where you want to be, doing what you like to do, with someone you like, now don’t get lost in “drifting” or in the past.

John Casey

— Beare

a ee

go Kee

“T’ll help you line up your putt”

“Oh, there he is again,” shouted the young attractive woman from the porch of a home that bordered the 7 green at the Cotton Creek Golf Club in Gulf Shores Alabama. Several people suddenly streamed through the door of the house to join the woman who was pointing at Terry Miller. Exclamations, hoots and laughter came from the group and someone said loudly, “can you believe that?” Obviously the woman had spotted Terry earlier when he was in the fairway of the par five hole.

Terry had on a Richard Simmons style outfit, but Terry was not at a gym, he was on an upscale golf course. His shorts were silver and iridescent with shiny gold stripes. The shorts were just longer than his Jockey shorts would have been had he had any on. I didn’t know. His white sleeveless top was tucked into his short shorts and on his head was a blue visor. His hair was light blonde and when the sun hit it just right it was a pale Donald Trump like orange. He was, however, wearing white ankle socks and brown and white saddle golf shoes.

So far I had managed to stay very, very clear of him, but he was my partner in the event and he is a very good golfer and can be counted on to calculate yardage, access the best place to approach a hole and read putts.

The people on the porch were lined up against the railing as though they were watching a horse race. A pair of binoculars was being passed around. Everyone had a drink in their hands and one of the men had a photo lens camera and was snapping shots that would be shown at the next neighborhood social.

“T’ll help you read that putt,” Terry announced to me as I was lining up the 20-foot downhiller for a birdie. “That’s not necessary, I have the line,” I replied and quickly prepared to putt before Terry came any closer. I made it.

Terry’s score that day escapes me, but not the Gaud awful togs, the porch ensemble and the waving off of his invitation to help me line up a putt.

: John Casey

Note: Don’t you dare change any thing about this true story.

Gey

Thit it long Because I’m so strong.

I cup the head to hit it low, And give it a mighty blow.

My ball is hard, it’s like a rocket, And I just love to really sock it.

Hike the sound It makes, But not always the path it takes.

Off it goes, sometimes left, sometimes right, Buf, I’ve hit it with all my might.

It’s Tike a seed The way it hides behind a weed.

I can’t lose it, hooray! I found it, here in the hay.

Merry Christmas.

ood news came a

few weeks ago

when a good

friend called and asked me what I had planned the second week of April. He said, “Would you like two tickets to the Masters?” “Yes!” “You’ve got ‘em,” he said.

I share. It’s not hard. I called a friend, then two, more, and received affir- | matives.

We will split them and | all of us can experience a wonderful golf tournament. Georgia, particularly’ Augusta, was on my mind.

Ihave doubted my abili- | ty to write anything that would satisfy myself and believed the public would be more difficult to please. Then one day a lady told me that when she sees a column in The Telegraph that I have written, she puts it aside until she can’ gather her son and daugh- ter and announces, “Let’s see what John has writ- ten.” She then reads the | column out loud to them. I never imagined such an endorsement. Encouraged by this, I’ll write about my Masters experience.

Name-dropping is such a bore: self-serving and disgusting. Hence, its appeal. So, I’ll become a golf name-dropper. I have been to quite a few profes- sional golf tournaments and, not being shy, man- aged to talk to some pros. I've also watched golf on TV since Arnold Palmer burst on the scene. Before global warming, Augusta, Ga., heralded spring, warm weather, short sleeves, golf and name- dropping. Arnie provided the tickets.

John CASEY

GUEST COLUMNIST

When I entered the gate at Augusta on April 11, 2013, I handed my grounds pass to Paul Bunyan in khakis. He swiped it, looked at me and said, “Hi John, we’re glad you're finally here. Arnie said you were com- ing; Jack is warming up for the start of the tourna- ment. Jack said you caught his cap at the ’94 PGA at Valhalla.” He con- tinued, “They have a step stool for you to see the ceremonial first shot of this year’s Masters.

Paul handed me back my pass and an envelope. It was from Norm, Zack, Mike, Paddy, Chris, Dave, Eldon, and Tom and Jerry. Inside were three one-dol- lar bills and three quarters and a note. Enjoy a pimen- to cheese sandwich on us and don’t forget to tip.

My eyes glistened.

I weaved through the azaleas, stepped lightly onto the 375-acre golf course that was once a fruit farm just as Tom Watson and a few friends came by. “Mr. Watson,” I called out, “it’s good to see you again. You too, Jason Timberlake, I enjoyed you at the Oscars.” He looked disinterested. “Mr. Trump, Michael J., it’s good to see you. This is better than a board room or a court.” “You got that right John,” the 50-year old Jordan remarked. “That letter you sent me about the presi- dent’s birth certificate

woke up some folks;

Page C4 Sunday, April 14, 2013

‘TE TELEGRAPH:

thanks John.” “You are welcome, Mr. Trump.”

“Have you seen Rory or Tiger?” I asked David Feherty. “Naw,” he replied, “but I hear they are betting it up on the practice green at 50 quid for makes.”

I saw Holly Sonders and Kelly Tilghman of the Golf Channel and called out. “Great outfits, girls.” “Oh John, we were just talking about you, want to join us?” “Rain check girls, I’m due in the tower with Sir Nick Faldo and Nantz.”

Bubba was frothing and antsy when he came by. I called out, “Unbutton that top button on your shirt; it’s pinching your face.” He turned quickly and said, “No one talks to Bubba like that.” He smiled when he recognized me and asked, “John, what’s my chance for a repeat?” I said, “I'll tell you Saturday.”

The 14-year-old kid from China, the youngest person to play in a Masters tour- nament, had a throng around him and a dozen little Ricky Fowlers bright- ened the landscape waiting for the neon man. Golfers dress in splendid frocks and have knobs of gold on their wrists and chains of gold around their necks. If one of them breaks, any- one that gets hold of the pieces may keep them. “No one follows a chump.” (W.C. Fields)

My favorite Masters Champions used three kinds of intuition when they won at Augusta: ordi- nary, expert and strategic. Ordinary intuition is gut instinct. It involves a vague notion of key points and direction (Fuzzy Zoeller, 1979). Expert intu- ition is a snap judgment that corresponds to the power of knowledge based on extensive facts and

experience. (Phil Michelson’s 6-iron from 195 yards — 2010.).

Strategic intuition is a slow, thoughtful way that is a deep and wide process of reflective thinking through all the possibilities (Jack Nicklaus, age 46, 1986).

Zooming deep and wide is a skill I have not culti- vated to any degree. I tend toward gut instinct mixed with snap judgment con- stantly being updated for new possibilities with rich experiences. “Imagination encircles the world.” (Einstein)

White belts will go away (please), but roars of patrons, green wrapped food and brilliant flowers are painted on my memo- ry cells. I hope they never. fade.

I was a patron at the 2013 Masters and wore a WALDO shirt.

John Casey of Alton is curious consistently and loves reading, writing and adventures. He is an agent with Coldwell Banker Commercial Brown Realtors in

Edwardsville. e

VOICES

Q@ER view.

Paul, Peter, John and the game of go

.By John Casey. Guest columnist

Characters: Peter, Paul and John

Setting: A table on the.back porch of Roll- ing Hills-Golf Course in Godfrey. :

Peter: John, you sayeth you loveth the game of golf, yet your reddish © cheeks giveth me further concern that:you hateth the game. Is that not so?

+ John: But let me…

Peter: Pll continue to bringeth up matters that maketh me question your attempts of justification of rule breaking.

John: I don’t break…

Peter: I knoweth thou hath broken rules often, yet you never confessed. Doth thou take me as a fool?

John: No, I didn’t…

Peter: Didn't what?

John: Let me think.

Paul: What a noble thing for thou to.do. Go ahead.

Peter: Before we go further with this matter Thave a few questions to ask you, John.

John: OK.

Peter: Were you bap- tized?

John: Yes, I was, in 1951. Iwas 10.

Peter: So you became John the baptized?.

_ John: I guessso..

Peter: I'd say you hada good start. Now, let’s just out of the lake and get right into golf, shall we? That’s why we are here.

Paul: Are there any rules for golf?

4A. Thuisday, March 7.2019.”

John: Yes, a game can- not last without rules. Competition can’t exist

» without rules.

– Peter: John, how many golfers do you know-who know the rules, and let me also ask, how many have read the rules?

John:.1 know of no one. Paul: Are you kidding me? I mean, is that true?

-Let-us move along.

Peter: Some of your fel- low golfers say they play ~ for fun and not for the money.

ohn: You're right there. Peter: Then why do they and you complain about fairness when you – don’t win much money? john: It’s the luck of the draw! We take our lumps, grumble arid hope we get on a winning team.

Peter: Stop. So it’s not – the score’so much as the money that is important. Tunderstand.

Johri: OK Peter and Paul, fame is the blame along with money for my demise by breaking even a tiny infraction; fame and money maketh me denieth I have broken rules and darkened my soul. :

Peter: Go on.

John: Mortals giveth no concern of my actions, hence cloaking my judg- ment. . a

Peter: Hold it right there. You sayeth you were tricked by pious » ~ fellow players, leading to your undoing?

John: Yep Pete, I throweth away command-

ments of rules because

of scoundrels like myself * who seeketh riches from others who abide by tules.

Peter: ’'m beginning to understand. Stoning would be too lenient.’ Paul, what are your thoughts?

Paul: He speaketh with a forked tongue before. He broke rules and even tapped down sod for a path to the sacred hole for a chance of fame and money, as others did the same. All were tempted and hath broken many rules. They are of the same caste. |

Peter: Paul, we came only to find understand- ing and not to judge. We have no miracles that would changéth them.

Peter and Paul together call out, “Goodbye John, we don’t believe we will be seeing you soon, maybe never. Remember the rules that concern water.”

Paul: Peter.

Peter: Yes, Paul?

Paul: How doth thou believeth the interview of John went, and the chanc- es that he will mendeth his ways and still reach the gates?

Peter: Paul, you can cut out the silly way we say things and talk slang, hear me?

Paul: Why yes I do;.t mean, yep.

Peter: Paul, John was in error. Our duty is to teach him the truth. A man gets no discomfort

The Telegraph

or consciousness of his wrong action and pain inflicted on others until it reaches a point it gives

+ pain to. him.

Paul: I’m convinced of that. Go on.

Peter: Man’s sole impulse — securing his own approval —is that . he is looking out for his own comfort and advan- tage. Otherwise he would not do it. John needs training, education,'and influence in the right direction, and a will to follow what is right.

Paul: You mean that inan never does a single thing which has any first and foremost object but one — to secure peace of mind?

Peter: Paul, do you recall Alexander Ham- ilton, a high:principled man?

Paul:-Why, yes I do. You and I were there before the duel that ended his life. He deeply loved his wife and children, but chose to desert them, leavifig them to lifelong sotrow.in order that he might stand. well with a foolish world. He believed he would lose his honor; public approval was more valuable than his family. That's why we could not

* persuade him to stop. He

was a lousy shot, too.

Peter: Then John needs to awaken his conscience to reach a permanent cure of breaking rules for personal gain.

Paul: Let’s say, there is hope for John yet.

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, Y 3 & daw: The INTERVIEW the Steer

Setting: North porch of the club house at Rolling Hills Golf Course, Godfrey, IL

Date: Spring time

Time: 9:20- AM

Temp: 67 degrees – full sun Characters: Peter & Paul Golfer: Larrry

Peter and Paul are sitting at an outdoor table facing the practice green and adjacent to the practice area, both are close by. Larrry is hitting balls on the practice range.

Peter is tall. He is slim and has a full beard. His dark brown hair reaches to his shoulders. He has a small silver ring in his left ear lobe. His full white robe reaches to his feet. He is wearing light-colored leather sandals. Peter’s azure blue eyes are penetrating and focused.

Paul is not tall. He too has a full beard and long curly brown hair. Like Peter, he has on a long robe and sandals. The ring finger of his left hand has a CEC tattoo.

Larrry, easily as tall as peter, is wearing kaki shorts that

reach below his knees A towel hangs from his back right pocket His light colored golf shirt has a hint of pink. His white shoes look brand new.

Paul and Peter observe Larrry going though a routine of hitting balls; Alignment, stance, swing, follow through and watching the ball land. Larrry reacts to each shot..

Paul says, “Hmmmm.” ) Peter says, “Hummmm,

Larrry finishes his practice, picks up his clubs, and begins walking towards a motor cart parked near the practice green His head is down and his back is bent over, but he looks up when he hears his name called and he looks in the direction of the noise. He sees Peter and Paul and Larrys face shows surprise He thinks he recognizes them from a painting he has seen in church.

“Larrry,” Paul calls out and waves for Larrry to come over to the table. Larrry responds and approaches the table and the pair of bearded men. Paul greets Larrry and asked him to have a seat at the table. Small talk about the wonderful weather was short and Peter immediately started a conversation.

“Larrry, we, me and Paul, were sent to earth to interview you and hopefully arrest your present tendency to back slide and jeopardize your expectation to be admitted through the Pearly Gates. We urge you to be truthful.”

Silence.

Peter continued, “We believe you are playing a game for riches. Golf is it’s formal name and gambling is another one. Golf is OK with us but we believe when the emphasis is on money it leadeth thou to break sacred rules meant to guide you on a richious path and promothish fellowship and fair play. Is that so?”

“YES”. Larrry said, “but…”

3 \ 7

b © Peter said, “hold thy tongue. Let Paul say a few words.” “Tm Paul, Larrry, and once adored you and your ways. You read the rules of the game. Yet cast them aside often. I wondered if you had memory loss or disregarded those ancient rules for the pursuit of money. “ “Let vime say…” Larrry started and was interrupted again). “Please listen, let me continue” Paul said-

“But…”

This is the end of the start of my story. You have already read the ending. |

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Starting something means first things first, but this story breaks the rules and starts somewhere into the story which will require writing the start last.

The characters: Paul & Peter (most folks say Peter and Paul) Larry (by himself)

Peter talking: …"you sayeth you loveth the game of golf, yet your reddish cheeks giveth me further concern that you hateth the game. Is that not so”?

Larry talking…”yes, but let me…”

Peter: “I’ll continue to bringeth up matters that maketh me question your attempts of justifications of rules breaking.”

Larry: “I don’t break…”

Peter: “my duty, insomuch enchantments knoweth thou hath broken the rules often, yet you never confessed. Doth thou take me as a fool?”

Larry: “No, I didn’t…” P: “Didn’t what?” L: “let me think…”

P: “what a noble thing for thou to do. Go ahead.” “You can call me Paul.”

L: “OK Peter, fame is the blame. It maketh me denieth I have broken rules and darkened my soul.”

P: “Go on.”

L: “Mortals giveth no concern of my actions, hence cloaking my judgment.”

P: “Hold it right there. You sayeth you were tricked by more pious fellow players leading to your undoing?”

L: “yep Pete, I throwth away commands because of scoundrals like myself who also sfeekest riches from others who abide by rules.”

P: “I’m beginning to understand. Stoning would be too lenient. Paul, what are your thoughts.”

Paul: “He speaketh with a forked tongue before; he did not lie as before.” “he tapped down the sod for a path to the sacred hole for a chance of fame and money in so much as others did the same. All were tempted and hath broken many rules. They are of the same caste, let them all go.”

Peter: “Paul, we came only to find understanding and not to judge anyone. We have no miracles that would changeth them.”

Peter or Paul, or both, “Good bye Larry we don’t believe we will be seeing you soon.

Paul: “Peter” Peter: “yes Paul.”

Paul: “How doth thou believeth the interview of Larry went and the chances that he will mendeth his ways and still reach the gates of HEAVEN?”

Peter: “Paul, you can cut out the silly way we say things and talk slang, hear me?”

Paul: “Why yes I do, I mean yep.”

Peter: “In my view, Paul, Larry was in error. It seemed our duty to teach him the truth. Now he is lost and perhaps he didn’t know right from wrong. A man gets no spiritual discomfort or

consciousness of his wrong action and pain inflicted on others until it reaches a point it gives pain to him. He knows thatb”

Paul: “I’m convinced of that. Go on.”

Peter: “Man’s sole impulse — securing his own approval – that he is always looking out for his own comfort and advantage, otherwise he would not do it. The other person’s benefit has to always take second place.”

Paul: “what a fantastic explanation! It shows his training was wrong.”

P: “Exactly. He needs training, education, influences in the right direction.”

Paul: “You mean that man never does a single thing which has any first and foremost object but one — to secure peace of mind and spiritual comfort for himself?”

Peter: “Paul, do you recall Alexander Hamilton, a high principled man?”

Paul: “Why yesI do. You and I were there before the duel that ended his life. He deeply loved his wife and children, but chose to desert them leaving them to lifelong sorrow in order that he might stand well with a foolish world. He believed he would lose his HONOR and public disapproval. He believed approval was more valuable that his family. That’s why we could not persuade him to stop. He was a lousy shot too.”

Peter: ‘Then Larry needs to awaken his conscience to reach a permanent cure of breaking rules for personal gain. Why else would he break them?”

Paul: “Let us return to where we came and made a report. Let’s say, there is hope for Larry yet.”

Now for the beginning… “In a land far, far away…

The INTERVIEW

Setting: North porch of the club house at Rolling Hills Golf Course, Godfrey, IL

Date: Sprin fil S phn 4 Time: 9:20- AM

Temp: 67 degrees – ful Characters: Peter & Paul Golfer: Larrry

Peter and Paul are sitting at an outdoor table facing the practice green and adjacent to the practice area, both are close by. Larrry is hitting balls on the practice range facing east.

Peter is tall. He is slim and has a full beard. His dark brown hair reaches to his shoulders. He has a small silver ring in his left ear lobe. His full white robe reaches to his feet. He is wearing light-colored leather sandals. Peter’s azure blue eyes are penetrating and focused.

Paul is not tall. He too has a full beard and long curly brown hair. Like Peter, he has on a long robe and sandals. The ring finger of his left hand has a CEC tattoo.

Larrry, easily as tall as peter, is wearing kaki shorts that reach below his knees A towel hangs from his back right pocket His light colored golf shirt has a hint of pink A towel hangs from the back right pocked of his shorts. His white shoes look brand new.

Paul and Peter observe Larrry going though a routine hitting balls; Alignment, stance, swing, follow through and watching the ball land. Larrry reacts to each shot..

Paul says, “Hmmmm.” Peter says, “Hummmm"

Larrry finishes his practice, picks up his clubs, and begins walking towards a motor cart parked near the practice green. His head is down and his back is bent over, but he looks up when he hears his name called and he looks in the direction of the noise. He sees Peter and Paul and Larrys face shows surprise He thinks he recognizes them from a painting he has seen in church.

“Larrry,” Paul calls out and waves for Larrry to come over to the table. Larrry responds and approaches the table and the pair of bearded men. Paul greets Larrry and asked him to have a seat at the table. Small talk about the wonderful weather was short and Peter immediately started a conversation.

“Larrry, we, me and Paul, were sent to earth to interview you and hopefully arrest your present tendency to back slide and jeopardize your expectation to be admitted through the Pearly Gates. We urge you to be truthful.”

Silence.

Peter continued, “We believe you are playing a game for riches. Golf is it’s formal name and gambling is another one. Golf is OK with us but we believe when the emphasis is on money it leadeth thou to break sacred rules meant to guide you on a richious path and promote fellowship and fair play. Is that so?”

“YES”. Larrry said, “but…”

Peter said, “hold thy tongue. Let Paul say a few words.”

Starting something means first things first, but this story breaks the rules and starts somewhere into the story which will require writing the start last.

The characters: Paul & Peter (most folks say Peter and Paul) Larry (by himself)

Peter talking: …”you sayeth you loveth the game of golf, yet your reddish cheeks giveth me further concern that you hateth the game. Is that not so”?

Larry talking…”yes, but let me…”

Peter: “Ill continue to bringeth up matters that maketh me question your attempts of justifications of rules breaking.”

Larry: “I don’t break…”

Peter: “my duty, insomuch enchantments knoweth thou hath broken the rules often, yet you never confessed. Doth thou take me as a fool?”

Larry: “No, I didn't…” P: “Didn’t what?” L: “let me think…”

P: “what a noble thing for thou to do. Go ahead.” “You can call me Paul.”

L: “OK Peter, fame is the blame. It maketh me denieth I have broken rules and darkened my soul.”

P: “Go on.”

“Tm Paul?’Larrry, and once adored you and your ways. You read the rules of the game. Yet have cast them aside often. I wondered if you had memory loss or disregarded those ancient rules for the pursuit of money. “

“Let me say…” Larrry started and was interrupted again. “Please listen, let me continue” Paul said

“But…”

This is the end of the start of my story. You have already read the ending.

Thanks for your patience.

L: “Mortals giveth no concern of my actions, hence cloaking my judgment.”

P: “Hold it right there. You sayeth you were tricked by more pious fellow players leading to your undoing?”

L: “yep Pete, I throwth away commands because of scoundrals like myself who also sleekest riches from others who abide by rules.”

P: “I’m beginning to understand. Stoning would be too lenient. Paul, what are your thoughts.”

Paul: “He speaketh with a forked tongue before; he did not lie as before.” “he tapped down the sod for a path to the sacred hole for a chance of farte and money in so much as others did the same. All were tempted and hath broken many rules. They are of the same caste, let them all go.”

Peter: “Paul, we came only to find understanding and not to judge anyone. We have no miracles that would changeth them.”

Peter or Paul, or both, “Good bye Larry we don’t believe we will be seeing you soon.

Paul: “Peter” Peter: “yes Paul.”

Paul: “How doth thou believeth the interview of Larry went and the chances that he will mendeth his ways and still reach the gates of HEAVEN?”

Peter: “Paul, you can cut out the silly way we say things and talk slang, hear me?”

Paul: “Why yes I do, I mean yep.”

Peter: “In my view, Paul, Larry was in error. It seemed our duty to teach him the truth. Now he is lost and perhaps he didn’t know right from wrong. A man gets no spiritual discomfort or

consciousness of his wrong action and pain inflicted on others until it reaches a point it gives pain to him. He knows that?”

Paul: “I’m convinced of that. Go on.”

Peter: “Man’s sole impulse — securing his own approval – that he is always looking out for his own comfort and advantage, otherwise he would not do it. The other person’s benefit has to always take second place.”

Paul: “what a fantastic explanation! It shows his training was wrong.”

P: “Exactly. He needs training, education, influences in the right direction.”

Paul: “You mean that man never does a single thing which has any first and foremost object but one — to secure peace of mind and spiritual comfort for himself?”

Peter: “Paul, do you recall Alexander Hamilton, a high principled man?”

Paul: “Why yesI do. You and I were there before the dyad that ended his life. He deeply loved his wife and children, but chose to desert them leaving them to lifelong sorrow in order that he might stand well with a foolish world. He believed he would lose his HONOR and public disapproval. He believed approval was more valuable that his family. That’s why we could not persuade him to stop. He was a lousy shot too.”

Peter: ‘Then Larry needs to awaken his conscience to reach a permanent cure of breaking rules for personal gain. Why else would he break them?”

Paul: “Let us return to where we came and made a report. Let’s say, there is hope for Larry yet.”

Now for the beginning… “In a land far, far away…

The Masters POUL hs Leooke GA

Good news came a few weeks ago when a good friend called and asked me what I had planned the second week of April. He said, “Would you like two tickets to THE MASTERS.” “Yes!” “You’ve got-em” he said.

I share. It’s not hard. I called a friend, then two more and received affirmatives. We will split them and all of us can experience a wonderful golf tournament. Georgia, particularly Augusta, was on my mind.

I have doubted my ability to write anything that would satisfy myself, and believed the public would be more difficult to please. Then one day a lady told me that when she sees a column in the Telegraph that I have written she puts it aside until she can gather her son and daughter and announces, “lets see what John has written.” She then reads the column out loud to them. I never imagined such an endorsement. Encouraged by this, I’1l write about my Masters experience.

Name dropping is such a bore, self-serving and disgusting. Hence, it’s appeal. . So, ll become a golf name dropper. I have been to quite a few professional golf tournaments and, not being shy, managed to talk to some pros. I’ve also watched golf on TV since Palmer burst on the scene. Before global warming, Augusta, GA heralded spring, warm weather, short sleeves, golf, and name dropping. Arnie provided the tickets. :

When I entered the gate at Augusta on April 11, 2013, I handed my grounds pass to Paul Bunyan in kakis. He swiped it, looked at me and said, “Hi John, we’re glad you’re finally here. Arnie said you were coming; Jack is warming up for the start of the tournament. Jack said you caught his cap at the 94 PGA at Valhalla.” He continued, “They have a step stool for you to see the ceremonial first shot of this year’s Masters.

Paul handed me back my pass and an envelope. It was from Norm, Zack, Mike, Paddy, Chris, Dave, Eldon, and Tom and Jerry. Inside were three one dollar bills and three quarters and a note. Enjoy a pimento cheese sandwich on us and don’t forget to tip. My eyes glistened.

I weaved through the azaleas, stepped lightly onto the 375 acre golf course that was once a fruit farm just as Tom Watson and a few friends came by. “Mr. Watson,” I called out, “it’s good to see you again. You too, Jason Timberlake, I enjoyed you at the Oscars.” He looked disinterested. “Mr. Trump, Michael J, its good to see you. This is better than a board room or a court.” “You got that right John, the 50-year old Jordan remarked. “That letter you sent me about the president’s birth certificate woke up some folks; thanks John.” “You are welcome, Mr. Trump.”

“Have you seen Rory or Tiger?” I asked David Feherty, “Naw,” he replied, but I hear they are betting it up on the practice green at 50 quid for makes.”

I saw Holly Sonders and Kelly Tilghman of the Golf Channel and called out. “Great outfits girls.” “Oh John, we were just talking about you, want to join us?” “Rain check girls, I’m due in the tower with Sir Nick Faldo and Nantz. ~“

Bubba was frothing and antsy when he came by. I called out, “unbutton that top button on your shirt; it’s pinching your face.” He turned quickly and said, “No one talks to Bubba like that.” He smiled when he recognized me and asked, “John, what’s my chance for a repeat?” I said, “I'll tell you Saturday.”

The 14 year old kid from China, the youngest person to play in a Masters tournament had a throng around him and a dozen little Ricky Fowlers brightened the landscape waiting for the neon man. Golfers dress in splendid frocks, and have knobs of

© Gartner Studios

The fellows at the golf course, after golf, are Rtbitzing and stripping down each other and Laughing uproartous about ourselves. (tis humbling and keeps us from being frozen. Suppressing joy ana delight ana taking ourselves serious all of the time stunted our ability to connect with people different than ourselves. Edith was aw exception. She had compassion, empathy, humor and wit.

Enough for now.

Love -Dad

Stork, I believe the only thing I’m good at is not quitting.

Thanks for putting together a terrific trip to Hilton Head. Itis a headache for you and we participants are hardly understanding and mostly self centered. We may never change.

Sportswriter Robert Creamer, author of the book Babe: The Legend Comes to Life, said in 1995 that the great slugger was “fun-fun to watch, fun to play with, fun to play against, fun to read about, fun to be around. He was loud, boisterous and never dull. He lent a spark and fire to everything he was near.”

Well, I think of you on those terms. You're the jester on the team. You keep everybody loose. You have fun out there, and that carries over to the rest of us.

Fun makes living worthwhile. Fun makes you the kind of person people want to be around, do business with, work alongside, and listen to. Fun equals freedom.

Thanks pal.

John

CONDUCT, CUSTOMS AND ETIQUETTE Bobby Jones Message

“Tn golf, customs of etiquette and decorum are just as impor- tant as rules governing play. It is appropriate for spectators to applaud successful strokes in proportion to difficulty but exces-

sive demonstrations by a player or his partisans are not proper because of the possible effect upon other competitors.

“Most distressing to those who love the game of golf is the applauding or cheering of misplays or misfortunes of a player. Such occurrences have been rare at the Masters but we must eliminate them entirely if our patrons are to continue to merit their reputation as the most knowledgeable and considerate in the world.”

Written April, 1967 Robert Tyre Jones, Jr, (1902-1971), President in Perpetuity Augusta Natioyal Golf Club

Everyone is requested to display the proper customs of eti- quette, decorum and behavior, and to obey all tournament poli- cies, signs and verbal instructions of tournament officials. For the safety of everyone, and in keeping with policy established at major sporting events, running is considered to be unacceptable behavior. In fairness to patron access and viewing, only one stool/seat will be allowed per person entering the grounds. Seats in observation stands are not to be reserved and stools/seats are not to be unattended for any inordinate length of time.

AUTOGRAPH POLICY: For player safety and protection, there will be a NO AUTOGRAPH POLICY enforced on the golf courses for the practice and tournament days. Autograph signing will be allowed only on the parking lot side of the Clubhouse. It is expected that all parties (patrons, press, players, etc.) will comply.

SAFETY: For your personal safety, we ask that you exercise due care at all times, Also, please be reminded that under wet condi- tions the grounds may become slippery and appropriate precau- tions should be observed.

WEATHER WARNING: Please observe all scoreboards/mes: we sage boards for the WEATHER WARNING sign shown to the left. This sign will appear in advance of inclement weather moving into the area if the Augusta National becomes aware of such weather. When this sign appears, you are advised to take precautions even before play is suspended * Suspension of play will be signaled by the sounding of an air horn or similar alert. You should seek shelter immediately upon hearing the alert. * During periods of inclement weather, you should avoid the fol lowing: Bodies of Water, Golf Carts, Hilltops and High Plac Isolated Trees, Observation Stands, Open Areas, Wire

ences.

WASHINGTON ROAD

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(this may be a bit out of date) Getting to the course: I will send you the maps to the parking area with the tickets.

TIP: After you park and enter the grounds, I suggest you window shop at the Golf Shop one day and decide what you want buy. Then on another morning, buy you stuff and take it back to your car. That way you won’t have to lug it around, or check it at one of the check stands. If you don’t have lightweight folding chairs, I suggest you buy a couple of masters chairs on day 1.

ON THE COURSE

You can sit on 18 green all day and watch them all; you can walk around all day, following your favorite golfers; but something in between is recommended. Pick a good spot where you can sit and watch part of the field play through, then follow some group for a while, then double back and do it again. At our age, we prefer to sit in the bleachers at five green all morning, one of goes to get sandwiches and drinks. After lunch you may want to follow a group for a few holes (6 through 11) and then camp in the “sitting area” at 11th green/12th tee. There you will get to see lots of action and follow the rest on the big scoreboard by 11 green. When another favorite comes through, you can follow him around to 16 where there is a long sitting area alongside the pond.

The best strategy when in a big gallery is to skip the tee shots and head directly to the green and look for the roped off sitting area. Sit and watch the approaches and putting… then pick up and head to the next green.

There are “Observation Stands” and/or “Sitting Areas” at or near most of the greens. You must look for sitting area entrances and sort of “push” your way in, past the standing spectators that line the sitting area ropes.

Keep your pairing sheet with map handy so you can find the nearest concession stand or rest room. The facilities are very adequate and lines move quickly.

We usually keep our rain gear in the car, unless it is threatening or raining when we arrive. You can take your rain gear in and check it at one of the 4 check stands, but they sometimes fill up. We usually take rain jackets, pants and umbrellas.

No need to take snacks or sandwiches with you. The concessions are good and very reasonably priced.

Remember you can’t see everything… so don’t wear yourself out trying. On the other hand everything you see will be wonderful and memorable.

TIP: Be sure and wear hats and apply sunscreen when you get to the course.

OFF THE COURSE

Dining: You may elect to return to your motel and clean up before eating, but if you want to eat after leaving the course, here are a couple of suggestions:

California Dreaming: Casual, comfortable, good food reasonably priced. It is on the north (right) side of Washington Road a mile or two west of I-20. They do accept reservations.

Partridge Inn: They have a fixed priced grand dinner buffet. It is ina historic hotel and the spread is spectacular. Dress is sporty casual (golf dress). The price was something like $75 per person, but is well worth it. You might want to call for current prices and to make reservations. They are located at 2110 Walton Way. (706) 737-8888.

King George: One of several restaurant in River Watch area

Sights: Downtown near the river is a beautiful River Watch area.

Popular places to eat after the golf. And it’s definitely worth a stroll along the river (top of the levee) after dinner.

Gentlemen, Tuesday’s game was my most enjoyable one for a long time, perhaps since Pana in September 2018. You were the reason.

Have you ever felt like a hamster in a wheel, furiously churning your waa through life but somehow not going anywhere? Well, that’s where | was.

| had to stop blaming luck, people, outside influences or circumstances. | am 100 % responsible for what | do with my life, always, every time, no excuses.

| believe | have regained my spark and stop living the life | have and start living the life i'm after. I’m unwilling to put up with my own bullshit any longer.

aa oak 2g@eh & pak marle~

Page 1 of 2

Subject: About Golf & Did you ever notice that it's easier to get up at 6:00 to golf than at 10:00 to mow? GOLF IS the ultimate love/hate relationship. SOMETIMES it seems as though your cup moveth over.

IT TAKES LONGER to learn good golf than it does to perform brain surgery. On the other hand, you seldom get to ride around on a cart and eat hot dogs while performing brain

surgery.

A GOOD DRIVE on the 18th hole has stopped many a golfer from giving up the game. WATER hazards are no walk in the park for fish, turtles and frogs either.

GOLF IS the perfect thing to do on Sunday because you end up praying a lot.

A GOOD golf partner is one who's always slightly worse than you.

THAT rake by the sand trap is there for golfers who feel guilty about skipping out on lawn work.

O IF THERE'S a storm rolling in, you'll be having the game of your life.

Golf balls are like eggs. They're white. They're sold by the dozen. And a week later you have to buy more.

A PRO shop gets its name from the fact that you have to have the income of a professional golfer to buy anything in there.

IT'S amazing how a golfer who never helps out around the house will replace his divots, repair his ball marks and rake his sand trap.

IF YOUR opponent has trouble remembering whether he shot a six or a seven, he probably shot an eight.

You probably wouldn't look geod in a green jacket anyway fill l!{11!}

Ten reasons why golf is better than sex

1. A below par performance is considered good. 2. You can stop in the middle and have a cheeseburger and a couple of beers. 3. It's much easier to find the sweet spot. 4. Foursomes are encouraged. @ 5. You can still make money doing it as a senior.

http://mail.coldwellbanker.com/mail/attachment/{unknown]?msg=1123&part=1&large=O 12/19/2002

2001

The story written by of Mark O’Meara that appeared in the April 11, 2009 issue of Golf Week brought to mind a lunch visit with the then young and major – less winner. Mark was perhaps 25. He and a few of his golf friends had stopped at Mt. Vernon, IL for a Monday outing at the Green Hills Country Club. Phil Hancock was the coordinating professional of a small group that had played in Chicago — The Western Open — and on their way to Columbus, Ohio for The Memorial. Mt. Vernon was on the way and an easy way to pick up perhaps a thousand or so dollars in a low-key (for them) day with excited members of the club.

These almost unknown professionals were the toast of the club, but Jerry Tucker, the pro there, predicted major wins for many of them, including Mark, Tim Simpson, Wayne Levi, and Peter Jacobson. He was right too. But Mark stood out to me. He was quiet and reserved. He let the others do the glad-handing and greeting everyone. At lunch, after a fun warm-up on the practice tee where Peter entertained the audience, Mark picked up a sandwich and a glass of tea and sat by himself near the west window of the club house. I asked I could join him for lunch and he said, “Sure.”

Mark listened more than he talked. I talk more than I listen — generally. I knew very little about him but I did know that he played Hogan clubs and I asked him if he had ever met Mr. Hogan. Mark’s face brightened, and he talked freely about meeting Mr Hogan and how Mr. Hogan had helped him become a better golfer. He said that Mr. Hogan talked to him about the mental part of the game, the focus, the goals, and discipline needed to win. The few minutes I spent with Mark O’Meara were enjoyable. When he finished, he said, “Thanks for having lunch with me.” I had hardly said a word I was impressed with this Californian and would follow his career and root for him in every tournament he played

The article brought back good memories of Mark, and also empathy and compassion for his personal struggles that mirrored mine. When we think of others, we sometimes don’t think of ourselves and our lives get better. Mark really may remember that lunch with me, but not how much he impressed me with his sincerity and kindness. Sincerity is hard to prove (John Kennedy), but it is evident in how Mr. O’Meara lives.

John Casey Caseyjr134@gmail.com

Mark wou Surare PCA Cueufx ) relly The Ce 5 2 ‘ P 77 -“ 0 nes Brchidt hal ator OVS C| ¢

Stan,

My golf handicap at Green Hills in Mt. Vernon was 4.6. It was low enough to meet the 1992 U.S. Senior Open Championship to attempt to qualify to play.

[margin: Pros at Mt. Vernon] Michael and Jerry Tucker encouraged me to attempt to play at Belle Mead Country Club in Nashville, Tennessee.

I applied and was accepted to play in Nashville. My best friend Lou McKinley would be my caddy. June 26, 1992.

A practice round was included and I played with two pros. My nerves were shot but I enjoyed the game.

The night before the qualifying round it rained in torrents. I slept very little. I'll not go into details, but it was an experience I won't forget. The rain never let up. I remember our group playing. I played till the end and shot in the 80's (84) and was with gentlemen pros who encouraged me. I had a handful of new friends.

On a opening hole — perhaps #3 — it was raining in sheets. Lou held a large umbrella over my head. We were beneath a 300 year old tree. My ball was 8 foot from the hole and I would wait till the others putted out. Lou said, "Stan, it doesn't get any better than this."

At the end I was invited to have a drink with a couple of members and lunch. We passed on lunch and had a BBQ at a famous Nashville BBQ shack.

Love, Dad.

Songs — High Noon — Tex Ritter / Frankie Laine — Willie Nelson You were always on my mind — Willie Nelson — "Wabash Cannonball" Carol King "So Far Away" Crazy — "Do not forsake me, oh my darlin'" Candle in the Wind — Elton John — "Oh, my darling" My daddy was a Ladies Man — "on our wedding day" my momma was his Lady. Debby Go Lightly / Do — Rolling on the River — Tina Turner "Wait, wait along" #1 High Noon —

Duquoin St. Fair 1988 — front row seats outdoor. Pat Boone Willie Nelson — 45 minutes flew by. He had… You were always on my mind. [margin: 10 feet to the stage] Willie owned a golf course in Texas and played in groups of up to a dozen friends. He said he par'd every hole, if he wanted to. He set par.

Story line — 18 — 18’s.

After playing THE WORLD TOUR GOLF COURSE in Myrtle Beach this fall I believe a story about the 18" hole would be a good story for your publication. The World Tour course has 27 holes with each hole replicating famous holes all over the world. To me the best hole there (condition included) was the replica of the 18" hole at St. Andrews, Scotland.

Further, 18 – 18’s — a name for a golf course featuring the 18" hole at top notch courses would give designers a challenge and likely a par 80 something course. I would play it.

Consider the notable 18'" hole on some of the area’s courses. They are designed for risk/reward and memorable holes. Some are hard and some are easy.

18 at Timber Lakes, a long par 5 with a large green surrounded by water.

18 at Spencer T Olin is a dog-leg left par 4 over a creek to an elevated green.

18 at Far Oaks, a par 5; water borders the length of the hole.

18 at Gateway National, water borders the length of the hole.

18 at Arlington Greens is a dog-leg left par 4 with the second shot over a canal to an elevated green

18 at Emerald Greens, a par 5; has two landing areas, each require carries over water. 18 at Wolves Crossing is a nifty par 4 with the second shot over water.

18 at The Woodlands; a par 5, has a wide creek in front of the elevated green.

That’s nine holes I can think of and I know there are many others that would make up memorable holes. Water is the main attraction or distraction of many of the 18’s. Consider the 18 at these courses:

Pebble Beach

The Monster at Doral

Inverness

Valhalla

Harbor Town

Jay, Jim, Bill, Bill —

I've been writing about golf and golfers since my last piece in 1963. If quickly written, it's how I remember everyone and the game.

When I play poorly I beat myself up. It costs a few hours. I feel I let my readers down. I expect a lot from myself.

My writings are intended to entertain the readers and give some insight into the game of golf. They are not serious. I'm not trying to be perfect.

jrc 7/31/2019

Team #3, you're on the tee. It was 9:15.

We wait for the Ladies who had cut in front. Then two youngsters of seventy-eight teed off the drivers from the yellow markers. The group of three — Elders — banged their drivers from the Reds. Left to right they flew.

It took a few minutes to collect all balls, which gave everyone a chance to get caught up — and comments, jokes and jabs.

Only one (me) was on the green in three. It was a freezer and a mile away and we did agonize over putts to reach the bottom of the hole — 1-2-3-4-5. Marvelous upward downs by orders of the medley crew. [crossed out: one par and two bogeys] 5-6-6-7-8.

The girls were faster where we reached Number Two. It took three minutes to get out of the carts, gather balls to hit four shots, and another four for everyone to get on the green. And another four to putt out. And another four to reach the next tee, and another four to hit our drivers. I'm dizzy.

A small argument on #3 on whether an oldie had a 5 or 4. Everyone's memory — except the Putter — said 5. The Putter took three minutes to accept the 5. NOT HAPPY. "Oh well."

Now a 3-putt for me is not unusual — I managed it for only 12 feet on #4 and watched an oldie putt his 48-foot winding downhill putt for a gimme 4, and deemed as he shouted. It would be his par for the game. (e)

On #6, two shots of 5 reached the green and measurements began that would last five sissy putters — all participated. One oldie counted 10 steps, the last one stretched, to his ball and 10 steps, plus one foot to the spot marker. This lasted seven minutes.

The shot was beaten by the first player of the next team.

We played Number Seven well and crawled through Number Eight with only one lost ball. We chopped through Number Nine with only one lost ball. We played Number Ten with only one lost ball. We played Number Eleven with only one lost ball. "Wait," came a shout after five minutes. "I hit a yellow ball!" He claimed it.

On #12 an oldie claimed he had a 4. It had happened before and it took 4 minutes for others to recount his shots and he, the shooter, said, "Oh well!" On we sailed. On 16 we almost lost a ball, but the five- minute search turned it up.

We finished the round, shook hands and packed our bags.

Hey, we had fun with only four hundred and twelve shots — which simply was the cumulative age of all five players, of four hundred twelve years. It took four hundred and twelve minutes to play the game.

We may have had a buck or two, but I knew I had to pick up a paragraph — a memory full.

John

A Good Beginning And A Good Ending

12 players made par on the first hole There would be 26 more holes for blows Mike and Mo had a way to go With Ferdy and Lewis as part of their show

Rick jacked (and jacked, and jacked) his drive That made Mark really strive As Who said to Pat, “Howdy do.”

There was Miles being somewhat Standish With John, and “Down the middle” Bob And St. Louis Jim Hardly noticing him.

Zack (laughs at own jokes) couldn't shut up And Al's favorite shot was a conceded putt Walker had a swagger –

Mr. Betts had a wager.

Doc and Jeff were good to each other And didn't leave it to the other (Steve) brother

Dickie was three over after nine, One over the fence, One over the green, And one over Doc's head.

Wayne and Paul were on the attack As Aaron wrestled with a sore back Larry's humor was a waste,

But his beer had a good taste.

Give me a sense of humor, Lord. Give me the grace to see a joke, To find some humor out of these guys

And pass it on to other folks. john C. 6/09

SOME THINGS DON’T CHANGE

As I look back on my golfing career It never did exist I tried most everything I truly did persist

There must be a reason Why I never came in first But some things don’t change In fact they’ve gotten worse

There’s always something wrong It’s not my fault the sun was in my eyes My cap flew off the ball flew high I wasn’t synchronized

Well, friends, it’s sad to say T learned it yesterday I was always in the running But I was pressing all the way

John Casey – 12/7/06

AL MANS Aman over 70 who has a job is a legend

Jorts are his favorite garments

Golf is his favorite game

Melody is his favorite wife

The beige bullet is his favorite vehicle

Bud Light is his favorite drink

John Wayne is his favorite movie star

His best friends are you, you, you, you, and…you

He’s held babies, but never grudges

He’s laughed—he’s cried

He awakens at dawn on Sunday mornings, clambers into his jorts and a sweatshirt and heads for Rolling Hills for a game of golf with his friends. For a few hours this is his

Is this the summation of a legend? Of course not, for every friend Al has ,they have a legendary story of Al Mans.

OUR BEST FRIEND – AL

“Sir, I’m sorry, I forgot your name, But I'll never forget that swing.”

His shirt tail is out. He wears jorts.

He aims north To hit west.

With a driver, he aims fifty yards right, Then on his downswing, he lunges way left.

It’s a fire-and-fall sideways swing That offends purists and amuses others.

When people say to him, “you look great,” They add, “For your age.”

He sleeps better in a lounge chair, t’s called pre-sleep.

He used to say, “J hope my kids get married… Now, “J hope they stay married.”

His four letter words are; golf, beer, And, “What and When?”

When he has a night out, He’s home by 8:00 PM.

He has the most best friends Than anyone I’ve ever known.

t’s not what you gather, t’s the love you scatter.

OUR BEST FRIEND, AL by johncasey 6/2011

WHO

Shows up Plays tough

44 waist 24 inseam

Soup shirt Short socks

Chop swing Chunks chips

Smiles Chatters

Speaks Squeaks

Hails Wails

Who Dat? That’s Who!

by johncasey – 6/2011

GENE, THE MACHINE

He’ ll hit from the red Until he is dead

He’ll shoot his age every day. At 87 that’s something to say.

He’s old and crusty But his short game is trusty.

For a moment there, I thought he was happy Until I noticed that he was acting crappy.

He snuffles and snorts and waddles around. He rants and raves and makes strange sounds.

He picks up empty cans that once held beer. He can’t leave them alone if they are near.

He drives his cart close to the green, Because he’s Gene, The Machine.

He’s a marvel – a one-of-a-kind, And one of the best golfers that comes to mind.

He’s always Bitching, Moaning, and Whining, But when he’s winning, he’s shinning.

Gene — by johncasey 6/2011

Hello Andy,

This year’s Masters was a lulu and an indescribable experience for me.

It has more intrigue and scuttle now. The 14 year old getting a slow play penalty and the 2-stroke Tiger mania episode will not die quickly.

Other than a tough driving trip both ways, extremely long days, and more hills than anyone will believe I had a great time up close with the patrons, players and the grounds.

Terry and I split most of the time both days and did our own thing. We were there for the opening ceremony with Arnie, Jack and Gary. I choose #2 green both days to start, but enjoyed the entire course. I had a cheap lunch each day, and two beers total for the week, plus several lemonades.

I saw a replay of Freddie’s shot on # 6 (par 3) on Friday and got to see myself on TV leaning over the ropes watching the ball fly. I was a few yards from the 14 year old when he got his penalty. I saw eagles, birdies, as well as triple bogeys.

The gentleman who provided the tickets wants his badges back and I’ve promised him that. He let them go for face value $250 each (two badges, for each day) and from all the buzz about scalpers getting thousands and a few talking heads on radio saying a single ticket was going for $7,000 to $8,000 made Terry considered splitting with me before the gates opened up. He was confident that he could see the tournament better on TV. He hung though, and really loved the experience.

Anyway, I need the badges back to give to my man.

Thanks,

John 670-5646

A Band of Brothers

“If we are marked as golfers,

That’s what we're here for.

If we win, so more the glory This day is called Gulf Shores Day

He that lives this day

And comes safe home, Will stand tiptoe when this day is recalled, And rouse at the name of Gulf Shores Day

He that shall live this day, and see old age, Will yearly recall his friends And raise a toast and say ‘These are my friends On Gulf Shores Day.’

And gentlemen who once were here with us Will be recalled with pride For we hold their manhood high and speak Well of them that played with us In Gulf Shores’

We here shall be remembered, we few,

We happy few, we band of brothers…

For he today that played golf with us, Shall be our brother…

Adapted from the prose From Shakespeare’s Henry V – Act IV, Scene III

BLOWING IN THE WIND

Flow many times have I told you, my friend Pla: ying, golf will only bring you heart aches and scorn And make places in your heart that become worn

How many times have I told you, my friend You are struggling at a game and looking fora cure With an outlook and a swing that is not pure

Chorus—The answer, my triend, Is blowing in the wind, The answer is blowing in the wind.

How many times have I told you, my friend That only you care about your score And everyone else wishes it were more

Flow many times have Itold you, my triend That it doesn ¢ matter what you shoot Not ame, not others ,we don treally 6ivea hoot

Chorus—The answer, my friend, Js blowing in the wind, The answer is blowing in the wind.

How many times have I told you my friend We cherish youasa trined, nota toe So play with us today and let your worries go away

Chorus—The answer, my friend, Is blowing in the wind, The answer is blowing in the wind.

Adapted from—Blowing In The Wind bob dylan

jrc—9-201

Chances Are

When you are asked how You have been playing, Chances are about 50% of you Would answer “Lousily.”

Chances are about 49% of you Will respond, “Erratically.” You know, a good hole, a couple of bad holes, A couple of good holes…

But one time in a hundred You may respond, “Pretty well.” When what you really mean is “Very well.” Or, “Damn near perfect.

You've “been in the flow.” Being a period of time when it seems You could do no-wrong.

It’s an extraordinary phenomenon.

It’s distinctly periodic; it does not last. The magic will then be lost for awhile. Yet you will regain it — only to lose it again, And then, chances are, regain it again.

Suddenly, without an apparent reason Your fingers, hands, eyes, or all, were Being magically guided.

In those few moments you were in the flow.

Your ball has been guided, and It soars for the distant green Where the pin happens to be. This phenomenon is called “being in the flow.”

We are all instinctively perfect. It is our nature to hit a golf ball That just flows to where the pin lies. Then Scoritis sets in by our awareness that we are scoring well.

Chances Are

When you are asked how You have been playing, Chances are about 50% of you Would answer “Lousy.”

Chances are about 49% of you Will respond, “Erratically. You know, a good hole, a couple of bad holes, A couple of good holes…”

But once in a while You may respond, “Pretty well.” When what you really mean is “Very well.” Or, “Damn near perfect”.

You’ve “been in the flow.” A period of time when it seemed You could do no wrong. It’s an extraordinary phenomenon.

It’s distinctly periodic; it does not last. The magic will be lost, Yet you will regain it — only to lose it again, And then, chances are, regain it again.

Suddenly, without an apparent reason Your body, hands, and eyes, Are being magically guided. In those few moments you are in the flow.

You have a sense of certainty that you can accomplish Something well beyond your normal capacities. A “still, small voice,” is within you. It is never A “booming voice,”

Just let your self drift, Not worrying about where you are heading — By all means care, but not too much. Strive and don’t strive.

Golf is life condensed. Chances are that you have noticed, Golf teaches us humility, patience, and balance. Golf is bigger than us.

Franklin County Country Club — West Frankfort, IL — par 71.

It has Bermuda fairways and bent grass greens. The course has

5 par 5’s; #2, #4, #6 and # 10, and #17); and 6 par 3’s; #3, #5, #8, #12 and #16.

This review is from the white tees. Add or subtract for other tees. Prevailing wind is from the southwest.

# 1 — par 4 — dogleg left —fairway slopes left; 2nd shot is uphill about 5-7 yards elevation. Trees guard the left side, Favor the right side, the slope will make the ball move left. Draw — 200 / 220 yards will clear the dogleg, 240 is too long.

The large elevated green, slopes from back to front. Above the hole leaves a

tough putt. Add one club because of elevated green.

#2-—par 5 — straight away with sand on left side of the fairway at 220. Sand guards the left and right side of the green; a run-up is available on straight shots. The green is bowl-like. A pin on the far right will be over a sand trap — often to a sucker pin.

# 3 — par 3 — Long par 3. The narrow green sits on a hill and is very deep, (2 clubs usually)

The green is up in the air and the prevailing wind is from the southwest, into the golfers face. Bunkers with sand are on left and right side of the green. Shots just short of the green work well if the pin is front or middle leaving an uphill chip or pitch. You don’t want a down hill putt.

#4 — par 5 —fairway angles left to right and the best drive is a slight fade. Some may hit just left of the trees on the right, but there’s water over there and it’s hard to see. The second shot should stay on the left side of the fairway to avoid water on the right (it’s there alright.) The green is elevated and from the middle it slopes to rear making shots harder to hold.

#5 – par 4 — straight away with bunkers on each side of the fairway. Bunkers In front left/right of the large green that slopes to the middle.

#6 – par 3 — straight away — distance is about /2 club more (seems to me) than it measures due to the elevated green. There’s Sand on the right side of the green with a severe slope on the left side.

#7 – par 5, slight dogleg right. A carry over the lake with a fade is the best shot. Aim left of the large oak and fade it to the middle. Long drivers might like a draw over the trees, ( this is risky) on the right side and let the slope of the fairway (left-to-right) bring it to the middle. If you are on the right side of the fairway, past the large trees you may reach the sand bunkers on both sided of the green. The green is kidney shaped, with the toughest pin placement on the left side.

#8 — par 3 — long and straight.. The green is very deep, but not very wide. Run up shot is available. Hit enough club.

#9 — par 4 – It’s a straight away hole over water (no factor). At 220-230 the fairway slopes down hill. Favor the right side on the drive. Green slopes from back to front and each side slopes to the middle. A large bunker is on the left front side of the green. Fade the second shot to land on the middle left of the green, the ball will work right.

# 10—par 5, dogleg left. Stay right of the grove of cedar/pine trees on the left. The fairway is rolling and a good shot will be on the right side of the fairway. The fairway curves left and not in a direct line with the flag and you need to know this. The right side of the green opens up, but the left side requires more carry. The green has a bowl design.

# 11- par 4 — that veers slightly left. There is a hill / and bunker on the left side and a draw shot that is well hit will clear them. A small hill is on the right side and is a safer shot and will leave a short shot from a level lie. The large green slopes back to front. It too has a bowl design.

#12 par 3— uphill, all carry shot (well, almost). The green has a hump (circus elephant burial ground) If the pin is cut at the right side over the bunker there is very little room for a shot to hold the green. Try for a center of the green if the pin is in the middle or left. Duh.

# 13 — par 4 — dogleg right with a steep bank on the right and trees on the right too.

A cut shot or slight fade is the ideal shot. Aim left of the bank. The green slopes to the middle, shots left or right of center will feed back to the center. Look at the 14" green when you are playing the 13". It will help you soon.

# 14, par 3 — straight away to an elevated green sloping away from the front making shots hard to hold. A run-up shot is available. There is a large bank on the right side of the green. You can’t see the surface of the green from the tee box. Take a look at this green when you are playing # 13.

# 15 — par 4; the hole veers right, then up hill. From the tee, a fade is OK, stay just inside the left edge of the fairway and let it work right. A draw is OK if it is long enough. There’s a steep bank on the right side to contend with. Take an extra or at least consider / more club on your shot to the green protected on the left by a deep bunker. Deep green, plenty of slope.

# 16 — par 3 — large round green that sits like an island. It looks easy, but chose your club wisely. You tee off higher than the green. Make a hole-in-one and buy drinks for everyone.

# 17 — par 5,-blind tee shot to the fairway that slopes severely left with trees on both sides of the

fairway. A draw inside the tree line on the right is preferred. Still the shot will run left down hill. The second shot, often on a slope, should favor the right side of the fairway. A lake is on the left side of the green, and sand is on the right side near the green. This green is bowl like. Toughest pin is front left that requires a shot close to the water.

# 18 — Par 4 – dogleg left and uphill. A steep bank and sand is on the left side of the fairway. Aim at the shed roof on the right and stay right of the steep bank. This was a par 5 before (back then Blue tees were behind # 15 tee box). It is a tough par 4. The green is almost level (one of a few) and has sand on the left and behind the green. A run-up is available.

Read the general descriptions of he course and holes and make mental notes for yourself and your game. Key thoughts, wind speed and direction, hidden or hard to see areas, slopes of fairways and greens, & aim points for drives.

Plan: # 1 and #2 are definite birdie holes. Check pin placements carefully.

Play for par on # 3 — middle of the green. The wind may be a factor.

#4 is a shortish par 5 that may be into the wind. Play a safe shot off of the tee (just left of center) and you may reach the green in two. Tricky sink holes with water is on the right side of the fairway and near the green. Good birdie opportunity.

#5 — straight away and may be with the wind. The slope of the green is to the middle, except for the extreme left side.

#6 — Right in front of you. Narrow deep green (check pin sheet).

#7 Even long hitters like the left to right shot that skirts the large oak tree on the right side of the fairway. Easy to reach the green in two, but consider the pin. If it is on the left side of the green, a lofted shot is called for.

#8 — A straight away par 3. Expect the pin to be cut on the right side, past middle. Deep green.

#9 — Straight hole, slightly elevated green. Favor the right side of the fairway (the ball will roll to a more level lie). 2" shot is slightly uphill to a tricky green with considerable slope. It’s better to be short of the pin.

#10 — a drivers hole that bends right to left. Aim at right edge of the fairway and draw it to the center. Same with the second shot as the hole bends left. Expect a pin on the right (high) side.

#11 – Don’t get greedy and try to drive the green. It is a good hole for a draw. Hit it towards the gap in the mounds in the middle of the fairway and the ball will run to the center for a level shot of 50-75 yards.

#12 — A good uphill par three. A pin on the right over the trap is likely. There is not much room over there. A shot to the center is much safer

#13 — Drives over the mounds on the right side of the fairway sets up a good shot to a large green. A drive just left of the mounds is OK too. A fade that starts out left of the mounds will find the fairway. Don’t forget to look at the 14" green when you play this hole.

#14 — The surface of the green is not visible from the tee. The green slopes front to back and steep bank on the right side. Favor the left side of the green.

#15 — This hole bends left to right and either a fade or draw works here. Trees and a steep grass bunker are on the right side. The 2" shot is uphill and works for a draw. The green is deep with a deep bunker on the left side.

# 16 — Check the wind as the ball is likely to be coming into the green very high.

A high bank on the left may catch a short shot if the pin is on the left (especially the front). A bunker is on the right. I always try make a hole-in-one here no matter where the pin is cut.

#17 — A draw that skirts the trees on the right is a good aiming target as the fairway slopes right to left. The ball may kick to the bottom of the fairway. A lake is on the left of the green. A sand bunker on the right. This hole gives up lots of eagles.

#18 — A uphill par 4 that veers left. Aim right of the grass hill on the left side. A level green with sand over the green.

Crib sheet:

#1, Yardage — not more than 225 off of the tee. Uphill 2" shot

#2 Sand on the left side – Favor the right side with a draw.

#3 — Stay below the cup — consider the wind

#4, -Stay on left side of the fairway. Remember the pools of water on the right.

#5 — A drive between the mounds in the fairway works.

#6 A narrow but deep green. Check pin sheet carefully for yardage to the pin.

#7 — Favor the fade and let it work to the middle. Check the pin placement.

#8 — Deep green, expect the pin in the back right.

#9 — Straight away. Stay on right center of the fairway for a level lie 2"¢.

#10 — Drive on right side with a draw to the center. Same on 2™ shot. Check pin

#11 — A draw (maybe a 3-wood) over the middle of the mounds is good.

#12 — A shot to the middle of the green is always good here.

#13 Calls for a fade starting at the left edge of the fairway. If the wind is still, a carry over the middle of the mound is excellent.

#14 A lofted shot that sits down quick is needed. A soft fade? Favor the left side.

#15 — Fade or draw the shot to the middle for an uphill 2"¢ to a large green.

#16 — hole-in-one

#17 — Hole in three. Stay left of trees on the right on the drive

#18 — Draw, starting at the right side of the fairway. Aim at the roof of the shed.

5 under.

Introduction:

For years an annual pilgrimage to the south starts my golfing year. Most guys behave differently on a golf trip than they ever would in familiar surroundings. There is a fraternity, a clique, a gathering of men for a week of excess everything.

MISREY ON THE GOLF COURSE

I started getting ready for the mid March golf trip in mid December. First I checked my clubs (19 of them), then shoes, balls, tees, range finder, band-aids, ball markers, towel, insect repellant, trail mix, groove cleaner, beer huggy, umbrella, rain hat, gloves, sun screen and light weight long underwear — just in case. And, low fashioned outfits.

I miss the misery of old-fashioned golf. Back then we went golfing expecting to be miserable and succeeded almost 100% of the time. The more we talked abut the miseries of golf the more we wanted to get back out there and start suffering again.

A source of much misery in golf directly involves two things, driving and putting your ball. It’s a well-known fact that your run-of-the-mill imbecile can hit a golf ball with a driver and the ball will behave badly leading to the golfer behaving badly. Even if the imbecile hits a decent shot it’s unlikely he will like it. He’s more likely to spurt out that he once hit a perfect drive. “Liar”!

Reflecting on putting; it gets worse. “I couldn’t miss anything last week,” laments the miserable putter-er. “This dang putter is bent”. Rightly so, it had spent considerable time in the air before landing in a bending area of the golf course. Of course, this miserable golfer is on my team.

So far I’m survived pretty much on my own, like big-league depression, numerous recessions, creeping inflation, a couple of phases — but not military combat. I used a third-party check on an out-of-town bank to pay advance green fees and bets for the trip. I’m ready.

Old men were designed for misery. I’m somewhat an expert on the subject having been around some of the most miserable old men in the golf world.

Old Man description:

Male person with white hair (or none)

A stubby beard

Wrinkled hide

Disposition of a bull walrus

Someone who gambles, drinks, cusses

Has a vocabulary peppered with colorful expressions

Is a master of “fine lying”

Vintages of Old Men: (think wine)

Sixties — Good

Seventies — Excellent

Eighties — Prime

Nineties — All of the above

I recall a particularly misery producing game with a few old men. Warm sunshine greeted us on the first tee. After a while clouds gathered and produced a fine mist. Then it became a struggling drizzle. My old men friends, all claimed to be on fixed incomes, put on their $300 rain pants and $350 rain jackets, unfurled a one-man umbrella, donned a rain hat, and covered their clubs with a club caddy. They were wearing Dry Joy shoes. I had on a wet-suit; shorts, a Good-Will shirt, golf sandals, but no hat.

The drizzle worked its way up to a highly successful down pour. It was damn cold, almost sleeting. On we played. My clubs slipped out of my hands on every shot. I was chattering like an angry squirrel. Goose bumps as big as boils popped out on my bare legs. I looked like I was wearing blue leotards. I began to see news stories in my head; “The futile search for a drowned golfer has been called off”.

I never suggested that we might turn back. When I go this far to golf, I am going to play golf. When the old men started singing a drinking song; “how dry I am, how dry Tam, nobody knows how dry I am,” I cut loose a 20-letter cuss word.

Mercifully, the rain let up and the sun came out. My dry-as-a-bone buddies, after carefully folding their stuff and putting it in their dry bags were ready to play and so was I, after all, I expected misery and it was happening. I slogged miserably through the rest of the round. Right then and there I decided to never trust a weather guesser again.

I have since decided to make a misery kit. It calls for an aerosol can for spraying cold air down my back, refrigerated shoes, and a box of mixed insects that includes yellow jackets, no-see-ums, mosquitoes, ticks and chiggers, plus a sprinkler bottle of water to replicate rain.

I also want a portable lie detector kit if 1 am going to play with those miserable old men again. A test would be administered at any time of suspected need. It would go like this:

Question: Is your name (insert proper name)?

Question: Have you every owned a dog?

Question: Have you peed within the last 15 minutes?

Question: Did you get a 5 or was that a 6 on the last hole?

John Casey

AL MANS

Al Mans, a golf legend of Godfrey, IL, says he hates money, but we aren’t buying that because he hands it out with a smile and welcomes the victor to join him for refreshments. Join him and you're in for a treat.

Al is a philanthropist $2 at a time. He’s paid off more $2 Nassau bets than politicians break promises. People who say golf is too hard or stressful haven’t played with Al. He never gives anyone a golf tip and he plays the way he wants and lets you do the same.

“Are you Crazy” is Al’s start when negotiating a $2 bet. The inventor of the half stroke handicap system he manages to snag a few bets in his favor. Say, your handicap is 5 and Al’s a 9; he wants at least 6 half strokes (not the expected 4 strokes — the difference in his and your handicap) on the 6 hardest holes on the course. Now lets say, on the 1

ole (a handicap hole) you get a 5 and so does Al. Al’s net 4 % beats your 5. Got it? If he makes a par on the handicapped holes you have to make a birdie to win the hole.

Golf to Al is a beautiful sport. He’s like a present in the mail. He’s an unending smorgasbord of criticisms, juicy insights and witticisms, and always delivered with onesty and humor. A\I’s intentions are to shoot par and break even on bets and believes the fastest way to enjoy golf is the first beverage, and the second, and…..

He hit his last range ball in 1977. His 5-year old clubs are immaculate, having een struck on the sweet spot infrequently. He is used to ONE-IN, TWO OUT, HITTING THREE sort of game. He is a life-long hooker but you better not stand to his right when ie hits. “Squirrels to the middle,” he calls out when there are trees lining the fairway.

He’s comfortable in jeans, a pullover and a cap with a contractor’s logo because it’s the same dress code he used at Country Fairways (now Rolling Hills) where he started playing golf in 1965. He wants one great shot a round these days. Just one. He’s ad 6 holes-in-one. Six! He plays when it is freezing cold or Sahara Desert hot, in drenching rain, and when it’s windy as Ireland. He always thinks, a magic shot might appen on every par 3.

Al enjoys identifying with friends who married above their station and claims a mutual kinship with them. He likes coincidental parings — all players with the same handicap, or has had two or more wives. He relishes afflicting the comfortable. His stories are vivid and names are not withheld, but always about human nature, respect and affection, well, almost. It’s rumored he played a round of golf with a man of the cloth and announced on the first tee, “Forgive me for I will sin. I’ve been playing golf for 49 years, the last 30 with the yips, and I just can’t help cutting loose now and then”. That said, he tells corny and dirty jokes that bring peals of laughter, mangles the rules of golf and he never complains. His joy of friendships and relationships are principals that guide his life.

Al Mans has a pragmatic sense of right and a good dose of humbleness. When he wins or loses he may announce, “I’m not a good enough person to deserve this”. Sometimes we think, Al Mans is the pigeon and golf is his statue.

Our best to Al Mans John Casey

Jamie Bauer

Zack Deeder

Down Hill Lies and golf stuff

. Do you have a true handicap? Consider the description of the USGA handicap system. The handicap system “is based upon the potential ability of a player rather than an average of all of his scores.” The average player is

expected to play his course handicap or better only 25% of the time, average three strokes higher than his handicap, and have his best score in 20 rounds be only two strokes better than his handicap.

The numerology freak that cooked up the handicap requires that of your twenty recent golf scores, your ten lowest receive a “handicap differential,” which is your “adjusted gross score” minus the USGA Course Rating, multiplied by 113 and then divided by the Slope Rating of the course. The differentials are then averaged, and the sum is multiplied by .96 and rounded to the nearest tenth. The USGA considers a slope of 113 to be of “standard” hardship. I’m no dummy, I’ve had five years of high school, but this messes with me.

Among true devotees of the sport, honor is prized because there are no referees or judges on the course; each player is relied upon to be truthful. Consequently, it’s easy for a golfer to nudge his ball out of the rough or from behind a tree and cheat on his scorecard. A more cunning tack of deceit is to present himself as a worse golfer than he actually is. This is achieved by withholding his lowest scores, thereby falsely inflating his handicap. This scorned practice is known as sandbagging and it results in extra strokes awarded to the dishonest player, enhancing his chances of winning and collecting on his wager. Know one? Ido.

On to the gimmick of the Q-Link pendant that holds marvelous powers. I’ve seen them now and then on dudes. This fashion accessory is really a copper coil encased in plastic and attached by a leather string. You loop it over your neck and semi-conceal it under your shirt. Perhaps you should make sure it is centered with your sternum. The unique electromagnetic frequencies that we have is said to “harmonize” with our biofields. The Q-Link fortunately, unlike syringes, can be shared with someone else without harmful effects. It can be worn 24 hours a day, even in the shower. Unlike pixie dust the Q-Link requires no belief for it to work. I got one for my putting. It helped not even slightly; I still had five three-putts in my last round. I removed the ill-fated giz hoping to purge the toxic mogo from my biofield. Alas, my frequencies remain hopelessly jangled with static. That slacker who talked me into that rip- off should be ashamed.

“Thriving under pressure” is actually trying to avoid the act of choking — a state I am all too familiar with. A golfer chokes when he lets anger, doubt, fear or some other factor distract him before a shot. Anger, doubt and fear are essential ingredients of my golfing game. What you need to do is instill courage, confidence, concentration, composure,

patience, practice, and persistence, potential and, of course, the elusive -word: fun. I have another f-word that describes my approach.

With all of the technology there must be a simple answer to my putting woes. I have more than a dozen of the “truest” putters made and each one lures me into thinking I’ve got it until mid way through the first nine when a three-putt happens again. Why not make all putts break left? No one can make a left to right putt; it’s unnatural; unless you are left-handed, of course.

Having chronic launch-performance anxiety, especially when I play in front of anyone, I have checked my swing on a swing monitor. The consensus in the testing room was that my hands were rolling over before impact, turning the face of the club inward before it struck the ball. So, I checked my grip, realigned my stance, slowed my backswing and started launching the ball. The monitor operator perked up and said, “Your angle of attack is good. So is the ball speed and spin rate.” He added, “The new Ping G-40 is the ticket and for only $399 you'll see immediate results.” I’m flabbergasted to learn that a monitor could suck that much money from my pockets in the 15 minute test. I felt like turning cartwheels. I now believed that I could hit a high launched ball without the aid of sedatives or booze. Never again would I go slashing and cussing my way around a golf course.

I stoutly refuse to believe that I have peaked.

John Casey

435 '% Bluff Street Alton, IL 62002 618-670-5646 jrcasey 134@gmail.com

Fractions —- RGA Golf Trip 2008

1/8** of us were young ¥4 somewhat in between 1/8 very old

1/3 of the time was spent playing golf 1/3 of the time sleeping (or nodding) 1/3 of the time – whatever

1/3 metals hit – this-a-way & that-a-way 1/3 irons – chunked, skinned, & flushed 1/3 putter – short, long, lipped, and IN!

1/3 of the fairways were hit – wide ones 1/3 rough – thick ones 1/3 went – splash, splat, crack & goodbye

1/3 of the food was meat – med rare, medium, well-done 1/3 potatoes — some in bags/boxes/ 1/3 junk food – rarely salads

1/3 of card players got good cards – “raise you two” 1/3 bad cards – “raise you two” 1/3 (should not bet) – “raise you two”

99.99/100 of the weekend was – fun 99.99/100 – enjoyment 100% of us had a good time.

Thanks, john 6/9/08

TWO FEET FROM THE HOLE – DOWNHILL

The slim tee holds a ball White and dimpled, rather small How innocent it does appear This harmless little sphere

By its size I could not guess

The awesome strength it does posses Since I fell beneath its spell I’ve been in the fires of hell

My life now is not the same Since I started this crazy game It’s on my mind for hours on end And oh, the money it’s made me spend

It makes me yell and spit and sometimes I threaten to quit My desires the ball refuses And does weird things that it chooses

It hooks and slices, slows down and dies Any many times disappears before my eyes It may take a whim And hit a tree or take a swim

With lots of grass on which to land It finds a tiny patch of sand T’ll take a drink to ease my sorrow The ball knows I’ll be back tomorrow. Jc-3/2007

Golf The slim tee holds a ball White and dimpled, rather small By its size I could not guess The awesome strength it does possess My desires the ball refuses And does weird things that it chooses It hooks and slices, slows down and dies And many times disappears before my eyes My life now is not the same Since I started this crazy game It’s on my mind for hours on end And oh, the money it’s made me spend T’ll take a drink to ease my sorrow The ball knows Ill be back tomorrow.

RGA Al, Doc, Jim and Mike, Devon, Eric, Dan, the other guy And me. First Half winners of RGA That’s what we be.

john 5/20/08

Astory is brewing at Rolling Hills Golf Course in Godfrey, IL. The course is having a match play tournament for golfers and has two divisions; the open division is standard match play and the other is the handicap division. The open division is head’s up golf without handicaps; mono- mono. The field is limited to 16 players. The handicap division is open to players who have a recognized handicap, such as USGA, GHIN, and other systems that records scores and determines handicaps. The golf Leagues at the course typically use a handicap system that will be recognized for the tournament.

Anyone who has a handicap can play another golfer who has a handicap to even up the competition. Here’s how it works; say you have a 12 handicap and your opponent has a 6

handicap. The 12 handicap player will receive 6 strokes, one on each of the six hardest holes.

The 6 handicap golfer will give his opponent 6 strokes during the match: one stroke on each of the five hardest holes on the course. There may be a slight variation to the equal division of strokes. The tournament directors determine this and perhaps 90% of the higher handicap will be given. Thus, the 6 handicap player gives 5 strokes to the 12 handicap player.

The first match of the 2016 Match Play Tournament is between a 6 handicapper and the 12 handicapper. Here is the interesting part of this match. The 6 guy is 15 years old, the 12 guy is 75. The difference is 60 years! Golf doesn’t care and the players shouldn’t either. Play away fellows. One would think that both players are competitors who really want to win and would

hate to lose. The old guy may, but shouldn’t be ashamed to get wacked by the pup. The young

guy should think likewise. Getting beat by the ancient one is a chance he takes when he signs up to play a match.

I'm betting that both golfers will be stressing and a bit nervous before the match begins. Word gets out and human nature takes over. Wow! A loss now seems more important to the ego than would a win for the old guy. Shame may be heaped on him. His friends would howl at the trashing he gets to get beat by the “KID”. The “KID” would receive like treatment from his

cronies too, “Letting the ancient one beat you, how shameful” they would say.

Let’s profile these competitors so that you can choose whom to pull for. Take the 75 year-old. He started playing when he was 23 (56 years ago). His woods were woods and his irons were thin blades and he likely had a Bulls eye putter and all clubs were stuck in a leather bag. His ball was thin wrapped rubber bands covered with balata. His ball had 332 dimples — the standard

for the time.

Page 1 Terry Martin

Terry Martin, Just call him “CAPTAIN”

The phone call I received at 8 a.m. Sunday morning surprised me. “Mr. Casey, your tee time for today has been changed to 9:00 a. m.” I barely blurted “OK” before the caller hung up. I quickly dressed and grabbed a bite to eat and headed for Belk Park Golf Course in Wood River, IL

THE TERRY MARTIN – was paired with me on Sunday. He and I had shot 72 on Saturday to lead the two day amateur tournament at Belk Park. He was on the tee when I arrived. Terry had requested the tournament director to make a change from the normal afternoon starting time for leaders. Terry was also leading another tournament at his home course, Oak Brook, in Edwardsville, IL and his tee time there was at 2:00 P.M. I knew of, but did not know, Terry, and I had looked forward to playing against him on Sunday.

Terry Martin, southwestern Illinois best amateur golfer for the second half of the 20" century, smashed his opening drive 50 yards past mine at 9:05 a m on June 5, 1978 and Sunday’s tournament was on. At five foot ten and 210 pounds this pudgy, blond haired, chain smoking, steel worker did not match the image of a highly skilled golfer, but he was. In Terry’s 55 years of playing golf, he would win upwards of 200 individual medal play tournaments throughout southwestern and southern Illinois and three times he

would win two tournaments in one day.

Page 2

At the turn we were still tied at one over and I had picked up some respect from both Terry and the group following us. Terry went ahead on # 10 and followed that up with a birdie on # 11 to go two up. I birdied the 12" hole, a par 3 and made up a shot, but that was as close as I would come as Terry pulled away and won the tournament. He complimented me on my game and sportsmanship then hurried off for the other tournament. He won that one too. His two wins that weekend added to his 150 plus tournaments he had won so far in his sparkling career. He would win many more and be recognized as the best amateur golfer in southwestern and southern Illinois.

Terry was born in 1941 and began playing golf in 1956. He recalls he shot 47 for nine holes in his first recorded game. He has played almost 10,000 round of golf in his 55 year career and has made 16 holes-in-one, the last in 2010 at the tenth hole at Locust Hills in O’Fallon, IL. Terry collected $1,000 for this one. His lowest competitive 18- hole round was 64 at Arlington Golf Course in Granite City where he shot a 29 front side and a 35 back nine.

He purchased his first full set of matching clubs, First Flight Golden Eagles, from Mike Eckhart of Alton, IL. Mike was a golfing legend himself. Terry’s first putter was a Bull’s Eye and he once owned 256 putters and only recently sold all of them to a group of his friends. Terry admitted to owning “about 300 golf shirts” and said he played Titliest golf balls. Dick Gerber, (more about Dick later), a superb player who often teamed with Terry, said, “Terry played any brand of ball in weekday games, but only new Titliests in

tournaments.” .

Page 3

Self-taught, Terry had an all around good game. He was long and accurate off of the tee, great with long irons and spectacular with his short irons. Putting, he said, sometimes let him down. He had an unusual putting method; He crouched behind the ball, closed his right eye, and lined up the ball using only his left eye; Terry told me recently when his eyes were checked his left eye tested dominant by a mile. He laughingly said, “If I had had better sight I would have won more tournaments”.

Terry is 5’10” and weighed 210 back in the day. He is a feel player and rates his game on a 1-10 scale at an 8 or 9. A draw is his go-to shot. He developed a pre shot routine early in his career. Terry says that balance is his key on all shots and attitude and believing in your self makes a big difference. “You can’t play without believing you can.”

Terry won perhaps 200 tournaments in his career. Most of the tournaments were two day events at courses in southern and southwestern Illinois. His first tournament win was at The Colonial Golf Course in Sandoval, IL. He won it eight times. His biggest win was The 1968 Irving Cobb Invitational at Paxton Park in Paducah, KY. Terry was the first amateur to win this prestigious tournament. He shot 136. This was confirmed by Danny Mullen, the present Director of Golf at Paxton. Danny added, “Robert Payne, a good friend of Terry’s from Mt. Vernon, was the professional winner that year with a score of 137. This tournament regularly had top amateurs as well as professionals in the field, including Jay Haas, (played as an amateur in 1974 and 1975 but did not win);

Kenny Perry (1975 winner); Russ Cochran (1979 winner); Bob Stone,

Page 4 A three time winner, and Jimmy Brown, from Kentucky, an eight time winner. The winning professional at the 2011 Cobb tournament will win $8,000”.

Terry said that his favorite golf course is the one he is playing today or the one he played yesterday. He did single out the St. Louis Country Club and The Illini Country Club in Springfield, IL as personal favorites. He attempted to qualify for the U.S. Open at each course, but came up short, once by a single shot at the Illini. Terry said “I wasn’t able to quit my day job to concentrate on golf like the pros did.” Terry worked 40 years at Granite City Steel before retiring a few years ago.

I asked Terry for a piece of advice and he said that balance and alignment was his key to golf. He added, “Don’t turn your shoulders too fast in your backswing.” I asked him if he had a story and he replied, “Thousands and more every year. Golf is a story in itself, every day”

Larry Suhre, the owner and professional at Oak Brook Golf Club in Edwardsville, was Terry’s classmate in grade and high school and was on the high school golf team with him. Larry, said of Terry, “He had outstanding skills at golf, bowling, basketball, pool, and ping-pong and was tough as nails. He surprised everyone how good he became.” Larry added, “Terry would get a scowl on his face and block out everything around him to concentrate on what he was doing, and then do it.” Interestingly, Larry and Terry teamed up in Oakbrook’s famous senior two-man scramble on March 11, 2011

to shot 66!

Page 5

Mike Suhre, Larry’s son and golf prodigy, practically grew up around Terry because of Terry’s friendship with Mike’s dad. “When you talked to Terry did he mention that everyone called him Captain Kangaroo?” Mike asked me. “He didn’t, “I answered. “It’s a fact.” Mike said, “Terry looks and his mannerisms were almost identical to the captain. Lots of guys just called him Captain.”

Baby boomer, Dick Gerber (6-21-1946), who, in his 29 years as the varsity golf coach at Edwardsville High School, amassed 662 wins (winningest golf coach in America). For his achievements, Dick was selected as a charter member of The Illinois Association Golf Hall of Fame in 1993. Dick has known Terry Martin for 50 years and they are friends who share a love of golf and competition. Dick sums up Terry as a down to earth guy with a great attitude about life and a keen competitor. Dick is a consummate competitor himself having won 75 events, nine holes-in-one and four double eagles in a 45 year golfing career. Dick, like Terry is ano gimmick golfer who -FINDS A WAY- to turn any round into a good one. Gerber said, “I have played golf with Terry Martin for decades as well as Larry Suhre. Terry is a tremendous friend of mine. I respect his ability and consider him to the best around here, period.” Dick Gerber, echoes Larry by describing Terry as, “the best competitor I have ever seen. When it came to a game of skill he is downright fearless”. “But,” Dick added, “Terry was not arrogant or pompous, just confident and everybody liked him, and I called him Captain.”

No wonder these three, Terry Martin, Larry Suhre, and Dick Gerber became, and remain, titans and knights of golf in southern Illinois. They admired, mimicked, inspired

and fed off of each other — TRIPLETS – born a few years apart.

“I'll help you line up your putt”

“Oh, there he is again,” shouted the young attractive woman from the porch of a home that bordered the 7‘ green at the Cotton Creek Golf Club in Gulf Shores Alabama. Several people suddenly streamed through the door of the house to join the woman who was pointing at Terry Miller. Exclamations, hoots and laughter came from the group and someone said loudly, “can you believe that?” Obviously the woman had spotted Terry earlier when he was in the fairway of the par five hole.

Terry had on a Richard Simmons style outfit, but Terry was not at a gym, he was on an upscale golf course. His shorts were silver and iridescent with shiny gold stripes. The shorts were just longer than his Jockey shorts would have been had he had any on. I didn’t know. His white sleeveless top was tucked into his short shorts and on his head was a blue visor. His hair was light blonde and when the sun hit it just right it was a pale Donald Trump like orange. He was, however, wearing white ankle socks and brown and white saddle golf shoes.

So far I had managed to stay very, very clear of him, but he was my partner in the event and he is a very good golfer and could be counted on to calculate yardage, access the best place to approach a hole and read putts.

The people on the porch were lined up against the railing as though they were watching a horse race. A pair of binoculars was being passed around. Everyone had a drink in their hands and one of the men had a photo lens camera and was snapping shots that would be shown at the next neighborhood social.

“T’ll help you read that putt,” Terry announced to me as I was lining up the 20-foot downhiller for a birdie. “That’s not necessary, I have the line,” I replied and quickly prepared to putt before Terry came any closer. I made it.

Terry’s score that day escapes me, but not the Gaud awful togs, the porch ensemble and the waving off of his invitation to help me line up a putt.

John Casey

Note: Don’t you dare change any thing about this true story.

“Meet me round the corner in a half-an-hour”

Miller, Terry, can not sing but he belts out this unusual – “meet me round the corner in a half-an-hour- refrain in several pitches and octaves and at surprising and sudden times. It drives me nuts and yet amuses me.

At a remote wilderness lake in Ontario, Canada (Is there an Ontario anywhere else?) he and I were fishing for lake perch. It was early morning and no one but us were there. Perch fishing required constant baiting hooks, as the fish would nibble off the expensive little crawlers. Threading a small worm on a small hook requires focus and skill. Terry, without glasses that I suspected he needed, lifted the worm in one hand and the hook in another and held them up against the sky. As he deftly baited his hook he began to repeat, “meet me round the corner in a half-an-hour – meet me round the corner inahalf- an- hour.” I tried to keep focus on my own fishing activities, my own hook, my own worms, and my own perch. His refrain however was being embedded into my conscious brain and there the two of us were singing, his out loud and mine silently, “meet me round the corner in a half-an-hour – meet me round the corner ina half- an- hour.”

The image of that time fishing with Miller is not erasable.

John Casey 7/3/106

Note: This story is not subject to change by anyone – including Miller. Accept it.

Golf 101 and 102 – practice — think – focus Set up posture: Bend from the hips not from the waist Keep your back nice and flat Flex knees ever so slightly, do not bend. Mid Irons: Let the right hip, knee and ankle move toward the target for square hits. Right Knee — flex it toward the target not away from your body Right ankle, roll it gently toward the target Right hip, rotate it toward the target At the top, feel as though you’re holding the end of a long chain — it’s a heavy chain — pull it straight down — give it a tug. This should keep your shoulders back. Driver: Stand tall — stance a little wide — tilt shoulders with the left higher that the right. Look at the sky and imagine the flight of the ball. Chin up Feel the hands — not too tight Spread your weight – between your feet and – between your toes & heels. High launch – Hit the ball on the upswing

Take the club back at a moderate pace. Once you reach the top, focus on: 1. Dropping your hands straight down from your right shoulder 2. Turn your left shoulder away from your chin — don’t move them together. 3. Left knee towards the target — keep right knee flexed with your upper part of left arm close to the left side. As you change direction and start down crank up your swing about halfway down — goal is to reach maximum club head speed through the ball. Feel rhythmic and balanced Feel the change of direction Release-hips level at impact — right shoulder closer to the target than your left as you pass through impact — finish high

Full swing – Unified turn keeps your address posture and swing center intact Shirt buttons and belt buckle turning together at the same speed Start folding your right elbow as you start turning, using a smooth motion At the top, elbows point to the ground — your left elbow needs to point to the ground. Start with half swings and focusing on “Elbows Down.” The key to driving the ball is to deliver the club face back to the ball squarely. 1. Make your backswing as you normally do, but don’t allow your hands to go past shoulder height. 2. Start turning your hips back toward the ball before you feel like your “normal” backswing is complete. 3. You need to feel a “Whip” in your swing which will create speed and add distance.

Golf 2016: Playing rules:

e Improve your lie but not your position

e Donot move from the rough to the fairway and fairway to rough

e¢ Hole all putts

© The one ball and 14 club rule are not in effect

Out of bounds (white stakes) are to be played as a lateral water hazard; count one stroke and take the distance. Place the ball within a 2-club (any club) length distance from THE POINT OF ENTRY, NOT NEARER THE HOLE. There is no line of flight rule or mention of it in the golf rules.

e Lateral Water hazards (red stakes). You have options: 1. Play where you lie in the hazard, don’t move the ball, no penalty; 2. Play from the original place you hit (1 stroke penalty; 3. Drop within two-club lengths of, and not nearer the hole than the point where the ball last crossed the margin of the hazard (1 stroke penalty; 4. If you decide to drop, (1 stroke penalty) using the point where the ball crossed the hazard line, drop the ball within 2- club lengths not nearer the hole; 5. Drop on the opposite side of the hazard equidistant to the hole from the point where you last crossed the margin (1 stroke penalty). Keep that point in line with the flag.

e Water Hazard (Yellow Stakes). Three (3) options (1 stroke penalty) . 1. Play from the hazard; 2. Play from where you originally hit the ball; 3. Drop any distance behind the water hazard keeping a straight line between the hole, the point where the ball last crossed the margin of the water hazard and the spot on which the ball is dropped.

e Unplayable lie. Penalty, 1 stroke & drop within 2-club lengths, not nearer the hole. Ground

under repair (GRI) may be present, if so, drop to nearest point of relief, no penalty.

e The highest score for a hole will be a triple bogey. Pick up your ball when you reach triple bogey and record the score on the card.

e No practice shots, mulligans, or putts.

e Play ready golf when playing individual score — if you are ready to play and do not present a distraction to others, play away.

e All players are responsible for accurate score cards. Use full names on the cards.

e Score cards and scoring sheet: Score cards should be carefully completed and checked for accuracy.

On the first tee at Rolling Hills Billy Walker, Bill Ackerman and me, I’m John Casey, prepared to hit our tee shots. We were the 5" group of 6 on Thursdays regular Over 50’s players. Billy had stated to anyone (no one) that he had had three cancer operations and weighed 120 pounds and was 78 years old; that his bowls moved often and he couldn’t eat much to keep his energy up and didn’t sleep well. | asked him if he smoked. HE SAID HE DID. | asked him if he drank, and he said, No. | said, why not drink, but stop smoking.

Billy hit first. It was a pretty good drive from the gold tees; down the right side, just over the crest of the hill. Bill hit second and scuffed it about 70 yards. My ball was OK and in the fairway. Billy hit his second shot soundly and | complimented him on it. He said, it wasn’t hit solidly and that his feet moved. Bill was delayed by cart trouble and did not hit. My second shot was in the fairway at little past Billy’s and about 65 yards short of the pin. Billy’s approach to the par 5 hole was a nice high shot that landed on the green, ran up the back bank and came back on the green, stopping only 10-12 feet away from the blue pin. It was an excellent shot, and | said so. Billy said, it wasn’t hit very well and went too long. My shot was left of the pin and about the same distance away as Billy’s. Neither of us made the short putts. 5’s.

Billy’s tee shot on the par 3 second hole was shanked hard right and clanged against several trees. He described it better than either Bill or myself. “What was that,” he uttered. “Bladed it.” “Couldn’t keep my feet still.” Bill and | were quiet. | hit a terrible shot too. Billy and Bill looked for the ball for 7-8 minutes before Billy called me to toss him a provisional ball. | tossed the ball and it rolled down the hill and Billy didn’t stop it. He lunged for it and toppled over in a head first crash to the hard ground and had difficulty righting himself. Exhausted, he collected himself and sent a screamer over the green and Billy crawled up the bank to the green. His ball was over the green some 90 feet away and Bill and | putted out, Bill had a 3 and my score was 4. Billy picked up after a few more hits.

On number 3 my tee shot clipped tree tops on the right side and we were 145 Yards to the pin. Bill and Billy’s tee shots were not good. Our scores on the hole was 5, 5, 7. Billy’s tee shot on #4 was short and right. He said his “happy feet” was the cause. While driving the cart to his ball, Billy asked me if | still worked. | said, “Billy, | came out here to play golf not to think about work, let’s focus on golf”. | knew we had to play our best to have a chance to place. Our score on # 4 was 4, 4, 5.

After a good drive and second shot on the next hole, (Billy’s happy feet were still dancing). Billy and | reached on the green in three on #5. Bill scuffed and arrived there on his 5" shot. On the way to the green Billy said, he had cataracts in both eyes and could not see as good as he used to. | said, “Billy, please don’t discuss ailments, and problems, let’s play golf.” Billy shouted / muttered several words ina string as he stalked to his ball. | turned a deaf ear to him. We both made good pars on the hole.

Things were pretty good after that, other than the “happy feet” standard comments. Billy made a heck of an up and down from the gully on # 12 with a curling down-hill putt from 30 feet. Bill and | complimented him and Billy replied about his 4-putt on #11. Billy played better than either Bill or | and made two of the longest approach putts | have seen this year. He was 90 feet away from the hole on #15 and | said, “Billy, we need this one bad, sink it.” Billy rolled the ball to 10” and said, | didn’t see the brake at the end.” He made another terrific up -and – down from just off the green on # 16. Billy made one putt on 9, 12, 13, 16, 17 and good save – par putts on 4,5, & 8.

Billy’s happy feet were still when he hit his ball to 8” on #17 and made 2! It salvaged the round for us and we collected $8 apiece; his proxy and skin. At the end of the game we all shook hands and smiled at each other.

Billy shot 78, | had an 83, and Bill scored 94. Our turn-around was on #5. The cataract exchange did it. That morning | had planned to go to an eye clinic after golf and have my eyes checked for cataracts. | postponed it. My vision is rather poor and my dominant right eye has astigmatism. My feet need to be happy too, but I'll settle for a fun round of golf.

John Casey, 9/4/2015

| too had cataracts on my right eye and had it removed in Oct. 2015. It didn’t affect my feet.

My take on golf

You have to beat inner demons and doubts that start on the first tee and end on the last green. Golf demands near-perfection from wildly imperfect people. It is like battling yourself. Golfers are like gladiators — sometimes in front of not so adoring fans or fellow players.

I doubt that you can actually play one round of golf without getting to know your playing partners, or without ever asking them who they are; where they are from or what they do. Complete strangers unveil themselves (often unknowingly) to complete strangers. Jail might be too good from some but you might recommend some for a seat on the Supreme Court. There’s no better way to get to know someone better than through golf.

How we act and what we say, to others, ourselves, or to unseen gods tell so much about how differently we are as golfers and people. It is always a treat to be in a group of real gentlemen or ladies who are thoughtful — all of the time – and when the game is finished, shake hands with everyone while holding their cap or hat in their other hand.

Buffered by caffeine and adrenaline or (???) golf makes you question your sanity, especially when the first hole goes badly and you have 17 more to go. Or you throw up on the 17‘ hole and think you can’t finish. “Buckle up Bucky, let’s see what you are made of.” There is a challenge to combat the pressure and the tension that is always present. And, you can’t call time out.

Trust me; you will never play a perfect game. It’s being humble and knowing, for some reason, we’re being held to lofty standards. A pat on the back and hearing the words, “nice round,” is a memory trophy that we cherish long after our score is forgotten. The goodwill and respect we earned honorably is worthy praise.

I never pretend to fully understand how a golfer operates. To me it’s about getting joy from the passion that flows in me and caring about what I do. It’s not about being a perfectionist. It’s about doing something I truly love.

John Casey 6/11/08 367

Golf friend Dan

asked me last week if I hit down on the ball or just clipped it. I answered, “I don’t know.” He was disappointed and said so. It wasn’t an easy question and I knew it required a complex answer. I explained that when I am playing I concentrate on my game and rarely give anyone advice. I said that after the round I would I would be happy to help him, or anyone, on the practice range. I added that after I hit a shot I remain quiet 10-15 seconds to review and learn from it, before turning my concentration on my next shot.

We want a quick fix, something that gives immediate results. I reminded Dan during the round that he had a good swing and made many good shots. Later, I suggested that he consider taking lessons. His reply was that he was too old. I’m several years older than Dan and I take lessons. Not unexpected, my next shot was horrible, as if to validate my own suspect game. Dan made par after a good shot, a good chip and a nice putt. On The next hole Dan made a quadruple bogey. Golf!

My last lesson was last week. It was 30 minutes long and I did not hit a ball. I listened and watched the young teacher, an accomplished golfer with an awesome game. He explained cause and effect of several shots. He emphasized the mental game, not mechanical or techniques. He said he focused on being relaxed and confident. He said PLAY with freedom and trust yourself. I appreciated his sincere wish for me to regain my confidence. I am a mixture of mental and mechanical, and when | play.

A lesson from a PGA Tour player 30+ years ago helped mea lor. He gave me a small

bag of balls and said to warm up and he would join me later. He never saw me hit a shot. I wasn’t prepared for what came next. “OK,” he said, “let’s get started.” “I’m ready,” I replied. He got real close to me and looked into my eyes. Startled, I moved back and he stepped even closer. “I want you and me to talk and listen.” I hit 8 balls in 45 minutes. That lesson stuck. He is a Master PGA Professional and an outstanding instructor. He remarked to me at the end of the lesson that he knew I would hit hundreds of balls to ingrain the lesson into my game. He knew I had passion for the game and a moststrong work ethic.

You can start improving at golf quickly with fixes. Start with balls. Use hard balls, they are cheaper and go farther. A lot of balls are made for senior players. Usually they go straighter because of less spin. They bounce farther too.

A driver with a big face (460CC), a soft shaft (senior flex), (if your swing is lower than 90 MPH) and high loft of at least 12 degrees will help most senior golfers. Throw

away short tees and use taller ones. Tee your hard ball higher because you want to hit up on it, not down.

Get rescue clubs and put away your 3-4-5 irons. I suggest rescues because they are easier to hit with your slower swing (like mine too). The rescues have shorter shafts than regular 3-4-5 woods and are easier to get the ball in the air and avoid scuffed, low shots. I know older golfers that have 5-7 rescue clubs. They are pretty cheap too if you buy used ones.

Irons with wide sweet spots, large soles, bigger bounce, and softer shafts, plus good grips will improve you immediately. You will get more distance and that equals more confidence.

Let’s review: Always choose a target. Choose the right club (enough) to reach your target.) 80% of average golfers don’t do this.

Hard Balls: Ask the Pro at the course for suggestions. They go farther and cost less than premium balls. They don’t spin as much and that may be a good thing. Also they are usually straighter than high spin balls.

Driver: Large head (460CC); Senior shaft, high loft (12 degrees at least), and soft grips.

Rescue clubs: 2 or 3 of them. 1.) 18-21 degree; 2.) 21-24 degree; 3) 25-27 degree. Irons with larger heads, bigger bounce, soles, senior shafts, soft grips

My bag has – 5-6-7-8-9-W, SW, Driver, 3-metal, 4-metal, 18-21-24 and 27 degree rescues, and a putter. All were bought used. When I play a match, I will remove a club or two and change clubs to match the course that day.

Be like an athlete on the course. First, stand tall and flatten your back then bend at the waist and flex your knees (just a small flex). Your right leg is a stabilizer and lets you coil and build power and speed = distance. The right leg braces you. You can slightly point the right knee toward the target. Watch a pro do this on TV. Balance is a major factor. If you can turn your body against your right side, you will strike the ball with more power. And, you will gain distance with all clubs. FINISH YOUR SWING IN BALANCE! Pose for the camera.

Position your ball correctly in relation to your stance. Tee higher with your ball off of the inside left foot (left foot angled 15%). As you move down in clubs move your ball back towards the middle of your stance. A lot of low-handicapped

golfers position the ball on all of their irons in the middle of their stance. Some move the ball back of middle for short iron shots and open their stance just a bit.

Place the face of the club right behind the ball (almost touching the ball). Don’t place the club face 1-4 inches away from the ball as it will promote fat weak shots. I see lots of golfers position their club several inches behind the ball (soled on the grass). They hit more fat shots than skinned ones, due to hitting the grass/ground behind the ball. Skinny straight is better than fat pop-ups.

Golf is a target sport. Always have a target when you strike the ball. When putting, a target is critical. Most putts break. Learn to read a putt from all angles; front, back and side (when time allows). When you walk on the green your feet will feel if it is fast (hard) or slow. More bad putts are because of distance than direction. A target on breaking putts should be along the line of the break. Good putters (alas, my eyes deceive me and my nerves fail me) look at the target and not at the hole and

concentrate on the distance. Our mind foo!

s us because it can, and many breaking

putts are the result of looking only at the hole on all putts. I hear acommon cry, “I

didn’t see it breaking so much (or less)

Note: average greens are not fast ( 11-14). The type of grass is important, as grass is down grain. (fast) Dark green (or (slower) The same is true on fairways ani

It is common for golfers in a group the green and when it is their turn they ta they will aim at the hole. Watch other gol determine break and speed.

tis faster than it seems”.

about an 8 on a Stimp meter – pros play at is the grain. A shiny surface means the greener) grass is against the grain.

rough. Grain affects a shot.

discussing “their world” when they are on e little time to make their putt. Likely ers when they putt. It will help you

Driver set up: Tee the ball high. Place the ball just inside your left foot. Go through your pre-shot routine – focus on the target behind the ball before you step into the stance. Tilt your left shoulder up just a bit. Stand tall (at least feel tall). Bend at your waist, flex your knees (not a big flex). Feel balanced. Learn what it feels like to be balanced.

Should you hit down on the ball or just clip it? Here is my answer. We all move the ball around before we hit it. We are almost teeing it up. When we are in the fairway (short grass) it is better to hit down with irons. Most of the time hitting down will produce a clean hit and a divot. When it is perched on a tuff of grass we can pick it (clip it) with a sweeping shot, leaving almost no divot. Sometimes hitting down is better and sometimes a clip is better. When we are in the rough and higher grass consider clipping it first but if it isa tight lie hit down, especially with the higher numbered clubs. A clip or a divot producing swing has a lot to do with the grass, grain, height, texture, moisture, and type.

Golf is like cooking. Get good equipment, a good recipe, good ingredients, willingness to experiment, a sense of adventure, patience, an open mind, and passion and you may turn out a tasty meal or a good game.

I believe I’m a good teacher. I’ve helped a few who had a passion for golf. Those who are satisfied with just a little help, I can offer a few keys for improvement. I rather expect that a little help wears off quickly, quicker it there is a weak work ethic. There is a strong hint that you have the desire to get better and have a passion necessary to improve. I hope I’m right.

John 7/16

Don’t practice when you are playing. Don’t take lessons or hints when on the golf course; at least, no swing lessons. It’s OK for hints on position, aim. Do know the rules. Learn etiquette. Also, jargon. Watch other players and their balls when they hit or putt. When playing for shits and grins, PLAY FOR FUN, DON’T KEEP SCORE. When competing, stay in the moment and play to win. If the team is playing good and you aren't, be a cheer leader, nota grump. Don’t announce your shot (we don’t care); like. “I hit that fat; it came up short again, it broke the wrong way.” Cuss when you feel like it.

Logic or magic?

Eight golfers get together for a friendly game of golf and decide to choose two teams — two foursomes. Each golfer puts in $15.00 into the game money pot. The total pot is $120.00.

The game is called a Shamble. Everyone tees off on par 4s and par 5s and uses the best drive of their foursome, and then play their own ball to complete the hole. On par 3s everyone plays their own ball.

Scoring for the team is the three lowest scores on each hole for the first 9 holes calculated according to par for the hole. 3 scores on each hole counts for the total. The second 9 holes are scored the exact same way: 3 lowest on each hole.

There are two side games: One is called Skins and that is the lowest score on a hole (any hole) The second side game is called Stobs (also closest to the pin) on each par 3. The closest to the hole on a par three wins a Stob for the team.

The $120.00 pot is divided into three categories: 1.) Front nine, Back nine 2.) Skins 3.) Stobs.The total for the Scramble game is $72.00. $36.00 for the first nine and $36.00 for the second nine.

The total for Skins is $16.00 The total for Stobs is $32.00

Team Number one wins the first nine holes = $36.00 Team, Number two wins the back nine holes = $36.00. The Shambles games are tied. The payout is $72.00; remaining is $48.00

Team Number one has four Skins and team number two has four Skins and each skin is worth $2.00 and team Number one gets $8.00. Team Number two gets $8.00 Skins are tied. The payout is now $88.00

Remaining in the pot is $32.00 for the Stob game. Each is worth $8.00

Team number one wins one stob on the front side at $8.00. Team # two wins one stob on the front side at $8.00. Front nine stobs are tied. Total payout is now $104.00 with $16.00 remaining.

Remaining in the Stob pot is $16.00

Team number two wins two stobs on the back side at $8.00 each for $16.00. Team Number Two wins $16.00 more than Team number one. Below is the recap and true outcome of the game/skins/stobs.

Team # 1 = $44.00 = $11.00 a player. They put in $60.00 and received $44.00, losing $4.00 each player* Team # 2 = $76.00 = $19.00 a player. They put in $60.00 and received $76.00, winning $4.00 each*

*The way it was figured on the day we played team # 1 received $52.00 a player ($13.00 and team #2 received $68.00 = $17.00 a player.

Logic or Magic?

Reflecting on my golf game, its highs and lows and memorable and forgettable

rounds I also I marvel and recall the personalities and peculiarities of GOLF GUYS I’ve played with. I love characters and their stories and sometimes I manage to listen to some of them. The kibitzing going on with golf guys is constant, and entertaining. We talk about everyone and their habits, which are sometimes annoying, and sometimes hilarious

to us.

I offer glimpses of a few of the golf guys I have played with this year. I’m sure

they are recognizable to many players. Knowing that I will be singled out too (the pot

and kettle are both black), my versions are meant in jest and kindness.

10.

WE’RE GOLF GUYS–IT’S WHO WE ARE Swing Advice Guy. I hit a clinker and blamed it on the racket at the beverage cart, but the swing advice guy said, “I know what you’re dong wrong”. He grabs my club and says, “Try this.” His handicap is 25 — and that’s a stretch.

Slow play Guy. He thinks he’s honoring the spirit of the game by never picking up. His group may be two holes behind, but he will line up his putt for his 9.

Cell Phone Guy. A phone rings; “You guys hit, I gotta take this important call,” and announces to no one. “Hey honey, what’s going on, did you wash my jeans”?

Cart Girl Flirt Guy. The guy thinks he has a shot at the cart girl. He calls her darlin’ as she drives away and says, “Be sure to catch me later.” The others in the group wave good bye to her because she won’t be back.

Cigar Guy. “Nothing like it, straight from Havana,” then he tells everyone not to step on his $15.00 smoke that turns out to be a Swisher Sweet.

Narcissistic guy. He only notices his ball and proceeds to drive pell-mell after it passing balls shorter than his. He hits out of turn and starts sentences with “T’.

Ball Retriever Guy. He never passes a water hazard without a ball retriever in his hands and he’Il keep looking for golf balls until he is snake bitten

Volcano Guy. Soured by any bad shot, he shouts out explosive vulgarities and flings clubs. He may call himself vile names (J tend to agree with him). He has an extra ball in his pocket and hits a practice shot anytime, anywhere.

Plumb Bob Guy. This scientific guy holds up his putter and shuts one eye before announcing that his ball breaks left or right. He can’t explain his method to simpletons who don’t understand his genius.

Celebration Guy. He does fist pumps and offers knuckles to everyone after making 3-footers. This guy says, “YES SIR!” more than a buck private.

12. Head Cover Guy. He has vinyl or leather covers for his irons, comic animals on woods/metals, and a Velcro closing leather cover for his putter. All clubs must be cleaned and sheathed before this guy is ready to play his next shot.

13. Multiple Jack Guy. He waves his club over his ball going up and down and back and forth so much his playing partners resemble bobble head dolls.

14. Drive For Show Guy. This guy believes everyone is envious of his soaring drives, and blasts to un-findable places.

15. Logo Guy. You spotted him when he emerged from his vehicle. There is a company or brand logo on his cap, shirt, shorts, socks, towel, and his new bag.

16. Accessory Guy. Mylar labels with his name are on his clubs. He has a tee and ball marker clip on his belt, a groove brush, a towel tucked in his pocket, an ion necklace, a copper /magnetic bracelet, a wrist sweat band, plus sun glasses.

17. Comes up short Guy. This guy can’t get his approach to the green whether he is 150 yards or 45 yards away. This guy laments about everything, but never his choice of clubs.

18. Announcer Guy. This guy gives a complete analysis of what went right or wrong on ever shot: “I hit that one fat; took too much grass; hit it thin; hit it right, hit it high, it went past the hole, it came up short”, and on and on.

Wait, there more Golf Guys.

John Casey

435 Y% Bluff St.

Alton, IL 62002 618-670-5646

IJrcasey 134@gmail.com

746

GOLF

You hit down to go up Swing left and the ball goes right Lowest score wins The winner buys drinks

Trying to make everything perfect Before taking a shot Is a waste of time Hit it and be off

Fight the fear of getting worse The most feared opponent is you If you like playing golf in the rain

Your life is in trouble

At best golf Is an endless series of tragedies With an occasional miracle Followed by a good bottle of beer

Je – 3/2007

QUOTES AND NOTES ON THE 257! ANNUAL TRIP TO HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC

2/24/09 TO 3/2/09 About 8 foot high, right down the middle and long — Stork (Hill course) “Little 37 on the back” – Pooter (Shipyards) “Tl work through it.” – Baby Pro (Practice tee before the Cupp) Not long, but straight – Law (everywhere)

“Just give me a double” – Badgett (everywhere) “Hit that one on the toe” – Dusty

“KEEP IT SLOW BROTHER” – ASHBY TO Casey (Cupp)

“DID YOU BIRDIE 18?” – STOTZ TO SHURTZ (CCOFHH)

“YEP, | DID PRO” – SHURTZ TO STOTZ ( “ )

“525 TO THE RIGHT” – BUCK (ALMOST ANYWHERE) $5.25 FOR A PRov! “ARE YOU ON STEROIDS?” – SHAKEY TO CASEY (CupP)

“THAT HURT MY HANDS” – BONDO (DID YOU SEE HIS LEFT HAND?)

“I GOT THAT ONE” – TONY (arrer A285 CENTER CUT DRIVE SPLASHED AT #6 SHIPYARDS) “WHOA DOG!!! %&#@! _—_- Casey (#2 SHIPYARDS)

“GOT A BIRD ON #1” – PEDHAMS (@ # 1 SHIPYARDS)

“FIVE STRAIGHT PARS, 4 STRAIGHT DOUBLES” – DINGER (CCOFHH)

“ELEVEN DOUBLES IN A ROW AND FINALLY A PAR” – RICE (CC oF HH)

“’GREAT 3!” – AS TROTTER SANK A 2 FOOTER ON #3 AT SHIPYARDS) “SHOT ME A LITTLE 76 – 38 & 38” – STORK {THE BEST AMATEUR SCORE (HILL)} THREE BIRDS AND A NIFTY 84 AT THE HILL – BADGETT

“IT's THE SNEAKERS” – Wick @ CCoFHH “REALLY” – RANDY (ANYWHERE TO ANYONE) “NICE BIRD CUSH” – SHAKEY, ASHBY, CASEY TO CUSH AT #8 @ CupP

“THANKS FOR BREAKFAST” – To JR AND GANG AT 7831 CENTER COURT (EVERY DAY)

“YOU ABSOLUTELY MURDERED THAT ONE!” – EVERYONE TO BRETT HULL # 1 @ CCoOFHH

“GREAT BIRD, WooDY”- BADGETT, LAW, CASEY TO JIM @ #6 (HILL)

THANKS CurTIS, HOLZY, SWEDE, NEW Boy, PRO, AND ALL THE OTHERS.

“IT’S GREAT PLAYING WITH YOU GUYS, I MEAN IT.” – STOTLAR TO EVERYONE

(HILL, Cupp, SHIPYARDS, COUNTRY CLUB OF HILTON HEAD, AND EVERYWHERE) Happy BIRTHDAY BADGETT (MARCH 2, 2009)

THANK YOU – STORK AND STOTLAR FOR A NICELY PLANNED TRIP

PRE SHOT ROUTINE AND REVIEW

Warm up before a round: a few minutes of warm up will help a lot. Putting: 3-footers and 25 footers 5-10 min 3 balls (same make) Chip & pitch — 5 min —-3-5 balls — helps you get a touch Full swing — 5 min (3-5 balls) — lengthens your golf muscles Start your warm up with the club you expect to use on the 2™4 shot on the first hole before going to your driver for a few swings.

Set up like an athlete: Weight on balls of feet; body loose; (bend at the waist and keep your back straight). Let your arms hang down naturally; like an athlete Stance: You want to be in balance:

Shoulders -parallel to target left shoulder tilted slightly higher

Knees and Feet: parallel-a shade left of target

Right toe straight: (helps creates a right leg brace in the backswing)

Left foot – angle slightly left This lets you clear the left side.

Bend at waist slightly —- keep spine straight

Flex knees slightly-Bending them will reduce your power

Tilt chin up slightly – see the ball with the bottom of your eyes Grip: light, especially with the driver (when you swing you will tighten the grip.) A tight grip will restrict your back swing and rob you of distance. A light grip promotes a longer swing -=-more distance.

Ball position: Driver and fairway clubs — opposite left heel

Tee the ball high for the driver it will help you hit it on the upswing Don’t always set up to hit the ball straight. If you slice (70% of golfers do) — set up on the far right of the tee box and take aim down the left side. If you hook or curve the ball left, set up on the left side of the tee and take aim down the right side Play to your strengths and habits, BUT, DON’T AIM AT TROUBLE Long irons or rescues — 1 inch inside left heel. Mid-irons 1 -2 inches inside your left heel, stance slightly open Short-irons -center of stance; stance slightly open and narrower

Weight distribution: start of the swing Driver: 60% on right side (stance about shoulder width) Mid-irons: 50%/50% – Short-irons: 60%/40% – Extra on front foot (narrower stance) When you drive you want your weight to move (rotate) to the right side (think 75-80%%) at the top of your swing, then move (rotate) towards the left side and finish with most of your weight (90% +) on the left side — finish high.

SWING THOUGHTS

Belt-Buckle/Belly Button (BB) swing: BB points straight at the ball at address BB turns to the right 45 degrees in the back swing BB turns back along the swing line Let your BB lead the hands slightly BB keeps turning until it faces the target at the finish

When you are ready, JUST SWING THE CLUB you have selected. Finish your back swing, pause ever so slightly then swing down and through.

Back swing —- 75% + of weight moves to the right foot Mid swing — 50%/50% Follow through: with your weight transferring to your left foot Sand bunker near the green. open the face of the club. Rule # 1 – don’t hit the ball Rule # 2 — there is no rule # 2 Take a coffee cup of sand with your shot (think “a cup of coffee”) or image a $1 bill with a ball in the middle & hit the rear edge of the bill and the ball will come out.

Think out and up

Putting: Putting is the most individual part of the game. Do it your way. 99% feel – 1% everything else (mechanical putters excluded) Read line first then speed Bermuda triangle: Shoulders, arms, & hands acting as one e straight putt — Ball in center of stance e left to right — (A fade) ball one inch forward of center e Right to left — (A draw) ball one inch back of center Get the #@&%*! Ball to the hole

Practice, warm-up and playing are not the same but both are important. Practice can make you a better player. Warm-up can help you play better. When you practice on the course, don’t keep score and when you play, don’t practice.

Find out what club you hit a ball in the air from a level lie with no wind — be honest

100 yards

125 yards

150 yards

Be honest with yourself and get the ball to the hole

March 19, 2015

Arnold Palmer Enterprises IMG Center 1360

E. 9" Street, Suite 100 Cleveland Ohio

Dear Mr. Palmer:

My first and only trip/visit to Augusta and The Masters was in 2013. It was a glorious experience.

I wrote a story of my visit before I attended and submitted it to the local newspaper, The Alton Telegraph. It was published on the Monday following the Masters. My golf friends and others remarked about my experience.

I arrived early and was excited that I would see the opening ceremonies with you, Jack and Gary. It was a beautiful morning and a particular joy. Earlier, as you were boarding your cart to head to the first tee, I called out to you, “Good Morning, Mr. Palmer.” You turned your head my way, waved and said, “Thank You.” My friend, standing next to me, said, “Don’t do that John, they’Il kick you out of here.”

“Hogwash,” I replied. Not calling out to you, only a few feet away, would have been my regret. Instead it will be remain a wonderful memory. Somehow, I believe your acknowledgement of my greeting is in your memory too. Thanks.

Best regards,

John Casey 435 Ya Bluff Street Alton, IL 62002

Note, the story was both wishful and fictional. The real visit was even better. I first saw you in Grand Blanc, MI. You buzzed the course in your jet. Wow! I’m 74.

March 19, 2015

Arnold Palmer Enterprises IMG Center 1360

E. 9" Street, Suite 100 Cleveland Ohio

Dear Mr. Palmer:

My first and only trip/visit to Augusta and The Masters was in 2013. It was a glorious experience.

I wrote a story of my visit before I attended and submitted it to the local newspaper, The Alton Telegraph. It was published on the Monday following the Masters. My golf friends and others remarked about my experience.

l arrived early and was excited that I would see the opening ceremonies with you, Jack and Gary. It was a beautifill morning and a particular joy. Earlier, as you were boarding your cart to head to the first tee, I called out to you, “Good Morning, Mr. Palmer.” You turned your head my way, waved and said, “Thank You.” My friend, said, “Don’t do that John, they'll kick you out of here.”

“Hogwash,” I replied. Not calling out to you, only a few feet away, would have been my regret. Instead it will be remain a wonderful memory. Thanks.

Best regards,

John Casey 435 2 Bluff Street Alton, IL 62002

I first saw you in Grand Blanc, MI. (1964) You buzzed the course in your jet. Wow!

8:42 T time

Light breakfast, no coffee Kaki’s & blue shirt Black shoes Arrive at course by 8:00 Range balls—20-30 Warm up with half-shots Putt on close putting green Wet towel, Mark balls—red dot Ball marker—dime

Water bottle/small snacks

Introduction, no history , stories or

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You can do it Relaxed focus—stay in the moment, slow pace Think of the shot you are about to make

Take time to choose the club—par 5 Keep ball above the tree line. Par 3 Tee slightly higher Line up middle left Normal swing—three shot hole—par 5 Choke club slightly and use a tee—par 3 Room to the right, check pin before tee shot Use enough club—stay right

Room to the right. Tee slightly higher

If the game goes to extra holes advantage to me

Golf — Memory

Reaching the age I am now I thought golf would be relaxing and enjoyable; a walk in the park. But that’s not the way its turning out. I am pressing more than ever.

I get jittery over all of my shots, especially short putts. Then too, short shots, medium and long ones. It can’t be blamed on caffeine, clubs, wind, temperature, clothing, or playing partners either. It’s MEMORY! I remember all of the bad shots I’ve made over the decades. Add them up and there you have it.

I’m looking over a shot and my memory brings back a time when that shot did not come off well. Fear runs down my arms to my hands and into the shaft of my club and on into its head which then moves away from the ball, only to come back to the ball in a different angle than it left. Zing, zang, clunk (actual sounds) goes the sphere because I rarely miss a ball entirely and it goes somewhere I know not where. Even when I have looked up early to see it take off. Sadly, I accept my errant shot in quietness and despair. My playing partners seldom comment either. Self punishment is enough.

A golf course is one of the prettiest places anywhere where someone can hang out with people in multicolored clothing and gear and pretend they are having fun clinking and clanking a small ball that weighs less than two ounces towards and into small holes in the ground hundreds of yards away. Then the players count the number of times they hit the ball and add them up at the finish of the so-called game of golf. At the end of this frolicking over the land, they recount the number of times they struck the ball wonderfully and where it went and how far. They tell their story very out loud with the intention of drowning out the others recounting their exploits on essentially the same ground. I know this is true. How else can you explain why I have never remembered anyone else’s golf score no matter how loud or often they told it? Selective memory serves a purpose.

I quit telling my golf stories after telling one to Wayne Dunlap, who told it to others differently than my recall; ridiculing my boasting. There might have been other times but I can’t remember. It takes me about a week to recover from a memory of playing golf. Then, without the aid of a mirror, I will don ill fitting but comfortable clothes and pack up clubs, balls, and cleats and head out to where an assortment of fellows have gathered in great expectations of a memorable game of golf.

The golf trip to Southern Illinois — 2014 Let us play, let us play, let us play Players were eager and smiling The weather was spectacular Golf courses were inviting

Rend Lake was long – 27 Green Hills was groomed- 27 Governor’s Run was delightful – 18

Beer was cold Steaks were tasty And nobody bitched — too much

There are only two ways to play: competitively and for fun. If you want to play

competitively, you have to practice. If you want to play for fun, don’t EMPHASIZE SCORE.

Choose a shot you know you can make. Think about the conditions that will impact your

shot. Chart the courses you play the most — customize it for you Measure fixed positions: bunkers, rocks, trees, hazards — anything Calculate and note all approach distances Map out the entrance to the green, showing width of entry Measure the length and width of the green and mark the center From the tee: measure the distance to any fairway bunkers and hazards in play Measure the layup distance on all par 5’s. Find the area in front of the green that’s you are most comfortable hitting from with your choice club. Carry a compass so you know where North is when you map a hole and note the wind direction Walk the course backwards when mapping to see the angles and route to the hole Measure the dogleg landing area — first to clear and to the end of the area Use range finders and also use your steps/stride (My stride is about 33”).

When you go to the practice range have a goal and a purpose for the session.

Practice is not the same as warm up for a round of golf.

The name of the game is strategy. BASED ON YOUR SKILLS ONLY.

Once you have hit your drive you should forget about focusing on golf until you get near the ball. This keeps you from grinding full time, which is a drain on energy. When you get to your ball, it’s time to start thinking of the shot at hand. Whatever you were talking about before is finished and it’s just full concentration that goes into the next shot that’s about to be hit.

It’s not possible to have your emotions on an even keel the entire day. It’s OK to get excited and pumped up. Use them for positive energy. You can also get angry and use the energy up and then calm down into an overall feeling. Just don’t let anger last — say, about 30 seconds, and never call yourself a name that you wouldn’t let your best friend call you.

First thought when you are on the green and getting ready to putt -“If I were water, where would I go?” Bradley S. Klein, former caddie. Reading greens boils down to simple thoughts. Read the green three different ways, from wide-angle to tight focus:

1. The orientation of the golf course: namely, the surrounding terrain. 2. The orientation of the green to the golf course. 3. The orientation of the ball to the green.

Treat a putt like any other golf shot. Survey the conditions, select the line, calculate the speed,

and choose an aiming point.

Count’em up: Keep track of important statistics for you own game. Over a short amount of time, say after four or five rounds, your personal golf statistics can reveal some amazing truths.

From the tee:

Fairways hit and the club you used, especially when the situation gets tense.

Shot direction. Do you hit a fade or hook, a pull or push, a high or low?

How close do you get to your selected area on each hole?

Greens hit per plan. You may have planned to get to a tough par 4 with your third shot.

Track sand escapes

Track trouble escapes “ Short shots — getting up and down. Chip or pitch?

Number of 3-putts. Write it down, learn the truth

Misses: Do you miss more to the left or the right; Short or long?

Three footers are your “money” putts. Note your percentage of makes vs. misses DO NOT keep statistics WHEN YOU ARE PLAYING, IT’S ANNOYING TO OTHER PLAYERS AND LABELS YOU AS A NERD.

As you keep track of your shots you will become aware of your game and the decision that went into those shots. Remember the good shots, even if they were just a few. Remember the good putts, too. Bad shots are “interesting” and nothing more. Review the decision that went into each shot, not just the results. Don’t dwell on the mistakes, but think about the process that went into making those errant shots and see if there’s an adjustment that can be made.

Think of yourself as a team; AGOLFER AND A CADDIE too. A golfer has to play all the shots, while the caddie provides the “support” services and will provide the following essentials:

e¢ Encouragement after a good shot, understanding after a bad one.

¢ Conversation (inward, of course) to help the golfer stay loose and relaxed

eA sense of team support, so important to one’s confidence.

Caddies don’t like:

¢ Aheavy golf bag. Eliminate as much weight as you can.

© Gimmicky stuff —

¢ Golfers who don’t respect the game. Be respectful of other players and the course

¢ Golfers who can’t stand to be unconnected to the outside world when they play Success is not measured by what a person accomplishes, but by the opposition that person has encountered, and the courage he or she possesses to complete the mission along the way.

Example of a Plan to play this hole and an analysis of it.

# 1-515 yards – par 5 North. (The prevailing wind is from the southwest and is helping). OB left with trees and a mound. My target is the right side of the fairway. The terrain is sloping to the left and will help a draw. It will not hurt a fade either as the landing area (190 — 200 yards) is down hill. I can’t reach the green in two so my second shot plan is a lay up to 100 yards which is perfectly OK. This puts me in the “Mayor’s Office.” The fairway slopes to the left but there are trees on the right. So with my second shot, I'll aim just inside the tree line on the right and plan a draw and the ball will run back to the fairway. I pitch and chip the ball pretty good, and it’s OK to get real close to this green in two. I hit my wedge about 110 yards, the gap wedge about 95 yards and my sand wedge about 70 yards. The green is large — 38 yards deep and 25 yards wide. There is a bank behind the green to slow a shot, but a severe slope on the rear of the bank means trouble. It is better to be in the center of the green. The green slopes to the west towards the creek. There is hardly a level area on the green. The green is firm. This is a starting hole, relatively easy and a par is OK, a birdie would be great.

Analysis after the game and of this hole. Temp — 75; sunny; south wind 5 MPH; Warm up 15 minutes.

I played a driver and it was on the right side of the fairway. OK, but not long. The lie was down hill so I chose a 5-metal for my second shot, aimed at the right edge of the fairway and inside the tree line. It was a good shot in the fairway and I had 90 yards to the center of the green. The hole was 25 feet past center and located in the back right side of the green. I briefly considered a 52 degree gap, but thought it would come up short, even if perfectly hit it leaving a putt of 25-30 feet. The gap would have been safe, but the wedge would give me a better chance of birdie. I hit a wedge (loft 46 degree and choked it I inch to cut down on the back swing and give me a max distance of 100 yards). The shot came off just OK but checked quickly and left me with a 15 -footer short of the hole for birdie. The putt looked to run right to left with a level spot two feet right in front of the hole. I read an early break and then straight. The green was firm and fast. While the other golfers in my group putted I watched carefully for speed and break and I looked at my putt from all angles. Left break, fast; I stroked it easily and it slid by on the right leaving a6 inch putt for par. It was only a slight misread, but it was on the high side of the hole and had a chance. I congratulated myself for a good start and my processing of information. I'll keep this up the rest of the round.

If I taught golf to a group I would assign each person to prepare a plan to play a hole on a course the group will play. I would share this with all of the players in the group. Shared knowledge will help everyone and give different views/options that may not be considered by only one player. This exercise will let the group analyze every hole without having to do it themselves. It can be refined by each player

GOLF

You hit down to go up Swing left and the ball goes right Lowest score wins The winner buys drinks

Trying to make everything perfect Before taking a shot Is a waste of time Hit it and be off

Fight the fear of getting worse The most feared opponent is you If you like playing golf in the rain Your’ life is in trouble

At best golf Is an endless series of tragedies With an occasional miracle Followed by a good bottle of beer

Jc – 3/2007

Alabama – 2012

Everybody loves Max

He’s charming, he’s nice

A skilled player who smiles a lot But he’s not ordinary

He’s one of a kind- sorta rare

Mick The Quipster

Give him a line and

He will hurl one back

He is a gun toting rollicking story teller His bucket list is Six Miller Lites

Danny (Go fast- turn left) Meyers

Has a tee game and

A putting stroke to envy

And a classy shirt for every team he loves Zoom, zoom, zoom

Cecil, The Tennessee Squire

His talent is making and keeping friends He’ll go out of his way to say hello

He’s plenty long

Just ask him.

Rodney “The Basher”

His double strong grip helps Him drive it a mile

And he’s not bashful

And swells up without help

(Supermarket) Dana

He makes his own clubs

And swings them like Sampson

Well, maybe not like Sampson

But Dana puffs and wheezes when he swings

Larry (Mr. Nice Guy) Payne

He’s a remarkable golfer

And a most positive player

And keeps a towel in his back pocket That sways when he swings or walks

Lee (Ghram) Cracker

Ain’t no let up in this guy’s game

He’ll pick your pocket and maybe his nose, But he knows how to win

Everyone wants him on their team

Adam Cartwright —( not

Who will show up dressed like Adam? Why it might be him.

ah, he plays better (or worse) than that Must be his twin — today

He’ll surprise anyone, including himself

Bob (The Bull Rider) Van Doren

He’ll be on the practice tee before you

And still there after you leave

His bombs make him happy-His putts make him sad A medalist candidate every day

Terry (Traveling Man) Miller

He can hear a dime drop farther away

That I can hear someone whisper

Don’t bet him unless you are in the same group And feeling frisky — he wants to win BAD

I don’t know Sonny and I don’t know Ed So far they haven’t made me mad

They must be good guys

And if they won’t talk when I swing They’ll become my favorites

Andy (Dancing Bear) Kohler

He’s not much on story telling

He has a big sense of humor

But it’s not bigger than his soaring drives That I can’t see land somewhere out there.

Doc (Holliday) Webb

Come to think of it both of those guys Were gun slingers and drinkers

And card sharks and hard players When they weren’t pulling teeth

Scott (Double S) Smith He has all kinds of friends

He has all kinds of shots He loves all kinds of food And is kind all the time

Bob & Mitch (The BM guys These guys can, I’m told,

Lay down stinkers

That can wipe up good players, Beware, and carry tissues.

john

Use a pre-shot drill, it focuses your mind. Take dead aim. Visualize the line and trajectory.

Walk up to the ball and take your stance — square alignment – Check ball position —

Check upper body: arms hanging straight down from shoulders, hands in line with chin and ground (Centering)

Check grip. Look at your target, look down at the ball. Look down the target line and back to the ball — let-er-rip.

A pre-shot drill doesn’t take much time when you have

practiced it. Follow it, especially with the driver. You

can shorten the pre shot with your short irons when there is less distance to go.

A pre-shot routine will help you grove your swing and give you confidence. It will also let you analyze your swing and cause / effect — feed back. Lets you correct it quickly.

Using your putter (sometimes you may want to use a rescue club) from off the green instead of a chip or pitch to help

you score better. Less can go wrong. You can line up and

go straighter to the hole. You need a clean lie and smooth grass.

Sand play: Think out and on before out an up. A bunker shot is a flop shot for most players. Swing hard and follow through.

On full shots make sure your weight shifts from right to left. Turn your right side around a fixed center — your spine.

Hit enough club. If you don’t have enough club none of the good things you do matters. | believe most high handicapped players hit too long about 5% of the time – or less. 95% hit it too short.

Tee the ball higher when driving. This makes sense. It helps you deliver your driver to the ball in a slight upswing and gain distance.

Visualization is a skill, doing it right practically guarantees you to shave a couple of strokes off your score all by itself.

Pay attention to where you want your ball to go. Don’t say negative things like, “don’t hit it in the woods”, water, right, left, etc.

Sand: Rule #1 – don’t hit the ball, hit the sand first Rule #1-— there is no rule #2

Stand erect then flex your knees slightly, bend your torso, slightly, tilt your chin up slightly. Slightly means exactly that, no exaggeration.

stand tall then bend from the waist then flex your knees. Do not slouch, or have a rounded back

Don’t think so much. Do your pre-shot routine, make your best swing, and play. Practice when you are not playing. Think all you want on the practice range.

Predictions I’m pretty sure of

That Danny will knock in a long putt And John will miss a short one

Dana will grunt when he swings MO will yell and Mark will be quiet

Andy, Adam, & Bob will hit it long Mick will burn a friend with a zinger

Terry will pocket his cash Larry will say thanks fellows as will Doc

It will rain Shines on shoes will fade Creases on pants and shorts will disappear

There will be braggers And whiners, and winning smiles And everyone will count their money

And, No one cares, but I will. “Yes, I will. No, come-on, I will !” John Casey 2015

With a walking stick And still have a comfortable routine Is just not in the cards.

I’ve tried the swing factory guru

There are like Lessons from the fox and cat And the fox grins

And the cat sniggles.

Golf ruins perfectly nice tracts of land It is overtly racist, class ridden, snobbish and sexist

It is tedious to watch

It makes widows of decent women And de facto orphans of blameless kids. Golf is worse than eating people.

Golfers are not born, they’re made.

It’s a game that takes perfectly decent people And turns them into boorish narcissistic Blokes and wankers — sort of like Englishmen

It was invented by someone else, not English How pathetic is that?

Sniggering cripples and bastards

You know where this is leading?

It’s seeing friends of past good taste

Knock balls across fields

With apologetic shrugs and wimpering vulgarities

Keen and enthusiastic are not words

That you can apply to golfers

Deranged and psychotic are.

But so to is listing to country music hour after hour

For your own sanity,

Stick to food, telly, frocks

Anything.

I mean it. You have no idea what you're getting into.

The moment you pick up a golf bat You're faced with the realization

That this is an unnatural act

That might, no will, end in your ridicule.

Games that involve sticks and spheres Hands and eyes, generally feel natural Pick up a baseball bat or a tennis racquet And the movement to hit the ball is innate

Anything you do with a golf wand that feels right, Is wrong

Not just a little clumsy,

But utterly and comnpletely un-right

Where do you tee the ball? Be careful where you tee off. A teeing ground extends from a straight line between the front of the two markers to two club lengths behind it. A player is required to tee up within that area, but may stand outside it. The ball must be behind the tee markers. If it is marked in front of the tees in stroke play a player will incur a two-stroke penalty and be required to re re-tee the ball. In match play there’s no penalty, but the opponent may require the player cancel the stroke and play a ball from within the teeing ground.

Discussion: Teeing in front of tees is a common infraction that almost no one calls or corrects. Causes are numerous; tee markers may be lined up askew to the intended line of the flight of ball flight; there may be only one tee marker, but the common error is not checking that your ball is behind the markers. Sometimes golfers tee off from the wrong set of tees — like, instead of #11, tee from # 13 tee. Everyone is assessed a two shot penalty and must rectify the mistake before teeing off on the next tee or be disqualified.

Teeing up wrong occasionally may to be an unintentional error. Teeing it up wrong all the time is intentionally ignoring a rule. In friendly or non competitive games, Let the occasional one go, but remind the golfer to correct it the next time.

How/where do you mark your ball on the Green?

Mark your ball on the green by placing a coin or small marker directly behind the ball before picking the ball up. When replacing the ball place the ball in front of the marker and pick up the marker. Do not place the ball to the side of the ball when you mark it and put it in front of the marker when you putt. That is an infraction. 2- strokes

Place the marker behind the ball, not under it. Do not pick up the ball before marking it. Do not move the ball forward or slide a marker under the ball to mark it. You can mark you ball with the putter (toe) if you leave the putter behind the ball before marking it with a standard marker. You can lift the ball, but not your putter from the place you marked the ball. (clean and place or rotate the ball to line it up may be a cause to do this). You can hold your finger on the green behind the ball and lift the ball as long as

you don’t move the ball. Replace the ball before removing your finger from the green Clean and place could be a reason to do this, or to line it up.

Where do you place your ball when you are in casual water? Casual water is defined as temporary accumulation of water. No penalty. Place the ball in an unaffected position NOT NEARER THE HOLE.

Old ball plugs of ball marks in your line may be fixed/repaired but you are not allowed to tap down spike marks, scuff marks, dents, ridges, heel prints or tap down the surface of the green on your line of putt or tap down the edge of holes. Penalty: 2 strokes.

When do you correct a golfer or ask about a potential rules infraction? When the infraction occurs. Don’t let it fester. It is intended to correct a mistake from happening again. It is not personal. Golfers can not agree to break rules. A decision may be delayed until someone who knows (the Pro) decides

In golf, it’s important to choose partners carefully.

The Great Depression in the first decade of the 21“ century, rising costs, income stress and lifestyle changes severely cut the number of golfers who show up for a Saturday game of golf with pals and competitors. Perhaps too, health, advancing age and advancing scores contributed to the decline. A drop in the number of players on Saturdays led to changing the entry fee from $20 to $15, yet our numbers continue to pummel.

Former regulars aren’t weekend players as they once were. Where are the Coffees, the Carlyle’s, Jack, Rodney, Tuck, Scott, Bob, Mike, Gib, Bill, Gary, Crow, Dick, Clint, Max, Who Dat, and others? They haven’t quit playing have they? I believe they play week day games or with a handicap group. Some participate in leagues. Weekend tournaments, benefits, and fund raisers that compete with our group for preferred tee times. When we were strong and could guarantee 20 plus players courses wanted our games and gave us a discount ($5.00 was the norm) on green fees. That isn’t so now days as only 8-12 players +- show up on Saturdays.

Then there is the grumbling. Saturday’s game is still played for money. It’s competitive. When the game is finished we divvy out the money and go home. We don’t stick around and shoot the bull. I believe the dozen or so players (in good weather) are competitive with a strong desire to win money and those who do, come back and those who don’t drift away.

How many A players can you name? Being an A player is a tough responsibility with pressure to perform for his team to win money. I venture to say there is a wide spread between A players. The best A player is usually much better than the worst A player. Who wouldn’t want Andy Kohler for an A player if you were a B, C, or D player? Who wouldn’t want the steady A game of Mr. Terrance Miller? You just know your chances of winning MONEY goes up.

Not all of the Saturday players are Moose or Stosky League members either. The Stosky League uses a handicap system. Why doesn’t the Saturday group do the same? I think it can. Could a handicap system for the Saturdays be devised? Of course. Would it be exactly fair? Impossible. But it would be an improvement of how we select teams now: A nucleus of players categorizing Saturday players based on subjective decisions such as “I think is a (A,B,C,D) player”. We are judged by our peers. We grumble.

A model for the Saturdays can be from the Stosky League. It would allow the Saturday group to adopt a game that most of the players adhere to. Selection of teams would have a format and be fairer than subjective opinions of a few. I believe grumbling would sink and may disappear.

Sometimes it is necessary to remind ourselves of our authenticity. If we seek to do justice in our lives, to be civil, tolerant, rational, and forthright and to enhance the dignity not only of ourselves, but of the position we occupy and the culture in which we thrive, we need to experience the enjoyment of fair competition with out friends.

“Tf you keep doing what you’ve been doing, you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting”.

Ihave thought about the scoring system used. When there are four players, the scores of three are used; when there are three players, two are used. With a handicap system teams can be more evenly matched. For example: Twelve players show up to play and the following handicaps are listed below. 18-hole handicap (just double a 9-hole handicap)

4,4 2 players 6, 8, 2 players 10-11,12 & 14 4 players 15-16 -18-20 4 players

Team A is composed of one 4, a 11, 12, and 17 = 47 Team B is composed of one 4, a 10, 11- and 20= 45 Team C is composed of a 6, 8, a 14, and 15 = 43

Now, someone decides who are the A players, who are B’s, C’s, and D’s. There is no method, just group them and draw cards. In the above example, there are 2 low handicaps, two better and four in the other two groups. They have to be divided into three foursomes. (4,4,6) (8,10, 11) (12, 14, 15 ) (16, 18, 20) The draw may be like this:

A. 4,10,12, 16 = 42

B. 4,8, 14,18 =44

C. 6, 11, 15, 20 =52 The luck of the draw system means the A team has a better chance to win. The high team has a much less chance. B is OK. The teams are drawn this way every game and there is some jockeying of players. “He played good last week.” Etc. Who determines who are the A,B,C,D players? The meek ones like me don’t speak up, but others do, but complain. The LUCKY TEAM is quiet. When there is a wide difference in scores at the end, some of it may be from good play, but some of it is because of feeling of “we don’t have a chance” attitude and

they play lack-luster.

Is the format wrong? A shamble favors the long hitters. That is for sure. Put two long hitters on one team and it is a good chance they will place high. Put two short, but accurate hitters on a team and they will have to play very good to be in the money. I don’t think a long hitter – short hitter selection process is necessarily good either. Handicaps seem to be a better way.

When only two foursomes show up to play on Saturday it indicates players aren’t showing up for a reason.

I suggest that when there are just a few players, use a different format. Play for skins with individual scores. $10 in the pot. O.K. $15. Promote bets inside the group, make small bets with other golfers. Don’t play shamble every time and divide the money by percentage. Don’t mix the Stosky League into the Saturday game. It leaves out many of the group who are not in the league.

It would take only two-three weeks for players to determine a handicap. Let handicaps reach over to 18-hole games played at all courses. Posting handicaps for the Saturday group can be helpful to set up fair (more fair) teams.

Iam confident that individual play will help players become better, more reliable on their own skills and not dependent on others. When we do our best we know we have not let down the other players who are tolerant of our games.

Count only two balls of a foursome (individual play); it is harder to stack a team counting two balls than three, especially with golfers of wide differences in skills.

Count only one (or two) ball (s) on par 3’s (avoids disasters). I have seen two 3’s and a7 on many holes, haven’t you?

Let 3 over par be counted as a player’s score ona hole. Pick up after reaching that number. It can speed up play and relieve the player from agony and look forward to the next hole.

Require at least one drive (tee ball) from each player per nine holes. (or 18 holes) A team will pull for each other more when this is done. An encouraged player is more likely to do better when everyone is pulling for him to make a shot.

If fun and imagination is lacking in our lives we become bored with the same old thing. When we are concerned on how much money we win as a measure of our game we lose sight of the pleasures of playing with others. Money should not be our goal to play golf with our friends.

Selecting teams for Saturday’s players has been a method of determining A, B, C & D players, then drawing names of those players for the team.

WHO DETERMINES THE CATEGORY OF A GOLFER?

Answer: Someone. Someone decides to put a golfer in a category. Or is it a group of guys determining the category? Who is qualified to do this EVERY time? What are the qualifications of a golfer or the selector? How accurate is it? Often it appears that teams are stacked one-sided before the game begins. Arguments, whining, negatives often follow. “It’s the breaks of the game,”

they say. The breaks should be on the course and not drawing for teams.

The following method is suggested: Determine the game FORMAT AND — how many players per team?

From the pool of all players select only A players. They are usually easy to select. They are the best players.

The A players will select their team in the following format: The “A” players draw numbers for their team # (i.e.: 1, 2, 3, 4 etc.) for example. Order of draw 1. #1 makes his first pick from the pool of all players(not just B C D) 2. #2 then makes his first pick from the remaining pool of players 3 #3 them makes his first pick ”” 4. #4 then makes his first pick…”

The second round of picks follow thusly: #4 player makes the first pick in the second round

#3 player … 2.

#2 player 3…

#1 Player… 4

The third round is in this order: #1 1

#2 2

#3 3

#4 4

Discussion: The pool of players are by name only and not ranked by category. The A player can choose anyone. Sometimes a strong driver wants a steady player, or a good putter. Sometimes a player is “HOT” and is playing above his normal rating Sometimes a player is “NOT HOT” Sometimes a player has not played in a long time or is injured Sometimes a player plays one course better than another The Team is made by choice and it should promote harmony, enjoyment and reducing “The Luck of The Draw.”

It’s quick, and assesses how a player is currently playing.

Howd you shoot?

Don't give me a sonnet, Just a number. Please.

Handicaps – USGA

Your handicap Requires that of your twenty recent scores, Your ten lowest receive a “Handicap Differential.”

This becomes your “adjusted gross score.” Now subtract the USGA course rating, Multiply it by 113 and divide by the Slope Rating.

The differentials are then averaged, And the sum is multiplied by .96 Then rounded to the nearest tenth.

Your answer will be your handicap. It’s your potential score Rather than an average of all of your scores.

Choki “Thriving under pressure” Is actually trying to avoid the act of choking A state I am all too familiar with.

A golfer chokes when he lets anger, doubt, and fear Or some other factor distracts him before a shot. Anger, doubt, and fear are essential to my golfing philosophy.

What I need to do Is instill courage, confidence, concentration, Composure, patience, persistence and the elusive fword: fun.

There must be an answer to my putting woes. I have a dozen of the “truest” putters made and I think I’ve got it Until the first three-putt happens again.

Why not make all putts break right to left? No one can make a left to right putt, it’s unnatural, Unless you are left-handed.

On top of that, I have chronic launch-performance anxiety, It happens when I play in front of anyone. So, I checked my swing on a swing monitor.

The monitor indicated that my hands were rolling over, And the face of the club was turning inward. Hell, I knew that.

So, I checked my grip, realigned my stance Slowed my downswing and started launching the ball And the operator perked up.

“Your angle of attack Is good, So is your ball speed and your spin -rate,” he said. He added, “The new Ping G-50 is your ticket and it’s only $899.”

I'm flabbergasted that the monitor Could suck that much money from my pockets in That 15-minute test. I felt like turning cartwheels.

I now believe that I can hit a high launch ball With out the aid of sedatives or booze. Soon I will be 76 and I stoutly believe that I have not peaked.

John casey

SPRINGFIELD GOLF TRIP 2012 Optimist Pat Unflappable Larry Calculating Mike Steady Jimmie Dependable Bob Likable Paddy Loud (medalist) Zack Proud Billy Accomplished Miles Smiling Cecil Sweet Lou Chatting Who Balanced Dale Baby faced Bly Graceful Jeff Confident Steve Wild Aaron Magnificent Mo Organized Mike Efficient Mark Aggressive Dick Tallish (came with Pat & Dick) Tame (St. Louis) Jim Anchor Al MVP Doc Redraw Gene Panache — that other guy That guy John Thanks for the memories.

Golf stands proudly —uniquely even- as a sport that maintains simple values such as honor and decency, honesty, and respect. Golf is played without an umpire or referee, and so relies on the honesty and integrity of the golfers themselves. It is up to you to own up to any infringement you make when playing golf. Learn and play by the rules.

Etiquette is fundamental to the enjoyment of playing golf. You should be mindful of your opponent and everyone else on the course, you must not step on your opponent’s line (or extension of it), or talk, move, or make noise while they are playing their stroke. You should rake a bunker after leaving it, repair pitch marks on the green, and show consideration to your playing partners at all times.

HOW TO SCORE:

A golf course is made up of par 3s, par 4s and par 5s. Par is the theoretical “ideal number of strokes required to play a particular hole.” The universal golf scoring terms are as follows: A birdie describes a score of one under par for the hole; an eagle is a score of two under par for a hole; and a double-eagle (or Albatross) is a score of three under par for the hole. A condor is a 1 on a par 4. A bogey is a score of one over par for a hole; a double-bogey is two over par; a triple-bogey is three over par; and so on.

The handicapping system:

A golfer’s handicap is expressed as a number which, broadly speaking, has a direct correlation with a figure known as the Standard Scratch Score. This reflects, to a certain extent, the degree of difficulty of the golf course. For instance, a 16-handicap golfer will, on average, complete a round of golf in a score of 16 over par. A 12-handicap will generally score12 over par. The lower the number of the handicap the better the player. A golfer with a handicap of zero is described as a “scratch” golfer.

Better than scratch is described as a plus-handicap. These golfers are among the top amateurs and it has been known for some to reach plus-five or even plus six. Professional golfers do not have handicaps, as their level of ability means that they should be playing to scratch or below on every occasion. For the most part when players wager or bet on a game, the low handicap player give a higher handicap player “strokes” equal to (or sometimes less) than the total number of strokes different. Thus, a 4 handicap golfer may give a 10 handicap golfer 6 strokes for the round. One stroke is given on each hole with a handicap index of one through six, which are usually the six toughest holes. One stroke is

deducted from the actual score the golfer has on the “stroke holes.” There will be a gross (total) and a net score. The maximum handicap: 36 for 18 is the standard.

Honors (hitting first on a hole) belong to the golfer with the lowest score on the previous hole. In case of a tie, or ties, go back as far as necessary to determine honors.

The golfer whose ball is farthest from the hole plays first. It doesn’t matter if a player is not on the green, if he is closer than another player the one farthest plays first.

Types of Play

Stroke play: each golfer marks a scorecard after playing each hole and adds up the total strokes for the round. The lowest score wins.

Match play: each hole is a match in itself. A hole is won by taking the fewest number of strokes. So, if you win the first hole, you are “one up.” Win the second hole and you are “two up.” If you lose the third hole, the match is back to “one up.” Holes where the same number of strokes is taken by both players are said to be “halved,” and the match score stays the same. The outcome of the match is decided when one player is “up” by more holes than there are left to play.

Singles match play: A fair game is for the low handicap player to give the higher handicap player strokes based on three-quarters of the difference in the handicaps. (Used at St. Andrews)

Foursomes: The team with the lowest combined handicap give strokes to their opponents based on three-eights (or 2) of the difference between the handicap. (Used at St. Andrews)

NEGOTATION IS EXPECTED WHENEVER GOLFERS ARE NOT MATCHED EQUALLY.

Comrades — I wear my emotions on my sleeves

One of the joys of adult life is friendships. Friendships among men are difficult for males to define. Friends of one’s adulthood offer support, steadfastness and tough love. They bring knowledge, openness and acceptance. Friends come in different styles, ages, personalities and habits; we relate to each one differently. I learned what a wide bunch of friends Ihave. I’ve had my imagination stirred, my tolerance (yes I have) expanded and I’ve had a lot of fun.

My writings speak of friendships. I confess that I enjoy going back to read my old poems and essays about friends. What’s most important to me about writing is the learning along the way. I have learned a lot about friendships from my friends.

Golf has been my passion for almost 50 years. The game fascinates and provides enjoyment for me. Someone may love golf as much as I do, but not more. The enjoyment of golf is not only in playing the game it is also about the relationships it provides. It also lets a player connect with nature, a major contribution to its enjoyment. But, mainly golf is about self. You really get to know yourself when you play.

Writing is how I learn. My receptors respond to written words. Whether it’s pen to paper or fingers to keys, my thoughts are recorded. I started writing about golf when I first started playing. At first it was about, rules, vocabulary, techniques, and measurements —Later it would evolve into “feel, personality, relationships, and competition.

Fortunately from the start I learned and played with players not only skilled, but who also had good character. I was proud to stand next to them whether on or off the course. When I began writing about golfers I attempted to capture their game, their characteristics and their personalities. When I passed along a story or poem to a person I had written about I found that they liked them. Recently an old friend showed me a yellowed piece of paper that he pulled from his wallet. It was a poem I had written about him more than 20 years ago. That kind of stuff is why I write.

The trips I have taken with groups gave me an opportunity to write about the games and friends. I write without notes after the trip is finished. What I write surprised many. They hadn’t noticed I was paying any attention to them. I’d be wrong to say that I don’t care if someone likes or approves of what I write, but it won’t make much difference in my game or how I feel about them.

John Casey 2012

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In the pie chart of my life golf occupied a large slice. It became a full blown obsession. I practiced my swing everywhere; in line at the movies, the library, restaurants, even supermarkets. I’m surprised that I wasn’t struck by a car or put ina place I couldn’t leave. I was preoccupied with the latest techniques. I practiced Zen like. It was a form of meditation for me. Golf was my yoga.

Golf togs became my focus. First kakis with Ban-Lon clingy shirts, polyester pants in paisley or brighter than rainbow colors, kilties on my spikes and a tam for a hat. My outfits were like extra appendages of my body. Lay people were aghast at my attire, which I took as the highest form of flattery and newfound respect of my fabric taste.

Back then, collars on shirts were mandatory and steel spikes on two-tone saddle shoes were the norm, as were high front visors. Crayon colored V-neck sweaters were worn over solid shirts. My Hogan irons were blades with sharp edges. Real wood headed clubs plus a Bulls Eye putter were in my golf bag that had two pockets. I had an umbrella plus plastic rain gear that made my body steam. My white golf balls were 90 compression Titlists and had to go through a round test before I would pay $1.25 for a sleeve of three. I used 1 inch tees and marked my ball with a Mercury dime. Golf courses had two sets of tees; blue and white. The greens were mown by mowers with metal wheels. Broken handled rakes were used in bunkers. Carts had three wheels but no windshields and were parked October 1* until March 1.

Look at clubs and gear now: lightweight designer bags have zippered pockets for valuables, a cell phone, a water bottle, plus a clothes closet for micro fiber togs and three dozen new golf balls. Clubs are designed by cosmic engineers and scientists using materials and components shaped by lasers. Some clubs have moving parts. Some blokes cover their irons with slip on guards their kids gave them. Not me. Clubs are fitted to deliver the launch angle, ball speed and spin, to correct slices or hooks. Additionally, your clubs need balance and Motion of Inertia (MOI) or anti-twisting you don’t know anything about. Balls that can’t cut have multiple layers over a smart core to deliver just the right spin for anyone’s game. Everyone has at least two dozen playing balls and several they don’t mind losing. Carts costing more than a family car back then are marvelous machines with automatic brakes, windshields and covers. They have four drink holders plus a place for balls and tees on the steering column. Players have smart phones with Wi-Fi plus the weather channel and stock market news. Is a voting machine next?

Have golfers evolved? Probably not much. Collars have practically disappeared and metal spikes have. Gad awful combinations of shorts, pants, and shirts are still worn with pride. Guys over 50 wear their shirts out and denims are not just for cowboys and gangs. Players have a clip on laser range finder for 20,000 courses, and most golfers still come up short. Ball picker-uppers are common as are extension pole ball retrievers. Gimmes are pleaded and negotiated and a source of raw feelings of HONEST GOLFERS. Courses have multiple sets of tees and there again is a source of grumption. Ages of those playing from the up tees are not asked for a genuine identity card. Grass on fairways is shorter, the rough longer and the sand smoother, but still the game is about the same. Long and short hitters still lose balls, hit screamers, putt erratically and blame

unlucky bounces kept them from shooting a career round. Their language has never been clean and won’t improve.

I love golf. It helps me deal with every day life. The problem for me in golf is fear. Fear of scoring badly, fear of letting down playing partners, fear of hitting the ball in the water, the woods, popping it up, or shanking it. Fear causes my muscles to tighten up. The swing that follows causes my opponents to smirk, which I hate. Fear teaches me that I can not suppress the fear and must continue to swing away and accept my fear of being judged as an ingrate, letting down people who count on me. I fear an aneurysm might happen without warning, that the bump of my neck is melanoma. I fear dealings with women. No luck so far. I think I need to swing slower and keep my head down.

In ending this mess of words I want to ask a question that has been nagging me; “How did that snake on # 7 at Rolling Hills manage to bite the perfect golfer to get “Snake Bit”?

843

John Casey

435 2 Bluff St.

Alton, IL 62002 618-6790-5646

jreasey 134 @ gmail.com

832

All golfers, regardless of age, playing from the senior tees is wrong. Blind draw for teams and designating rank of players is wrong.

Proof: An intelligent and fair minded Alabama trip coordinator carefully selects teams for all games is keeping the spirit of golf and fairness a priority over money. No one ever complains about their team when in Alabama because it was chosen with consideration of maximum enjoyment and competition. Players know they are in a true competitive game and likely will play better knowing that. They will have more fun too.

Games in Alabama are different than in Illinois. A poplar game in Alabama is a two- man scramble: A-D; B-C for example. Also, a poplar game is for AB players in foursomes and CD players in others. There is a spirit of competition among individual players in this kind of game that is not present in the IL game. Also, in Alabama, a maximum of 3 over par on a hole is allowed- it speeds play. Adopt this for the IL games.

Playing a shamble for 18 holes is akin to playing a scramble. Neither measures the abilities of individual golfers. When an A player can drive the green on several holes from the senior tees most players can score well. When a big hitter drives 50 to 100 yards urther than most players there is a distinct advantage for his team. Given a choice a player will choose a long hitter over a straight hitter every time.

Choose teams differently than blind draw and slotting players. It is relatively easy to select the top/better players. Let them choose their own teams from the field of all other players.

Example: Rank the best players, best to worst, (1-4 for example) for the course to e played. Then choose players in this order: The worst of the best is first to choose a player for his team from the field of all other golfers; then the next best, etc. When round one is over, the best player choose first and follow this order until teams are made. Using a 4 team format;

Round one – #4 – chooses first – # 3 is next – # 2 is next, and # 1 is last Round two – #1 – chooses first – # 2 is next – # 3 is next, and #4 is last Round three -#4 – chooses first – #3 is next – # 2 is next, and # 1 is last

No cards to draw, no random selection of B,C,D players. Luck of the draw has no part in this method. This will improve chances for balance, fairness, compatibility and enjoyment. = FUN.

Golf terms U-Turn is when a ball circles the hole and comes back at you. A Margarita is when a ball circles the edge of the hole before falling in.

It’s well known in my group | don’t want anyone but me to talk to my ball when it’s airborne. When they do, I’m likely to remark, “keep your lips off of my ball.” Other words are examples of things golfers yell at a ball:

GET DOWN! GET UP! HOOK DAMMIT! GROW TEETH, FADE, BE THE RIGHT STICK, BOUNCE, SETTLE, KICK RIGHT, HIT A HOUSE, RUN, STOP, BITE. You know others.

Poor shots get special attention. They are stabbed, cut, pulled, yanked, heeled, skied and gutted. Good shots are purred, flushed, crushed, nailed, hammered, and oh baby. Fore is a word often heard and it is shorter than saying “Watch out, here comes my Bridgestone.”

We could go on for hours using nothing but golf slang because the language of golf is colorful and limitless.

Golf The Bewitcher

The golfer truly believes in long engagements. He wants a mistress as fickle as she is bewitching. She leads him on with little favors that fill him with hope of conquest. [hen she scorns and humiliates him and leaves him despairing. He is through, finished, kaput. He hides in rage.

He comes back of course. Suddenly the miracle happens. He can do no wrong. He sees things clearly. He is Murder Incorporated off the tees and sudden death on his approaches and his putting accuracy on the greens is phenomenal. In his great joy, he inds he loves all his fellow men, especially those in his own foursome. He wants to share his newly discovered secrets. He gives them freely to everyone. He is a saint for generosity.

But the game, the bewitcher, will take care of him. Just when his confidence is highest, his happiness indescribable, she will let him have it. He will dub his drive, he will blunder his way, into a trap, he will three putt. He will be chastised. He will know humility again.

Humility is the magic word. No man ever reaches that point at which he can say: T have learned the secret, I have conquered the bewitcher. Golf is man’s most humbling diversion. For that reason alone, the greatest game he has ever devised.

No man who golfs is so stubborn, so conceited, so arrogant or so accomplished that he is not constantly striving to improve his score. He may pretend that mediocrity is enough for him. He may say, “I’m having fun, that’s all that matters, that’s good enough for me.” This man is telling a lie and he knows it. Every golfer, at the bottom of his heart

wants to play the game relatively well. VA 40 fp Mf yn, beasf

Golf the Bewitcher

The game is both fickle and bewitching. It leads you on with little favors that fill you with hope of conquest. Then it scorns and humiliates you and leaves you despairing. You are through, finished, kaput.

You come back of course. Suddenly the miracle happens. You can do no wrong. You are Murder Incorporated off the tees and sudden death on your approaches and your putting is phenomenal. In your great joy, you find you love all your fellow men, especially those in your own foursome. You want to share your newly discovered secrets. You give them freely to everyone. You are a saint for generosity. You are also a pain in the arse.

But the game, the bewitcher, will take care of you. Just when your confidence is highest, your happiness indescribable golf will let you have it. You will dub your next drive, you will blunder your way into a trap, and you will three-putt. You will be chastised. You will know humility again.

No man ever reaches the point at which he can say: I have learned the secret, I have conquered the bewitcher. Golf is man’s most humbling diversion. For that reason alone, the greatest game he has ever devised.

No man who golfs is so stubborn, so conceited, so arrogant or so accomplished that he is not constantly striving to improve his score. He may pretend that mediocrity is enough for him. He may say, “I’m having fun, that’s all that matters, that’s good enough for me”. This man is telling a lie and he knows it. Every golfer, at the bottom of his heart wants to play the game relatively well.

293 words

John Casey: 435 2 Bluff St Alton, IL 62002 670-5646 jreasey 134@gmail.com

Golf tips (2015)

SWING ‘SHOULDER TO SHOULDER’ Play three-quarter shots with your short irons. Swing your short irons so your hands go back about even with your shoulder and finish the same way.

HIT THE BALL LOW, GET AHEAD OF YOURSELF TO HIT THE BALL HIGH, KEEP YOUR BODY BACK

THINK TARGET,

PAUSE TO PACK POWER INTO YOUR SWING

A slight pause at the top (the point you are trying to get to before you start down) lets you release the club smoothly and powerfully. You can accelerate on the downswing as much as you want and go aggressively after the ball, as long as you stay in balance.

COCK YOUR WRISTS TO UNLEASH MORE POWER Hinge the wrists before your hands reach shoulder height on the backswing; unhinge them on the downswing and then hinge them again before your hands reach shoulder height on the follow-through.

YOUR LEFT WRIST IS THE KEY TO HITTING CRISP, LOW CHIPS Your left wrist should remain flat and slightly closer to the target than the club head.

USE THE CLOCK, a short game tip

Monitor the length of your backswing and follow-through, as if you were “on the clock”.

Use a ‘tick-tock’ motion. Graduate from a 7 o’clock backswing -to-5 o’clock forward swing; to a 10-to-2 swing; (7-to-5; 8-to-4, 9-to-3, 10-to-2, & 11 — 1). Discover which trajectory works best for each distance to help you with your club choice. Add about 10-12 yards to each sequence on the clock..

CONSIDER HOW THE WIND AFFECTS THE BALL 10 MPH wind against = one club more (about 15 yards) 10 MPH wind with = ¥ club less. (about 10 yards)

SAND KNOWLEDGE

Hitting from the sand requires three times as much swing as a shot of the same distance played outside the bunker. Make an aggressive swing and accelerate through the sand. SPLASH shot in soft sand (2” behind the ball): SPLAT shot in firm (or wet) sand (1” behind the ball). Hit the ball first in fairway bunkers. Play the ball a bit farther back in your stance than normal.

Grip club out in front of you (see your grip and how it relates to the face of the club)

Shoulders, knees, toes, parallel to target. (imagine an arrow through them in a straight line)

Bend from waist, (keep spine straight) flex knees slightly

Take a last “absorbing look” at the target and visualize flight, direction.

Start swing with a slight forward motion (forward press or rocking movement)

Start swing by pushing away with left arm and shoulder

Butt of club should be pointing towards the ground behind the ball- half-way back. This means you have cocked your wrists.

Coming into the ball

Right shoulder lower than left Shoulders open

Hips more open

Right knee pointed in

Right arm – close to the chest

Hands ahead of club head

Left wrist flat (towards target) at impact

Drive right knee towards the left knee (feel the power move) UNLEASH the club head through the ball!

Release the hinged wrists — “like casting with a fishing rod” Free-wheel the release – “Crack-the-whip” increases club head speed Hammer the short irons – hit the ball before the turf

Pack a punch on your follow through – right shoulder pointing toward the target

Hold your position in follow through (pose for the camera)

When you have finished your follow through you will be in a position to “Walk toward the ball”

Hit balls off of an up slope when practicing with a driver

Turn – Left shoulder under chin, and your back to target – helps you coil and finish the backswing

Hands soft – arms relaxed – helps reduce tension/stress. Grip with your right index finger just touching the thumb – like “threading the needle”

Start the mower to start the swing. (Visualize the right hand/arm pulling the cord out and back to widen the arch)

Choke down on clubs for accuracy (Especially the driver, and 3, 4, 5,6,7,8, 9 & W).

In sand, keep the clubface open – Finish your shot

Swing to chest high on short shots and higher on longer sand shots. Think “Splash” in soft sand. Open club face & hit 2 inches behind the ball. Think “Splat” in firm sand (less open) and hit 1 inch behind the ball. Soft sand, more roll; firm or damp sand, more spin-less roll.

Think “TARGET” not the golf swing on all shots.

Trip — 2013

For weeks a group of golfers who normally play and hang out at Rolling Hills in Godfrey have talked about the fall golf trip. They are referring to a trip that Mike Meyers puts together for 32-28-24 golfers that might make the excursion. 32 is the maximum number of players and 24 may be the final result of semi committed players, depending on health, family reunions, birthdays and things in general. The oldest player is 85+ and the youngest, a fading shade over 30, make up the mixed bag. Mike goes on faith that everyone will pay him for the trip, and books a long weekend of golf somewhere in a 100 mile radius of Godfrey. The gang will play 72 holes in three days. The group will stay in a medium-upgrade hostelry that welcomes the trade and provides comfortable quarters and sufficient free fare for evening snacks and a modest breakfast.

The game is two-fold; the drawing or selecting of the teams into competitive groups, and the actual game. Griping starts soon after Mike has announced the trip, continues through to the approaching date and reaches a crescendo when teams are announced at a breakfast meeting on the actual day of the trip. This is not a democracy ran event. A common cry of woe of the players is that they are saddled with a team without a chance of winning. Sometimes that’s a truthful statement and sometimes it is in jest. Results will always be different. Players secretly hope they are paired with the best and hottest golfer.

Three players in the group actually hit practice balls and most will putt erratically on the practice green before they play. The game begins. The white tees are for players not yet 65; green/grey/gold (whatever the sr. tees are painted) are for 65 to 79 year olds, and over 80 year olds hit from the red tees. But the game is still not fair; some will call out, when a 70 something is a good driver of the golf ball. D players are the quietest of the group (except for one or two mongrels) because they are generally thankful they are on the trip and upright.

At the end of 18 holes the group starts a new game (a scramble). So, for six + hours the foursome is together. One would think bonding would occur among the players, but that is not always the case. Abuse is heaped upon players as though they were foreigners, bad cousins, family members, or mental cripples, and I’m talking about the good things they say. All is not alcohol induced either. Some meanness is demonstrated. At the end of the games the clan regroups in pods near or in the club house to calculate the results of the scores. A 30 dollar entry fee is paid and the various categories are up for a percentage of the pot. A sizeable group hovers around the scorer’s table ever watching the results. This is not a quiet gathering either. Alcohol has something to do with the color of the language and the loudness of the group. There is one large roar. Meek players seek solace and quietly voice their frustrations with fellow sufferers. Bragging is common. Recounting stroke by stroke of a game bores the hell out of a listener, but doesn’t deter the telling of their own unbelievable putts or drives.

When results are split, the captains of the teams receive their team’s winnings and divvies up the rewards to the members of his team. Few players know or learn how they actually won money, but they don’t mind, if they get something back. Tomorrow will be another game, another team.

Players, like soldiers from a war, trundle home for rest and quiet; glad for the going, but happy for their return.

John Casey Oct. 7, 2013

The family gathering includes, the Deeders, The Ebblers, The Meyers, and the Dunlaps, add Doc and Al, Mark and Miles, St. Louis Jim and Dale, Bart, Knight, Cecil and Dick, Harold (Who- Dat), and Matt & Jim, Paddy, and the others I’m leaving out, unintentionally, like Larry and Gene, of course.

What's wrong with playing by the rules?

Last Saturday I asked a member of team # 1 if the A player on his team had given him a putt or two that he would not have given to himself. His reply was “A time or two.” I asked him another question; “Did the A player give himself a putt or two.” The answer was yes. The answer confirmed that the player commonly gave putts that should be putted. Last week I was on a team with the same A player. My second shot on a par 4 ended up 22” behind the hole on a level green. I three putted. Nerves, of course, but missing two putts of less than two foot was, well, golf.

Also, After the game on Saturday I asked a member of team # 1 if anyone in their group hit into the water on # 13 and the answer was yes; two guys. They went to the other side of the lake and played from an invisible drop zone 20 or so yards up hill from the green. Others do it too is acommon phrase and I surmise that it means, if it’s right for them it is right for me. But two different drop zones that really aren’t there, puzzles me. Two wrongs is also a common phrase.

A friend of mine, not an A player now, told me that he was not going to play witha player that he said hits in front of the tee markers and marked his ball on the green to the side of the ball and when he placed his ball to putt, places his ball in front of the marker. A couple of weeks later the player was again drawn to play on this player’s team. My friend refused to play with him and joined another team. When I was pared with this player later I observed the same infractions. After 9 holes I became distracted and asked a team mate what I should do. Confront him or just let it go. Silently, I let it go and ignored watching him as he played. I plan to talk to him before I play with him again. He plays regularly with the Saturday group.

In a not too distance past one of the Saturday golfers teed his ball in front of the markers on every hole. He was a A- or B+ scorer and friendly as heck. No one said a word. On Saturday he was on a team with me and I coaxed a bet from a teammate that the guy would tee in front of the tee markers on every hole. The bet was $5.00 and was quickly accepted. On the 13' tee the bet was paid off. “I don’t want to watch anymore,” the bet loser told me.

When I started playing golf back in Indiana in the early 60’s my golfing friend said to invest in a good set of clubs, find a putter that you like, get good shoes, and read and learn the rules of golf. It was sage advice and helped me when I play. He said that when you play by the rules you can play with any golfers regardless of your skills. He was right. You can

play anywhere with anyone if you play by the rules and practice etiquette. This has been proven time and time again in my life as I’ve played with strangers quite a bit in all parts of the country. I have a good knowledge, but I’m not all-knowing of rules.

My handicap at Rolling Hills was calculated from scores on five 9-hole rounds playing my own ball. I played the ball down in the rough and up in the fairways. My andicap for 18 holes is 12. I believe that is pretty close, higher than I wanted and lower than an adjusted handicap on a tougher course. I seldom play the ball down now. I played two matches in the handicap section of the match-play tournament at Rolling Hills. I won the first match and lost the second one. We played the 14-club, one ball rule; ball up in the airway and down in the rough. For me these were the two most enjoyable rounds of 2016.

Your anger towards me on Saturday was personal, both by words and loudness. It urt me. The other players sided with you. I didn’t mind that, and it did not change my position that a ball dropped beyond the hazard was OK for you. I knew the rules and played by them on that hole. Dropping my ball on a line from the place it entered the water with the flag stick. Where it landed in the water was never an issue. Your ball was straighter and may or may not have cleared the water to hit the board facing before falling into the water but it did not land on ground beyond the hole. | though later that all I had to do to make a bogey was to drive my ball into the boards and lay it next to the green. IfI chipped it in it would be a 3. I recalled the last time I played the same hole | hit two balls in the water and took a 9. A fellow player that day scored an 8 on the same hole. We counted his 8 in the team game and lost the back nine by a stroke. | played by the rules and was not ashamed of my score.

Larry, you have improved your game considerably lately. It’s fun to see the enjoyment you have by playing better. You have invested in good clubs that fit you and gives you greater confidence. You feel good about your game. It’s impressive. Somehow, you have not matched your skills and desire with playing by the rules. I find that disappointing. You accept what others say or do as being OK for you. A man of the cloth is an example to members of his clan. He has a position of earned respect. Doing what is right guides you in your daily life, why not bring that trait to the golf course? I respect character much greater than skill at a sport. Be known for your character and respected for your game.

When a game ends I want to shake hands with my playing partners and say, “Gentlemen, I enjoyed playing golf with you today.”

John Casey

8/15/2016

Note: I relaxed after the game and had dinner with a good friend. Life is good. I want to be trusted on the golf course and will try to improve myself.

In theory, a one or two foot putt should be almost impossible to miss. Take aim and move the putter and the ball will go in, but when you get the brain involved, strange things can happen. Things are going on and fear creeps in as the memory of missed putts is present for the Yipper.

There is a monster around and ready to pounce on you as your self conscious takes control of your body or at least your hands that hold the putter. You suddenly become aware that the simplest thing becomes difficult, sometimes impossible and you start compensating for things without knowing what you’re compensating for, like the angle of the putter face, the speed of the stroke, the break of the green, and a hoard of complexities that get involved and you are no longer in control of any muscular movement. Suddenly, something happens and there’s a lot going on, and resignation sets in —another yip. Yikes!

I have witnessed the yips of others and was mystified. It couldn’t happen to me, I thought. Now, I know the players in my group are mystified when my nemesis arises. Some are quiet, some not, and the misery is all mine. I have compassion and a personal respect for the victim golfer who battles the demons causing the yips, yet continues to endure the woes that they bring.

Recently, I played an 18-hole round of golf with my buddies. The game was a shamble format (everyone hits a drive and the best one is chosen; then everyone plays their ball into the hole which results in an individual score). Everyone uses their own ball on par 3’s. [hit 13 of the 14 tee shots that the group used. My score was 79. I had 36 utts. One of the guys scored 69 and had 25 putts. His comment to me at the end of the round, “/’ve never seen you putt so badly.” Today, alas, I had 38 putts and gained a new set of advice givers. A best friend whose is a golfer and loves the game as much as I do, cut back on playing golf due to his yips. He made them legendary. He had rather have 10 to 20 footers than an 18 inch one. He hopes for a “‘in the grip gimmie” when he putts. He suffers mightily every round.

Very few players over 40 improve their putting, but not everyone gets the yips. I ave sought the advice of many, and many have volunteered their solution on what I should do to be a better putter. I have come to believe there are no putting guru’s. I have ad an incredible number of putters: short ones, long ones, heavy ones, light ones, bellies, anchors, blades, mallets, white, black, bronze, silver, and have tried lots of variations: left and low, flat left hand, split grip, the claw, eyes closed, eyes on the hole, long strokes, short strokes, one handed, and even humming when I putt. I have changed stances; wide, narrow, medium, bent over, standing tall, side angles, and even left handed. I had my eyes checked and found that my right eye has stigmatism, and my left eye is weak and needs 250 lenses to read my score card. So, I got glasses, two pair; one for close up (eyes over the ball) and one for long vision to see the line of the putt. That was never going to work. Then I tried bifocals and that was impossible.

Tomorrow I’ll try something that will work. I’m sure of it.

John Casey, 435 2 Bluff St. Alton, IL 62002 — 618-670-5646 jrcasey134@gmail.com

Young golfers are magic for golf. Their spirits are inspiring and their enjoyment is contagious. More than 60 young boys and girls, age 8 to 12, learned golf skills during a recently completed three-week clinic at Rolling Hills Golf Course in Godfrey, IL.

Zack Deeder, the best one-handed golfer I have ever known, was the junior golfer’s instructor and he was up to the task. Promptly each morning at 8:00 AM four mornings a week for three weeks Zack prepared the practice area before he called out; “Junior golfers come on up for today’s event.” A dozen boys and girls, dressed nattily, and with an assortment of bags and clubs ambled to the excellent practice area at Rolling Hills and parked their bags and prepared for their lesson.

When Deeder began the young golfers listened and participated. His banter and instructions were seriously funny to his aids, like Shane Smith, a professional golfer, Joe Swartz, a former high school golfer heading to college, Ryan Coughlin also an excellent golfer and in training as a club pro, Matt Cress who has a distinguished military career and an unbridled love of golf, and me, I’m John Casey and a golfer for 50 years. The Zack-Pack staff of volunteers, and especially Joan Stupprich, the coordinator for Junior Golf at Rolling Hills for 22 straight years, enjoyed working with everyone during the clinic…

Zack was entertaining as he commanded the attention of his class of young aspiring golfers. In a rat-a-tat-tat style of words and phrases Zack asked the girls and boys to do an assortment of drills. He had them clutch their golf clubs by the head, not the grip, of the club, and swing it in a pendulum motion. He illustrated the method by doing it himself. He wanted them to make their club go WHOOSH! They did too and their eyes lit up when their club made a woosu! “Louder”, he called out. They did it LOUDER.

The lesson continued with another skill developing technique and method. They hit short irons, mid irons and long clubs, drivers, and 3 & 5-metals. They putted, chipped, pitched, drove and had contests of skills. Success meant a new Rolling Hills logo ball or a Gator Aide. Balls zipped, skittered, flew, bounced and rolled all over the practice area. One young lad swung mightily at the ball with his driver and the club head came off and landed several yards away on the target line. He looked dismayed, but I said he could use the shaft for a guide to line up his next shot and he did just that. That’s adaptation.

As the drills continued the instructors watched and helped each young player improve their swings and strike balls. Learning was instant for many. I was envious of how easily they adapted and applied new skills. We all marveled at some of their shots. When a lesson ended many of the golfers accepted an invitation to play the executive course at Rolling Hills.

After the first session I was eager to show up the next day to help young golfers learn something new from Zack and his pack. With each lesson the kids improved and as they did, they gained confidence and became competitive. But they also encouraged and congratulated each other as they learned. They were polite, mannerly and extremely attentive. I’m expecting some of them will become excellent golfers. Some will play on golf teams, and may even earn a scholarship with the skills they develop. Whether or not they will achieve greatness will not diminish the refreshing goodness they bring to the Game of golf.

Tt!

It missed the hole by this much!

It hit a tree & bounced out of bounds! #%&*@! It plugged!

It bounced into the trees!

It broke uphill!

Its short #%é8*!

Its long #%8&*@!

It was a Titlist – what’d you find? A Bridgestone?. ! “Yes, that’s it”! It ran too far!

It didn’t break!

It’s in the water! #%é&* IT!

It’s in the sand!

It went left!

It went straight up!

It was the longest putt I have made all year! It was picked up by the group ahead of us! It’s gone! Screw it!

IT was a ball – the 2009 trip Thanks, John C.

Golf – the unwritten rules

1. Don’t be the slowest player Evaluate your pace of play honestly Be prepared to play when it’s your turn

2. Keep your temper under control

3. Respect other people’s time. Always make your tee Times

4. Repair the ground you play on Replace divots, fix ball marks and rake the sand

5. Be a silent partner (when its time to hit) Don’t take practice swings when others are getting ready to hit. Don’t talk, don’t even whisper. Know where to stand and when to be quiet

6. Make your golf cart invisible as much as possible

Leave no trace on the turf, avoid wet spots, park them

beyond the green when you can

7. look your best, your appearance speaks volumes about you as a person

8. Turn off your cell phone Or, do whatever you have to do to keep it quiet. If you must make a make or take a call, move away from the other players and keep the call brief

9. Lend a hand (or your eyes) when you can. Just pay

attention and watch errant shots. Help by looking for lost balls (only 5 minutes). Pick up that club left on the

fringe, it may belong to your partner.

10.Learn the little things Tend the pin when it’s your turn Hold the flag with your hand when tending the pin Lay the flag stick down carefully and out of the way Don’t walk or stand in another player’s line of putt Know where to stand on the green when others putt

Don’t leave the green before everyone has putted out

Freedom is never over rated and when you are free you are the person you want to be. Al Mans embodies freedom completely. He doesn’t teach it, he lives it.

“Ohm god, that man is aiming right at us,” exclaims a lady golfer in the fairway to the right of where Al prepares to drive from the nearby tee box. Al never saw her. She ducks quickly when Al swings and his ball heads far left from where she is hiding. He missed her by a mile. “HM God,” She expels in a nervous voice as she emerges from her panic pose. Al’s normal stance is unorthodox to say the least.

Stories about Al Mans pour out whenever people gather at Rolling Hills Golf Course in Godfrey, IL. There is no need for exaggeration, the truth will amaze you.

Al doesn’t get caught up in loft and lie, trajectory, MOI, or V groves. A video of his swing has never been made and hopefully never will. He swings like he has a bee in his shirt. His primary fear is his next shot after a shank. His “fire-when-ready” style of golf occasionally means that two balls are in the air simultaneously; one of them might be yours. Five hole-in-ones, all witnessed, attests to a benevolent golf god. He is everybody’s best partner. Al has never taken a putting lesson, but he said he doesn’t mind if his putter did.

His wingmen, Doc Dondaville, Mike Cain, Zack Deeder, Miles, Shane, Chuck, or any number of doubting Thomas’s have “seen it all,” in recollections of a round of golf with Al Mans. He loves smack-talking and can take it and wryly gives it back.

He claims that one of the reasons he plays golf is that he hates money. Al negotiates politely on the first tee for (1/2) strokes. It’s never whole strokes, like 2 or 3, strokes: its 4 (1/2) strokes or six (1/2) strokes. Al invented this game and others borrow from his wisdom. His bets are quickly settled and the first round is always on him, regardless of the games outcome. He starts. Happy Hour at Rolling Hills

He is not a hall of fame golfer, but he is a MVP one, and it extends to every relationship, and ever person he knows. Al loves his family and cherishes time with them; he loves his friends and cherishes time with them. He loves golf. We love him. Simple, isn’t it? Thanks Al, to us you are our MVP.

MVP – Al Mans – RGA – Thanks Man.

John Casey

435 Y2 Bluff Street Alton, IL 62002 618-670-5646 jre134@gmail.com

THE 197! HOLE

The 19" hole is a place to prolong A companionship of the 18 holes we have played. It is the end of a competitive activity and should Not end abruptly.

We should endeavor to part from one another With dignity and good feelings. Primarily this time of closure is a time of Remembrances, a time of recollection.

jc 2010

Paradoxically we can stay in the flow only when we get ourselves out of the way. Be attentive of the hazards ahead of you, but empty yourself of the fear of them.

Learn from every mistake, but empty yourself of any shred of self-hatred for your imperfections. Compete, but empty yourself of shame that you are not measuring up.

I learn a lot about myself in the process of playing golf. The worship of score is a temptation of golf. It misses the point. Keep score only if you must. When you stop keeping score you take the element of competition out of your game, and judging yourself and others. Forget the score and concentrate on finding your sweet spot.

Sometimes I write only a page or less. Each word squeezed out like a tiny, worthless little turd. What a waste of time. Yet when I come back to these few words they are likely to strike me as neat and my best work.

I have no capacity to assess the quality of what I write. For that matter, I am the same way about my life. Sometimes when I am frustrated, or have fear and depression and even despair, my writing turned out to be my finest.

A few of my poems are pretty good. An equal number of them are pretty awful. I have no idea whether one or the other emerges. My words seem to flow naturally and I may have filled as many as a dozen pages. Wow! I think —I was really hot today. Only later, I’ll come back to those dozen pages and they’ll mostly strike me as crap and in obvious need of reconstruction surgery.

Team Golf

I absolutely love golf. I invest, day after week after year, in challenging practice, and play. Iam holding fast to my goal to be better, to improve.

Compete means strive together. Play till the whistle blows; the last putt drops. You can grow your grit. Always compete, be all you can be. Reach for your best at every moment from start to finish.

Recognize that what you do directly affects the team. Character is plural. There is only one score for the team. It’s the collective effort of each team member. Always protect the team, use positive self-talk. Think team first. What can you do to help the team? We don’t whine collectively.

Happiness and success are related, they’re not identical. Life is a force of fortune instead of selfish grievances complaining that others will not devote themselves to making you happy. Harsh? I don’t think so. High standards? Absolutely.

Practice things you can’t yet do. Appreciate the beyond-the-self purpose of your efforts, and, when bad days become good ones, acquire the trait of humility.

You can’t quit on a bad day. You must, at least for the interval to which you've committed yourself, finish whatever you begin

Golf views and comments

I am amazed by the resistance a person has towards learning golf. Golf is not easy. It is downright hard every game.

There is a single most important aspect to learning golf and it is to count all strokes. That is the measurement of your game. It is not, however, the measurement of your enjoyment or lack thereof. But, keep score and count correctly. Don’t fool yourself, because you certainly aren’t fooling anyone else.

I shot 60 on my first nine holes to qualify for a league. Actually, I thought it was pretty good. It was the best I could do. I played with a real stickler for keeping score and that was the best lesson to start my career at golf. The 60 was the highest score of the qualifiers and it meant that I would be paired with the best golfer in the league. Fortunately, it worked out for both of us. I got better quickly and learned the game from someone who really cared about the game of golf.

I was hooked quickly and another real smart golfer gave me another lesson about golf; Get good clubs that fit. These two lessons really helped me when I started; counting every stroke and using good clubs.

A third lesson I learned very early the first year was the rules. As long as you play by the rules you will not have any difficulty playing with anyone. You are your own umpire in golf and it is up to you to know the rules. Within the rules there will be mention of etiquette and courtesy and this is the key to make golf enjoyable. You can count all of your strokes, play with good clubs and know and play by the rules, but etiquette and courtesy are all important when you are playing. Fellow players will soon forget what you shot, but will long remember your etiquette and courtesy, or lack thereof.

330

My first venture into golf was when I was 23 years old. I worked for Potter & Brumfield, a manufacturing plant for electrical components, located in Princeton, Indiana. It was 1964. The plant encouraged league participation in sports, including golf and I was encouraged to try out for the league by playing two nine hole qualifying rounds at the local golf course where the league would play on Tuesday evenings each week from late spring to early fall. My qualifying rounds were 62 and 58 for nine holes, a par 35 course. I was the worst player in the league and had the highest handicap allowed; 18. That’s two shots per hole for nine holes!

My partner was J.P. Grable, who was a “company man” in the executive branch of the company. I worked in production. Mr. Grable (J never learned or wanted to call him JP) had a handicap of three for 9 holes, the lowest of the golfers in the league. He wasn’t happy to find out he had to partner with me and I was scared of playing with him. JP, I mean Mr. Grable, had a cart (a three wheeler with a bar for guiding it), a matched set of irons, woods, and bag. His expensive putter had a cover and his shoes were black and white Foot Joys, all shined up. He had a big umbrella with a cover, in his bag.

I borrowed a set of clubs from a man in my car pool. for my qualifying rounds. The woods did not have face inserts, just checkered cut lines in the face, and a waxed cord wound around the shaft and hosel. The cord was loose and I re-wrapped it with tape. The rusty irons had very thin blades with sharp edges. The ancient putter was pocked marked and dingy, and the clubs were in a old heavy old leather brown bag. I thought the set was perfect!

The first evening of the league was a nice day; clear and warm. Mr. Grable was resplendent in a blue way. His med. blue cotton shorts complimented his light blue short sleeved shirt, and he had on a dark blue visor with his dark hair showing above it. His white tube socks were tucked into his polished shoes. His clubs were in his solid blue bag and strapped onto his cart. I put my bag of baggage next to his clubs and I thought I saw my bag move over a bit so as not to crowd the bag of enviable instruments.

Sure enough on his first shot, Mr. Grable lashed a draw down the middle of the fairway, smiled and put his club carefully back in the bag. I too lashed my driver, but made little contact with the ball and it dribbled along the ground hardly more than 50 yards away. Our opponents grinned before gunning their drives down the fairway. My second shot went hard left and out of bounds. My third try at the ball (my fourth shot I was to learn) rolled and bounced beautifully towards the green. I grinned at Mr. Grable, but he glared at me, before lofting his own shot on the green. He barely missed his first putt, muttered something, and tapped in his par 4. I got an 8.

On we went that first evening and by the 7" hole I was happily engaged in golf. My score for the evening was 54. Mr. Grable had a 37, not bad for the first time out with a novice like me. He kept score, I kept count of the times I hit the ball and said so after we completed each hole. He and I signed the score card and the first game of my golfing career was over. With my 54 and 18 handicap and his 37 and 3 handicap we won the match. Thank goodness! I looked forward to the next week.

The only golf for me the rest of the week was talking about it in the car pool. The second game was a little better for me and not so good for Mr. Grable, but we managed to win again. One of our opponents was Jerry Haskell who was also in the administration area of our company. Jerry, a few years older than me, was an excellent golfer who lived in Evansville which was about 20 miles from Princeton. He said he usually played the

Helfrich Golf Course in Evansville and had competed in the city tournament there. Jerry took a liking to me and encouraged me to buy golf clubs as well as golf shoes. He said I had potential. I hit a few very good shots that second night with the old clubs and Jerry shuddered at the sight of them. I had worn my regular work shoes for the first two games. I thought they were OK, he thought they stunk.

I bought a pair of sneakers for my third game, believing they were just as good as golf spikes. They might have been but it wasn’t a pair of shoes with spikes like the other guys. Mr. Grable said so, and so did Jerry, my new mentor. That week I went to a golf shop in Evansville and bought a pair of Hush Puppy golf shoes. They were brown and green saddles in brushed leather knap. A kiltie covered the laces. They cost me $19.95. They were fine stuff for me and I loved how the metal spikes sounded when I walked on the concrete sidewalks near the club house. Still, the clubs I played with were sad. I was into the fourth week of the league and still Mr. Grable and I had not lost a match. My handicap had come down a bit too. I was getting the hang of golfing my ball.

When I arrived for my fifth game, Jerry said he wanted me to see something in his car and when he opened his trunk there was a set of matched irons that he said would be a good set for me and they would only cost me $45. He said they were Haig Ultras and if you like them you can have them for that. I did and they became my first a set of Irons — 3 through 9. Jerry said he would try to find me a set of woods too.

My shift at work was from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm and the commute was about 30 minutes. I was an inspector in the electromagnetic relay department at Potter. I loved my job inspecting tiny (they were called micro) relays for defects and or contamination. I used a 10 power microscope to inspect the relays. Like all the other inspectors we entered the CLEAN ROOM after we had donned a long white cloak over our clothes and a nylon cover over our shoes. We also wore a white nylon cap (designed like a shower cap) and handled the precious relays with white rubber gloves. The relays were for the emerging space age of rockets. ICBMs. Potter was a manufacturer and supplier for the United States military, especially the Air Force and Navy. The relays were for the highly sophisticated Inter Continental Ballistic Missiles and for automatic pilot controls of some of the aircraft used by the military. Some of the rockets were for space exploration. The Redstone Rocket was the name of one of the first rockets. Our jobs as inspectors were to insure quality of the tiny relays. We took our jobs seriously. I recall that on several occasions our group would view film of missiles being launched somewhere in the states. The film would show missiles blowing apart shortly after launching and the group would groan. After the viewing a company spokesman would discuss a Zero Tolerance program and Potter & Brumfield’s role as a supplier of a component of the rocket that blew up. Hopefully, it was not a relay that caused the destruction. The films impressed us and we would find more dirt or less than perfect welds, or coatings on the relays we inspected the next few days.

When my shift was over there was still a lot of daylight left in the day and I could hardly wait to practice my new love, golf. I could image blasting my ball and not the blasting off of missiles. So, on a few days I would skip the car pool and drive my own car to work so that after work I could go directly to the golf course, located in Princeton, Indiana. I had managed to find a good collection of balls at the course in Princeton and also the Muny Golf Course at Mt. Carmel, IL where I lived. I put the found balls in a brown paper sack and they were always in my car along with my clubs and shoes. After

playing a round (9 holes was a round) I would still have time to hit practice balls and to chip and putt on the small hard practice green. I often played till dark and hit as many as 100 practice balls a day. Most of my shots were with short irons like the 8 and 9. The last part of my practice session was hitting 5-6 balls with my woods onto the darkening course so that someone playing the next day would find them. I couldn’t bring myself to hit a golf ball “away” into a woods or lake. I follow this habit today and will hit balls to vacant areas of a course so somebody will find them. This practice and playing was really making a difference in scoring. I measured the distance I hit all of my clubs by walking and counting the steps* where the balls landed. This was a perfect habit to help me improve. * My steps may have been less than a full yard.

Jerry, sure enough, found two woods for me; a 2-wood and a 3-wood. They were Louisville Sluggers, the same manufacturer of the baseball bats I had used in high school and a Sunday league these clubs were excellently crafted, made of persimmon, and was painted cherry red. They cost me $50 dollars. Now I had a complete set of irons and woods for a cost of under $100. Never mind that I did not have a driver to match, I could hit the 2-wood off of the tee just fine. Next I bought a small (by today’s standards) carry bag made of white canvas with leather trim. Jerry suggested that I buy a Bulls Eye brass putter and I did. All set; real golf shoes, a nice bag, a set of clubs, a new putter and plenty of balls. “Bring it.”

Mr. Grable and I were leading the league and having fun doing it. My handicap had come down almost every week and it was now a 10 for 18 holes. My buttons were popping and my spikes barely touched the ground on most days. I had learned to hit a draw from Mr. Grable. A draw for a right handed golfer is when a ball goes to the golfers left because of the over spin of the ball. But my draw was more of a hook and got me into trouble often. A draw or a hook also goes farther. I learned to aim right and let the draw/hook curve back to the fairway, just like Mr. Grable taught me.

By mid summer I was into golf with a passion. I now had a few pair of shorts, real golf shirts, some visors, and had found out that some balls were better for me than others. A golf ball is pretty darn hard, but some are harder than others. A ball with even a slightly softer cover will curve more than a ball with a hard cover. Soft ones don’t go as far but will stop on greens better than hard ones. Since I hit the ball hard anyway with my hook, I used softer balls. This practice helped me with my short shots and helped me improve.

I played and practiced hard and was getting better, and also cocky (I called it confidence). I also read everything I could about golf, including a rule book. The rule book is the most important book every written about golf. It doesn’t change much, and it is hard to understand. Trying to commit it to memory was impossible for me. I what I also needed was a book on golf etiquette.

One evening I was playing with Mr. Grable and our opponents were two of his friends who were also members of the country club. One of the golfers was named Ozzie and the other Larry. The rules of golf require you to hole out every hole. Gimmes (conceding a putt) were not allowed. Mr. Grable and I were sticklers for this rule and it worked in our favor whenever we played golfers who were not always accustomed to putting everything out. They liked to get “in-the-leather’- putts. The grip of the putter, usually made of leather, (most of the grips on clubs, including putters, were originally made of leather) is about 18 inches long and when a ball was less than the length of a grip

away from the hole an opponent would concede the putt and the player picked up the ball and counted a stroke even though the ball was not holed. Well, the game with our opponents was very friendly and the three members had conceded each other a couple of putts on the early holes. This was contrary to Mr. Grable’s previous stern adherence to the rule that a ball must be holed out. He was playing with fellow members and they were relaxed and friendly. I was an outsider and I had holed every one of my putts on every game I had played so far.

That evening the match was close with Mr. Grable and me leading by a stroke when we played the fourth hole, a par four. All of the second shots of the foursome found the green. My ball was just inside theirs; I marked and picked up my ball. After each of us putted our first ball we marked it and picked it up our ball. Then, strangely, Mr. Grable said to his friends, “Oz, Larry, those balls are in the leather, pick them up.” Mr. Grable, Ozzie (a cigar smoker) and Larry picked up their ball marks and starte walking towards the carts. My ball was not holed out and my marker was only about eight inches from the hole. I had marked it so that my stance would not bother their line. None of the golfers had bothered to watch me or to even tend the flag which was laying at the edge of the green. I waited just a bit before I jabbed the ball and missed the short putt. Wow was I steamed. I then putted into the hole…

Silently, I hurried towards the limp flag with my putter held high in my hands. I slammed the Bulls Eye putter blade into the soft green grass of the putting surface. It sank almost 3 inches deep. Immediately, the other golfers looked my way when the sound of the putter hitting the green reached them. They stood stunned. I began to fix the scar in the turf and said “I’m sorry.” A few minutes would elapse before I had fixed the divot, but it would remain a scar for quite a while. I wiped the mud off of my putter and put it back into my golf bag and began walking towards the fifth tee. So far no one had said a word.

The game was tense the rest of the holes. I walked all of them. I made a birdie on #5, a par 5, but that did not console me or evoke a murmur from Mr. Grable or his friends. They continued to talk among themselves, but not to me. Quietly we finished the round. I signed my card, gave it to Mr. Grable and left the course. I was ashamed that I had let my anger erupt and slugged the ground in front of my partner and his friends. I thought of quitting and never going back. I knew Mr. Grable was disappointed did not believe he would forgive me.

The next week I came back and played as good as I could. I apologized to to everyone. They accepted the apology.

Mr. Grable and I won the league that year and I recall vividly a photo of him and me with the trophy. He had a bout of sickness in late summer and his game fell off. He finished with a handicap of 5 and my handicap had dipped to 3. I had hit thousands of balls that summer and it paid off. I also had a memory that would never leave; a Bulls Eye putter stuck firmly in the ground of the # 4 green at the Princeton Country Club, Princeton, Indiana, the summer of 1964.

John Casey, 435 2 Bluff Street, Alton, IL 62002 618-670-5646 Ihave never angrily thrown a club or slammed a club into the ground again. Thave given lots of gimmes, and when I do I always think of J.P. Grable & the Princeton CC

PANA PAIN & PLEASURE FOR 24 GOLFERS – Sept 2016

On the back nine the first day my first three scores were 7, 5, and 6, all double bogey’s. Two Mountain Dews, a chocolate bar and a handful of raw almonds jolted me somewhat but not enough to salvage a dismal round of 89. Conversations were about maladies, wear and tear, pains, pills and only the names of doctors, and hospitals changed. Sometimes we talked about golf.

Lee’s strong shoulders and excellent game had been carrying a heavy load and his “skins” led to $14.00 for our foursome. Our team mates sat at different tables at the awards ceremony and listened as team # 1 raked in the dough.

My role as observer and agitator served to fend off remarks of camouflaged compassion and empathy directed our way by victorious others. “What did you shoot” was the only utterance I didn’t mind answering or asking; just spare me the blow-by-blow account of just missed or miracle shots that led to your bulging chest of a master golfer.

The end of our game the first day brought relief, stories and refreshments that revived hopes for the next day. Fried chicken and big burgers were the favorites of the group in the Feng Shui arranged dining room with south facing windows offering a view of the ninth green bordered by a glimmering lake. Only a few guys managed to stay up as late as 10 0’clock to see the Cardinals amazing ninth inning rally that led to their victory over Pittsburg and leaving the birds 17 games behind the Cubs.

A hearty group of players were up and dressed and at the restaurant by 7 AM. They piled plates with just made corn-belt breakfast fare. No one ate corn flakes or oat meal either. 1400-1800 calories would fuel the players.

There was plenty of time to hit warm up balls before the scheduled game was to start at 10, but only 3 (12.5%) of the players did so. Stiff bodies and murky minds led to dependence on a burdened A player to “get-us-out-there” on the first few holes. Some did, some didn’t.

Thick grass, bumpy greens, thick woods and thirsty ponds and lakes welcomed errant shots leading to displays of bad tempers and foul language. One fellow in my group lost three balls on the first three holes and another team mate lost three balls in one calm, but evil, lake. I heard about one golfer who was down to one ball with four holes left to play, so he went into the woods and found 8 balls that relieved his anguish so he could finish his round.

Pat, Paddy, Don, Mike and others who promoted and arranged the trip are to be congratulated and thanked. They earned five ***** from everyone. The enjoyable and relaxing two-day (golfing) and one night trip at Pana’s Oak Terrace golf resort in Middle Illinois and Middle America provided 24, mostly older men, the 2016 summer ending excursion. The Staff was very attentive and friendly; accommodations and food, top notch. At the end there wasn’t a sad person, well, maybe one, in the group.

We were home before the sun set.

Best regards, John Casey HOW MUCH TIME DO WE HAVE? (As each day and life gets shorter)

Eleven golfers played the back nine a second time (first day) after the tally of the 18-hole game. The late afternoon and early evening was enjoyable as the course transformed into a wildlife sanctuary.

If we were still, likely we could hear the early night sounds of crickets, cicadas, frogs, owls and the splash of feeding fish. I’ll long remember the sun-shined faces of friends enjoying time together on a scenic golf course through the hills-and-hollars of a piece of middle Illinois land.

Golfers Beware For your own sanity Stick to food, the telly, frocks, anything. I mean it. You have no idea what you're getting into.

Golf ruins perfectly nice tracts of land. It is overtly racist, class ridden, snobbish and sexist.

It makes widows of decent women and orphans of blameless kids.

Golfers are not born, they’re made. It’s a game that takes perfectly good people And turns them into boorish narcissistic Wankers,

Games that involve sticks and spheres, And hand-and-eye coordination, generally feel natural. Like Baseball, tennis, even ping pong

But the moment you pick up a golf bat You're faced with the realization that this is an unnatural act Anything you do with a golf wand that feels right is wrong.

The world is a pretty big potato, it’s a planet, And trying to hit an egg-size ball that’s sitting next to you With a walking stick, you'll miss both.

It’s a game of ceaseless torment With brief flashes of contentment And a false sense of accomplishment

I’ve tried the Swing Factory gurus They are like lessons from a fox or a cat. The fox grins and the cat sniggles and pockets my money.

You use putters that look like veterinary equipment, Wear weird pants held up with branding iron belt buckles, And think nothing of wearing stripes with plaids.

No sport has spawned more ju ju and voodoo, Lucky junk, ticky-tacky gizmos, tasteless strap-on miracles, Magnetic bracelets range finders and laser sights.

If you start caring, This golf thing will give you more pain than pleasure,

And the real bummer is that improving won’t diminish the misery.

Jre 62010

I Found Is!

T hit it Jong Because I’m so strong.

loup the head #o hit it low, And give it a mighty blow.

My hall is hard, it’s like a rocket, And I just love to really sock it.

Hike the sound it makes, But not always the path It takes.

Off it goes, sometings left, sometimes right, But, I’ve hit it with all my might.

It’s Tike a seed The way it hides behind a weed.

lean’ lose it, hooray! I found it, here in the hay.

Merry Christmas.

Golfers Beware For your own sanity Stick to food, the telly, frocks, anything. I mean it. You have no idea what you're getting into.

Golf ruins perfectly nice tracts of land. t is overtly racist, class ridden, snobbish and sexist. t makes widows of decent women and orphans of blameless kids.

Golfers are not born, they’re made. t’s a game that takes perfectly good people And turns them into boorish narcissistic Wankers,

Games that involve sticks and spheres, And hand-and-eye coordination, generally feel natural. Like Baseball, tennis, even ping pong

But the moment you pick up a golf bat Youre faced with the realization that this is an unnatural act Anything you do with a golf wand that feels right is wrong.

The world is a pretty big potato, it’s a planet, And trying to hit an egg-size ball that’s sitting next to you With a walking stick, you’ll miss both.

It’s a game of ceaseless torment With brief flashes of contentment And a false sense of accomplishment

I’ve tried the Swing Factory gurus They are like lessons from a fox or a cat. The fox grins and the cat sniggles and pocket my moncy.

You use putters that look like veterinary equipment, Wear weird pants held up with branding iron belt buckles, And think nothing of wearing stripes with plaids.

No sport has spawned more ju ju and voodoo, Lucky junk, ticky-tacky gizmos, tasteless strap-on miracles, Magnetic bracelets range finders and laser sights.

If you start caring,

This golf thing will give you more pain than pleasure,

And the real bummer is that improving won’t diminish the misery. johnrichardcasey 6/10

Gosh Gary

You say you saw an Eagle catch a fish from the lake on # 12? And deer cross the course and play in the sand traps?

We saw bob cats in the mesquite bushes in Texas. You spoke of the blue birds and wanted houses for them.

I know the ducks, geese, herons, and egrets flew around your home. Gosh Gary, it was fun to be with you and hear of your sightings.

You loved Tennessee, the Carolinas, Texas, Florida, but most of all home. It was the friends there and here that you loved most of all.

You played for a quarter, a dime and sometimes a dollar. You would play in the rain, cold, wind, and best of all in the sunshine.

Gosh Gary, the times you had with us will be treasured. We enjoyed every outing, the fun, the laughter, and you.

We will miss your caps, your clubs, your putters, and drivers. We will miss your bright eyes and smile. and one more game with you.

John Casey 4/28/96

If If I could, I would,

Putt like Gene Lewis Drive like Rick Landrith Get up and down like Greg Bruckert Be as optimistic as Al Mans Be organized as Paddy Coyle Be pleasant as St. Louis Jim Compete like Don Knight Have fun like “CRASH” Smile like Cecil Edwards Hit a fade like Jeff and Steve Ebbler Be as strong as Mark Cain Smash the ball (SOMEWHERE) like Mike Keep track of bets like Doc Have clubs as nice as Lou Reddo Be as consistent as Miles Be as courteous as Zack Deeder Dress as well as Kermit Analyze shots like Billy Walker Hit as Far as Scott Keep my head down like Pat Kane Be as fluent as Who-Dat Hit down the middle like Bob Moore Have a sense of humor like Matt Cress Be as dependable as Dave Kamp Hit as smoothly as Craig Harris Drink with my buddies like Eldon Be fair as Wayne Dunlap Make gimmes like Terry Miller Teach like Jimmy Rowan Have a short game like Barry Moyer Keep score like Sam Coffee Be kind as Crawford and the Garretts Be as funny as Norm Jones

IfI do all the things my buddies do Or even just a few I would if I could, But I can’t

Thanks, John Casey

The Dratted Yips

It’s true I have the yips And I’ve used many tips To avoid the misery and the pain When they go they come back again

I’ve had them for thirty years And they never fail to bring my tears For my partners too,

It makes them blue

I cuss, I fume, I pray But they always stay What on earth can I say They make me pay and pay

I will not quit, I will not stop I'll keep trying until I drop I really need a thousand tips To rid my game of those nasty yips

A ball that travels 100 miles per hour Cannot be controlled while it's in the air I've ranted and yelled for it to curve It tests my fiber and my nerves I'm only concerned about my ball Where it flies and where it falls

If you are a friend of these guys you are a friend of mine

Our games go South When we play up north Because we hit the ball

East and West. “Nuts-now hook dammit.”

Our balls go straight Sideways — sometimes. Dead Straight putts break Sometimes uphill. “Can you believe that?”

Holes shrink And are farther or closer Than we think. “They’re SLOW — They’re SLICK — Son-of-a-bitch!”

Pick-er-ups picks us up Except when we Have to putt them. “You bastards!”

We roll-em — we sky-em And we skull-em And maybe, sometimes We nudge them. “PU move it just a little bit.”

We fear sand Even when we bump it, and tell our partners to “Watch it.” then stick our clubs in the sand. “Dirty ratzelfrat.”

We wear rubber cleats, Shirts we didn’t buy, And expensive soft leather gloves- Sometimes on both hands. “That looks funny.”

We look for wayward balls of ours. “It has to be right here.” And look wayward when others hit. “T didn’t see it.”

“T'll help you line up your putt”

“Oh, there he is again,” shouted the young attractive woman from the porch of a home that bordered the 7‘* green at the Cotton Creek Golf Club in Gulf Shores Alabama. Several people suddenly streamed through the door of the house to join the woman who was pointing at Terry Miller. Exclamations, hoots and laughter came from the group and someone said loudly, “can you believe that?” Obviously the woman had spotted Terry earlier when he was in the fairway of the par five hole.

Terry had on a Richard Simmons style outfit, but Terry was not at a gym, he was on an upscale golf course. His shorts were silver and iridescent with shiny gold stripes. The shorts were just longer than his Jockey shorts would have been had he had any on. didn’t know. His white sleeveless top was tucked into his short shorts and on his head was a blue visor. His hair was light blonde and when the sun hit it just right it was a pale Donald Trump like orange. He was, however, wearing white ankle socks and brown and white saddle golf shoes.

So far I had managed to stay very, very clear of him, but he was my partner in the event and he is a very good golfer and can be counted on to calculate yardage, access the best place to approach a hole and read putts.

The people on the porch were lined up against the railing as though they were watching a horse race. A pair of binoculars was being passed around. Everyone had a drink in their hands and one of the men had a photo lens camera and was snapping shots that would be shown at the next neighborhood social.

“Pll help you read that putt,” Terry announced to me as I was lining up the 20-foot downhiller for a birdie. “That’s not necessary, I have the line,” I replied and quickly prepared to putt before Terry came any closer. I made it.

Terry’s score that day escapes me, but not the Gaud awful togs, the porch ensemble and the waving off of his invitation to help me line up a putt.

: John Casey

Note: Don’t you dare change any thing about this true story.

Jack and John and a game of golf

Just because I love to play golf doesn’t mean I’m not bright by hitting a small ball a long way (this is relative) and going after it to hit it again. I’m not going to defend it either because it is indefensible.

I had a golf match the other day that was unique and caused all sorts of consternation leading up to it. First, let me tell you that golf doesn’t care who plays it or how young or old you have to be. Sometimes you don’t even have to keep score to enjoy it. Mostly, I keep score though, and winning and losing can be hard. I want golf to consume me when I am on the course and I do my best to focus on the game for the 4 +- hours I will be on the course.

A few days before the match I penned a note for me

Prepare — arrive at the course at 2:00 PM. Check in, buy three Titliest ProV1X golf balls and mark another 3 on them. Get balls from the machine and warm up on the practice range. Count clubs (14 is the limit). Practice shots I’m likely to have on the first three holes. Putt 3 balls from 20, 15, 10 and 3 feet. Review basic rules for this game.

My swing thoughts: Stand tall and check my distance from the ball; sole the club, check balance, grip pressure and think pace and tempo. I put the note book in my back pocket and headed for the first tee.

We were on the first tee at Rolling Hills at 3:30 PM on 5/5/16 to begin our match, a hole by hole scoring game. It was a handicapped event; Jack is a 3 and John a 6. John gets a stroke on the hardest 3 holes on the course. We were set to play 9 holes.

Jack is a tall 16-year old, John is short and 75. The almost 60 year difference in ages didn’t matter to either of us. We are competitors – PLAYERS I signed up to play for various reasons and looked forward to the match in a big way. I had practiced hard and made a commitment to accept the outcome.

My excitement was heightened by Jack’s age, his reputation and skills. I was impressed by his outgoing and friendly manner when I met him earlier. He eluded confidence. I played the course several times in my mind to recall good shots and to ingrain plans to play in any weather and time. On match day I was up before 7, did chores and went outside to work in the yard and tiny garden. I didn’t hurry; a change for me.

Jack was about to hit the first shot of the game when his team mate called out and said he should hit from the White tee box because he was in the handicap division. I believed that was fair and it increased my focus to being aggressive. Jack struck his ball squarely and it soared high, long and left of the fairway. Playing from the senior tees my shot was poorly struck and stopped short of the copse of trees in the left rough. My nerves had set in and my plan book was firmly in my back pocket and would stay there.

I’m away, my ball sit up OK and there was a window between tree branches. It was time to be aggressive. I hit a screamer through the window using a 3-metal and my ball ended up in the middle of the fairway about 155 yards from the green. Whew! Jack’s ball was underneath a small tree with branches almost touching it. He hit a 25 yard chip, then turned on the juice to hit a rocket that ended up against a towering poplar tree; unplayable. My 34 shot came up 8 feet short of the green. Jack’s 5‘ shot was high and right of the hole. My putt (afraid of a chip) rolled to 8 inches from the cup. Jack conceded the putt for a 5. I’m one up. On we went.

We tied the second hole and Jack won the 3"¢ with a bogey. The game was tied. We tied the 4th and 5t and Jack won the 6» with a nice putt. He went one up. Number 7 was bogeyed by both of us and Jack remained one up going to 8. Jack’s 3-metal landed in the center of the fairway, only the second fairway he hit all day. I was in the right rough about 147 yards from the hole. My second shot came up short in the right rough. Jack hit the green just past center and came up 18 foot short of the back pin.

I slowed down my thinking. I needed a par to have any chance to play another hole. Jack had makeable birdie putt and a sure par. My wedge was good and rolled out to end up about 8” from the cup. It was conceded. Jack missed left and I conceded his short putt. I had a good chance to tie the match on 9. Jack’s long towering drive landed out of bounds. His next ball sailed 275 yards into the fairway. I won the hole and match was square. We headed to sudden death.

On # 1, our playoff hole, Jack hit high and right in the rough. My ball was down the middle. Jack’s next shot hit a tree, dropped and chipped out. I hit another good shot and was about 130 from the pin. Jack hit the green with his 4t shot. My 3'¢ shot was pulled left and short of the green. I chipped to close to the hole. Jack missed, he conceded the match. I had my first win in the 21st century.

I looked at my book of plans for the first time that day when I got home. The first sentence in the book was: This is where you want to be, doing what you like to do, with someone you like, now don’t get lost in “drifting” or in the past.

John Casey

There’s a good story every week at Rolling Hills in Godfrey. One that has been going on since the 1960’s (when the course opened) is GENE LEWIS. He loved the course and the guys, the staff, and winning.

Gene, you see, is going to be 90 on October 7%, 2016. He is a legend and respected by everyone who knows him. He regularly scores below his age, maybe 2,000 times. He is a great team player and has a smile as big as a rainbow.

He’s probably had four or more hole-in-ones, played more than 2,200 rounds of golf and made more than 160,000 strokes.

He started voting in 1947. He doesn’t talk politics, And he is a terrific gambler. 7-card stud, Texas Hole- em, and Gin are his favorite games.

Gene, salute to you, our favorite 90 year old.

First Timer At The Masters

2013

HLEGRAPH.

‘The Telegraphsports

* ASSISTANT Sporys Epitor

LOCAL

GOLF

\CE IS NAME OF THE PLACE

HREE PLAYERS SINK HOLES-IN-ONE IN 30 MINUTES

By STEVE PORTER The Telegraph

GODFREY — The second ile on the executive course at olling Hills in Godfrey is tickly becoming user-friendly. At least that’s the way it oked for golfers playing last riday in the 14th annual Yip ip Open. They recorded three gles-in-one in about half an Meee Ren OS = ‘Ace is the name of the place. “Black Friday turned right,” quipped Rolling Hills ro Dan Morelli, who joined ath Marv Miller and John asey in lighting up the course.

GONTINUED FROM D1

Miller 68, of Alton, stepped to the tee and used a wedge for his

drive. «Phe ball hit on the bill,

All three of them registered aces on No. 2, a 93-yard hole. Morelli and Miller made holes- in-one in the same foursome and Casey followed them with another ace.

In addition, general manager Chris Kane narrowly missed a hole-in-one playing in between Morelli and Miller.

“] read the odds of making two holes-in-one in the same group are 17 million-to-1,” Morelli said. “Aud-we almost had three in a row and that would have made golf history. We came within one-eighth of an inch of doing that.

“It was unbelieveable.”

November 28, 2012

roll back

then it started

and it went in the cup,”

Morelli said. “I thought Morelli said. “We're Marv was going to have & thinking two holes-in-one heart attack. There was jn a row, but the ball absolute bedlam.” Tipped out.” Tt was Miller’s first

ace, but not the last hole- in-one for the day.

Casey, 72, of Alton made sure of that. He got ‘a view of the pair of aces

Kane added, “It’s the most remarkable thing I’ve ever seen in golf.”

Here’s how it developed:

Morelli, 31, of Alton used a wedge for the first ace, the sec- ond of his career.

«The second hole is a lot like No. 7 at Rock Spring Park,” he said. “I hit the bali behind the hole and it-rolled back into it. Everybody went nuts.”

Then Kane grabbed a wedge

and hit an almost identical shot.

“Tt (ball) hit behind the hole and started coming back,”

See AGES, Page D4

on the seventh hole before he eventually yeached No.

one.” Morelli added, “We're walking toward

: * For The Teleora From left, Jon Casey;Mary Milk and Dan Morelli celebrate the aces last Friday at the Rolling Hi Course in Godfrey.

the No. 4

«J hit my shot. It was just right of fhe hole and then the ball turned sharply —_as if on & string — and it raced into the hole,” Casey said, “It was my fifth ace and sec- ond one this year, but it was the most exciting

green and Wwe heard another roar from the crowd when John made his hole-in-one. It was some day. We had three hholes-in-one in a matter of 30 minutes.”

gre Seer ES sporter@thetelegraph.com

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE -1989

Handicaps, Bridge, bets and strokes.

It's hard to get even with some of the folks. Snowmen, pars, a thirteen and dueces.

Don't move the ball when its under spruces.

Manhattens, Millers, chilli and peaches.

When you go out, wear PJ's under-your britches. Prime rib, crab legs, cokes and tea.

Food for a Cherokee, retiree, doctor and me.

Windbreakers, turtle necks, cold and raw.

Sand, water and the slickest greens you ever saw. Crockett, Hampton, Chevy's and Twitty.

Are some of the sights in Nashville City.

To err is human, to forgive devine.

Money matters a-lot if it's yours or mine. Golfers come in all sorts of classes.

My game got away when I smashed my glasses.

Jo. sey 8/24/89

I recall a particularly misery producing game with a few old men. Warm sunshine greeted us on the first tee. After a while clouds gathered and produced a fine mist. Then it became a struggling drizzle. My old men friends, all claimed to be on fixed incomes, put on their $300 rain pants and $350 rain jackets, unfurled a one-man umbrella, donned a rain hat, and covered their clubs with a club caddy. They were wearing Dry Joy shoes. I had on a wet-suit; shorts, a Good-Will shirt, golf sandals, but no hat.

The drizzle worked its way up to a highly successful down pour. It was damn cold, almost sleeting. On we played. My clubs slipped out of my hands on every shot. I was chattering like an angry squirrel. Goose bumps as big as boils popped out on my bare legs. I looked like I was wearing blue leotards. I began to see news stories in my head; “The futile search for a drowned golfer has been called off”.

I never suggested that we might turn back. When I go this far to golf, Iam going to play golf. When the old men started singing a drinking song; “how dry Iam, how dry Lam, nobody knows how dry I am,” | cut loose a 13-letter cuss word.

Mercifully, the rain let up and the sun came out. My dry-as-a-bone buddies, after carefully folding their stuff and putting it in their dry bags were ready to play and so was I, after all, I expected misery and it was happening. I slogged miserably through the rest of the round. Right then and there I decided to never trust a weather guesser again.

Thave since decided to make a misery kit. It calls for an aerosol can for spraying cold air down my back, refrigerated shoes, and a box of mixed insects that includes yellow jackets, no-see-ums, mosquitoes, ticks and chiggers, plus a sprinkler bottle of water to replicate rain.

also want a portable lie detector kit if 1 am going to play with those miserable old men again. A test would be administered at any time of suspected need. It would go like this:

Question: Is your name (insert proper name)?

Question: Have you every owned a dog?

Question: Have you peed within the last 15 minutes?

Question: Did you get a 5 or was that a 6 on the last hole?

John Casey

810

Tray

Paul,

-By John Casey. “Guest columnist 2. 25 = i Characters: Peter, Paul | and John :

Setting:A table on thé back porch of Roll- ing Hills:Golf Course in: ..

. Godfrey.

Peter: John, you sayeth you loveth the game of golf, yet your reddish”. … cheeks giveth me further concern that:you hateth the game: Is that not so?

«, John: Butlet me… ~~ Peter: Pll continue to bringeth up matters that. maketh me question your attempts of justification of rule breaking.

John: T don’t break…

Peter: I knoweth thou. hath broken rules often, yet you never confessed. Doth thou take me as a fool? .

John: No, I didn’t…

Peter: Didn't what? –

John: Let me think.

Paul: What a noble thing for thou to.do. Go

VIEW

EIR

* John: Yes, a game can-"

tot last’ without rules, Competition'can’t exist

» without rules.”

“Peter: John; how many golfers do.you know swho \mow the rules, and let – me algo ask, how: many have read the rules?

John:.I know of no one.

-Paul: Are-you kidding

me? I mean, is that true? –

-Letus movealong. . Peter: Some of your fel-

“ Jow golfers say they play.

for fun and not for the money. 7 3

John: You're right there. : Peter: Then why do they and you complain about fairness when you – don’t win much money?

John: It’s the luck of the draw! We take our lumps, grumble arid hope we get on a winning team.

Peter: Stop. So it’s not – the score’so much as the money that is important. understand.

Johri: OK Peter and

ments of rules because

of scoundrels Tike imyself~

who seeketh riches from others who abide by. tules.

Peter: 2m beginning | . to understand. Stoning’.

_ would be'too lenient.

Paul, what are your -_° thoughts? ~ . Teo

Paul: He speaketh with a forked tongué before. He broke rules and even -tapped down sod for a path to the sacred hole for.a chance of fame and money,-as others did the same, All were tempted and hath broken many rules. They are of the same caste. ,

Peter: Paul, we came only to find understand- ing and not to judge: We have rio miracles that would changéth them:

Peter and Paul together call out, “Goodbye John,

_ we don't believe we will

be seeing you soon, maybe never. Remember

* or consciousness of his

wrong action and pain inflicted on others until it reaches a pointit gives ~

* pain to him,

~ Paul: Pm convinced of. –

that.Goon. – -. ~

Peter: Man’s sole impulse — securing his own approval —is that – he is looking out for-his own comfort and advan- tage. Otherwise he would not doit. John needs *. training, education, and influence in the right direction, and a will to follow what is right.

Paul: You mean that jnan never does a single

* thie which has any first

and foremost object but one — to secure peace of mind?

Peter: Paul, do you recall Alexander Ham- jlton, a high‘principled man?

Paul:-Why, yes I do.” You and I were there

before the duel that ended

ahead, Paul, fame is the blame .~ the rules that concern: his life. He deeply loved: Pater: Before we go along with money for my water.” : his wife and children, but further with this matter demise by breaking even.” Paul: Peter. chose to desert them, Thave a few questions to – 2 tiny infraction; fame Peter: Yes, Patil? – leavifig them to lifelong ask you, John. . and money maketh me Paul: How doth thou sorrow in order that he John: OK. denieth [have broken believeth the interview of . might stand.well with a Peter: Were you bap- Tules and darkened my John went, and the chanc-. foolish world. He believed tized? soul. – . es that he will mendeth he would lose his honor; John: Yes, 1 was, in Peter! Goon. © his ways and still reach public approval was more 1951. Lwas 10. John: Mortals giveth the gates? 2 valuable than his family. Peter: So you became — mo conceri ofmy actions, Peter: Paul; you-can. That’s why we could not John the baptized?: “hence cloaking my judg-. cut outthe silly way we * persuade him to stop. He _ John: I guess so. . – ment. – | say things and talk slang, was 4 lousy shot, too. Peter: I'd say you had a Peter: Hold it right hearme? ‘. Peter: Then John. needs good start. Now, let’s just. ‘there.You sayeth you Paul: Why yes Tdo;1 to awaken his conscience out of the Jake and get. – were tricked by pious . ~ mean, yep. ; to reach a permanent right into golf, shall ‘we? fellow players, leading to Peter: Paul, John was: cure of breaking tules for ‘That’s why we are here. your undoing? * in error. Our duty is to personal gain. : Paul: Are there any John: Yep Pete, 1 teach him the truth. A Paul: Let's say, there is rules for golf? throweth away command- mat gets no discomfort hope for John yet. 7 : Sernealaw ry Cr By pete rhe ate Soin os Fa Pe wor Cheatiivg ri wears, Ate per 72 ae et hom, ie. sirwert Eire Te” ah omy soak

traud, «

ple. Aok thio Spoeg (208)< éxfe-

Ard Beco Tred

Some Things Don’t Change

As I look back on my golfing career, It never did exist. I tried most everything, I truly did persist.

There must be a reason Why I never came in first And now I’ve gotten older and I thought I’d shucked the curse But somehow things are the same; in fact they’ve gotten worse.

I never win. There’s always something wrong The clubs were faulty and I was taking much too long It’s not my fault. It never is, the sun was in my eyes. My cap flew off, the ball flew high, I wasn’t synchronized.

Well, friends, it’s sad to say I learned it yesterday I was always in the running But was pressing all the way. John Casey 12/07/06

Some Things Don’t Change

As | look back on my golfing career, It never did exist: I tried most everything, I truly did persist.

There must be a reason

Why I never came in first And now I’ve gotten older and I thought I'd shucked the curse But somehow things are the same; in fact they’ve gotten worse.

I never win. There’s always something wrong The clubs were faulty and | was taking much too long It’s not my fault. It never is, the sun was in my eyes. My cap flew off, the ball flew high, | wasn’t synchronized.

Well, friends, it’s sad to say I learned it yesterday | was always in the running But was pressing all the way. John Casey 12/07/06

Rolling Hills Golf Course

The course is not long so placement is important for full

shots to firm greens. Use soft covered ball that you

can spin to stop your shot. Consider the pin placement carefully. Be aggressive when the pin is cut past the middle of the

green. Although there is trouble over most greens the

majority of shots are short. Don’t let that happen to you.

Every hole on this course will yield birdies by playing smart. Position is the key. Being aggressive with short Irons and spinning the ball is important.

Review your plan before you play and refer to notes. # 1—- Consider a fade, or a draw with target on right side

#2 -Consider the elevation and the depth of the green.

#3 — Aim at middle — OK to hit a baby fade. Aggressive 2". #4 — Make an aggressive 2" shot and spin the ball.

#5 — A lay-up of 80 -90 yards is ideal to spin the ball.

#6 — Hit to the middle, fly it.

#7 — Consider the elevation and pin placement carefully

#8 — hit a tee shot that will not reach the water

#9 — keep to the right side on tee shots.

#10 — stay inside the cart path & calculate the distance on 2"¢ #11 — A 3-shot hole most of the time, Stay left of trees

#12 — be aggressive and aim at right center of fairway

#13 —Consider a fade. Calculate the 2"! shot yardage

#14 — Target is just left of the path. — add 4 club on 2",

#15 — Hit the middle of the green- the ball will go left

#16 — There is a 35 yard deep landing area — be aggressive #17 — Keep the ball on the right side of the pin

#18 — It’s OK to be a bit long on tee shot

Review your notes for each hole before you play.

# 8 — par 4 — 330 — west to east.

The tee shot from an elevated tee is slightly down hill

A lake on the left at 195 yard. (white tee)

The fairway skirts the lake on the right. The 2" shot

is up hill to an elevated green (elevation about 3 — 5 yards and 2 Club) Short shots normally will not run up.

The green is slightly oblong and it is 31 yards deep and

25 yards wide. A small mound in front right

From the 100 yard marker: 85/100/115 (FMB)

#9 par 4-376 -E to SW-—

The landing area of the tee shot (center) is lower than

the tee and runs slightly to the left.. I aim at

the right edge of the fairway and try to draw the Ball.

A large tree at the left side of the green may affect the

2"4 shot. Run-ups are common on this hole as it opens

up in the center/right. The flat green is 31 yards deep

and 25 yards wide. From the 100 yard marker: 85/100/115

Back Nine — White tees — 2523 total 5428

# 10— Par 4 — 313 yards N/S This hole faces south, generally into a slight SW wind. The fairway is severely tilted from (R to L), Trees border the right side and OB is left. Balls left of the trees will run down hill where it is not likely that you can see the surface of the green. At the 100 yard marker in the fairway:

88 yards to the front of the green

100 yards to the middle

110 yards to the back The hole borders Pierce Lane and the T-Road is Stanka Lane. From the middle line on Stanka Ln it is 58 yards to the center of the green. The green is 18 yards deep & 28 yards wide. The surface is flat. There are moguls (dips) at the front left of the green and a 10 yard wide entry on the right side with a severe bank at the rear of the green. Shots not reaching the green on the left will not roll onto the green.

#11 – Par 5 — 437 yards — E/W it plays longer due

to elevation.This hole is a slight dogleg right uphill

with trees, some large, guarding the right side with

small trees on the left. OB left of fence.

Carry to the large oak tree is 200 yards and

most players will aim left of the smaller trees near the large oak. Big hitters go over the trees on the left side. The second shot is uphill; the terrain sloping

left. Mounds block the low and the high side of

the green. An entry to the green is between the

mounds and about 5 yards wide. The green is at

an angle; 34 yards deep and 14 wide. It slopes R to L and back to front. From the 100 yard marker : 85 / 102 /120 to the back

# 12 — par 4 — 286 yards (maybe 300) W/E

Hole faces East Water (lake) is on left side. A gully (created by a dam at the lake) is about 210/220yards from the tee. Some golfers like to hit it into the gully

leaving a blind uphill shot of 60 +- yards to the

Green which is 20 yrds deep and 32 yrds wide.

From 100 -marker: 90 to front; 100 middle; 110 rear The ball is usually below your feet on the 2™ shot and

this favors a fade to the green and 2 club more. (without wind) There is a collar in front and shots don’t usually roll

on. From the edge of the lake near the green it is 10 yards to the front of the green.

# 13 — par 4 — 330 yards — slight dog leg right S/N hole faces North. Blind tee shot uphill. Trees are on both the left and the right side of the fairway. Landing area slopes north and tee shots normally reach the low area of the fairway. 2"4 shot is usually up hill. A mound is In the front right of the green and the entry to the green is on the left side. Green slopes back to front and is 23 yards deep/18 yards wide. From the 100 yard marker in the fairway.

88 to front / 100 to middle / 112 to back

#14- par 4 – 330 yards — straight away — N/ SW. Wide fairway with trees on right blocking fades/slices. The left side slopes towards the lake and there are trees and a bunker on the left. From 100 yard marker:

87 to front

102 to middle

117 to back Last tree on left: 50/62/74_Green: 30 yards deep / 24 wide This green slopes right to left. It has a collar on the left Side. The green opens up on the right.

#15 — par 3 – 115 yards — slightly up hill. E/W A collar is in front and the green is slightly humpbacked in the middle. The green is 24 yards deep and 29 wide. Tee shots are normally at the 115 yard marker making The shot 102 to front 115 to middle 127 to back Prevailing wind is from the SW and against. Elevation = 12 club.

# 16 — par 4 — 306 yards — dog leg left at 180 yards S/N/W from white tee marker. Woods/tree line OB on the left and scattered trees on the right. A shot of 175 yards will be clear of the trees on the left and a shot of 210 will be OK too. Margin is 35 +- yards on tee shot. Green is 27 X 28 and generally level with run up on right side. From red/100 yr. marker in fairway:

90 to front edge

103 to middle

116 to back From the yellow stake on the left it is 42 yards to the front.

#17 — par 3 -138 yards — S/N uphill — elevation 8 feet = 2 club The green is almost perfectly round, slopes from right to

left with an entry area on the right side and a collar on the left side.

Green is 27 X 27.

# 18 — par 4 — 281 dog leg left at 170 yards to an uneven lie. N/S Your tee shot needs to go farther than the woods on the left, But not through the fairway and past the cart path. From 100 yard marker:

85 to front

97 to middle

109 to back From the yellow pole: 50 to front; 64 to middle; 76 to rear Green is 28 X 23. It slopes right to left.

Rolling Hills Golf Course has a gardener and it shows. The flowers and plants are an integral part of the course and they don’t go unnoticed either. The colors and textures in manicured beds blend with green grass, contrasts with lakes and sky, providing eye adventure to everyone who plays the course.

I only notice flowers, as well as the bees and birds, when I want to. They are not distracting. Oh, sometimes I’ll look at them, when I’m playing badly to remind me that aesthetics of a course are important.

Knowing the names of flowers and plants are not that important to me, but I can recognize a holly hock, a fern, or a tulip. I think there is an amethyst (I can’t pronounce it), and maybe a clematis or a phlox somewhere out there. I’m not color blind, and can see blue, pink, yellow, and purple flowers, even when I see red when I three putt.

The gardener, Joe Puent, is a friend of mine and I’m glad he cares for and protects the plants of Rolling Hills. He’s almost as colorful as his flowers.

Thanks Joe.

Wouldn't it be great if we all played by our handicaps? Games would be easy to set and expectedly fair. The competition is not lost when everyone contributes. Typically one or two players dominate the scoring for their team and throw the teams out of balance.

The teams can be decided quicker and the scores too. All sorts of games can be played when using handicaps.

One is to use all scores, deduct the total handicap strokes and have a team total. Or use 3 scores or 2 when there is a threesome.

Another is to have an 18-hole individual game. Or a 18-hole shamble. Or a 18-hole scramble. Hold an 18-hole handicap tournament for all players (not a team game). Low net Wins. Play with whomever you want. | believe when golfers are grouped with players of the same skills, or close, there is more enjoyment. Having been a low handicap player and now a high handicap one, | know it is more fun to compete with equal players. I’m not intimidated by a 300 yard drive of Andy or the pin-point accuracy of Terry Miller. Depending on our own shots makes us focus on our game and not hope for a partner to pick us up. Steel is made under extreme pressure.

Games with other players are also options. Full handicaps are rarely used between players, and a customary difference is 80% of the difference. Example: A 10 handicap plays a 14 handicap. The difference is 4 strokes X 80% = 3.2 (rounded to 3). The 14 handicap player gets 3 strokes. 10 vs. 4. =6x 80% = 4.8 (rounded to 5) 5. The 4 gives the 10 handicap golfer 5 strokes.

Mixing the Stosky league into the Saturday game is not recommended. The front nine of a course when playing the Stosky League is from the Senior Tees. That system for EVERYONE is simply not fair. If everyone was the same age, or close, it’s O.K., but when Andy is hitting from the senior tees he is often going for the green and the short hitters are trying to hit it to the or into the fairway. Short hitters depend on long drives by their A player and they usually deliver. When Stosky rules are in effect the short hitters feel that on at least nine holes they aren’t competitive.

A round of golf at Woodlands is $33.00 and the anti fee is $15.00 for $48.00. That would equal the cost of a round on a strong course and likely a couple of beers and a dog. Players who win more often will have an out-of-pocket cost much lower than most high handicap players with an average A player on his team. Let’s say $5.00 is paid to the average guy. His cost is $43.00 and the winning team shells out $10 to each player. His golf cost is $38.00. But when a player collects $30.00, his cost is only $18.00.

Andy kept the scores and money for the Alabama Trip (Hap’s legacy gift to us) and it was an excellent record for the players. | believe the same kind of record can be kept for the Saturday golfers and handicaps applied and used.

| don’t play very often (| cite health and age issues for that), but | do have time and means to track play and keep records to be used for setting up games.

A long time ago age was a determining factor. Up to age 64, white tees were used; 65 to 70 was gold (senior) tees; and over 70 it was red tees. Then, it was adjusted that if you were an A/B player at any age, you had to use the white tees. Then, later it was adjusted back to age 65 and older to the Senior Tees.

| suggest: White tees if you are not yet 65, over 65 the Senior tees. If you are over 80 it’s “Red till you’re dead.” If your handicap is 18 or more the red tees. Adjusting handicaps according to tees is easy to do, because each course has a course rating for each set of tees. Don Knight said his handicap is 18. /t may be. Donis 77. He is a good hitter but not long. Red tees would help him and make the game more enjoyable. John Quackenbush loves golf and his handicap might hover at or just over 18. He too would like to contribute and can from the red tees. Don Crawford might too.

Tees used by golfers then can be reasonably set by age, not by ability. Handicaps can differentiate sets of tees used by players.

With handicaps the teams can be quickly made. Handicaps can be adjusted weekly.

Note: any hole score that is played 3 or more over par would be considered a double bogey for handicap purposes. Under 10 handicap golfers, only two double bogeys are allowed. Under 5 only one bogey is allowed. Over 10-20, all double bogeys. And over 20, triples can be counted.

Games that could be played are numerous, varied, and interesting that may put more fun into the games. The game would not be only foursomes or threesomes as the numbers of players indicate.

The games could be gross score, less handicap. Total scores rather than a relationship to par.

Normal four man teams when the number of golfers fit. Change to 3 man teams and even two man teams. Try not to have uneven number of players on teams. Use a colored ball if a 5-man team is used, (or when there are 3 man teams and one 4 man team) rotate the ball among the player and count only the white colored balls for a team score. The yellow ball can still count stobs. A 5-man team, if they win, will split 5 ways. Should they anti less that the full amount. | believe so.

Two man teams — Scramble or shamble or best ball, or individual. If there are 10 players there would be 5 Two man teams. Two four man groups and one two man. Not 2 three-and one 4-man, or two 5 man teams.

One 9 a scramble and the other a shamble — Both scramble/both shamble. Scramble/individual/

| suggest monthly tournaments. Invite new players.

It’s Saturday morning and I’m a bit put out with a prospective customer. Should I be? I don’t usually work on Saturday but I agreed to meet with this prospect. He went Bankrupt last year and has a one month job, no money in the bank, and wants to buy a home. Oh well, I'll try to help him along. It’s about 10 and 1 have been on the domestic job for hours picking up and cleaning up — you know, house work. Took dishes out of the dishwasher and put some dirty ones in. Hung up about 10 pieces of clothing and several odds and ends were out of place. Took out the garbage, mostly papers, and put oil on my old desk and chairs. Made a bit of coffee, had some cereal and worked on my stand-up comedy stuff. Called my computer guy and a buddy to play golf with at 11:00. I will have to go to the bank and cash a check for today and tomorrow. I played a few CDs, Beethoven, and a rock group. How’s that for taste?

The little pet car is back in it’s stable and was always fine. It was no problem picking it up the next morning. I should trade, sell or store it.

The sadness over Edie will be with me a long time, but T will not dwell on it. The inspiration she gave me during the last few years matched the full lifetime she was behind me and supported me. I will use her encouragement to move forward, just as she would have done had I preceded her.

A friend, his large 7 year-old son, and I found 100 golf balls on Sunday. Never have 1 found that many golf balls in one outing, They were nestled in leaves along a fencerow on the golf course. Many were “game balls” so now I’m ready for a fall game of golf.

A great visit with Bill changed a lot of things about my perceptions. We are all complex and that’s OK. Bill is truly an achiever. The best writer among us, he should be encouraged to write more. We could give him material and he would convert it into something good to read.

The customer showed and we spent time. Good guy too.

It’s now a week plus later and I’m back to the computer. 1 killed a 7 point buck on Friday from about 14 yards. I hunted in Randolph (how interesting) County located west of Mt. Vernon. Jim and Kent both killed a nice buck. I expect I will spend Thanksgiving Day at Jim’s.

I don’t feel well today. A sore throat and a general feeling of not feeling well envelops me. Blahs. The drive to Eldorado was being dreaded too.

My little Christmas tree is up and has been since the day after my birthday. 1 will turn on the lights on Friday after Thanksgiving. I bought the tree already decorated with marvelous ornaments and good lights at an auction. I just put it on a barstool and in front of the window. I may buy a present or two to put under it,

A comedy show at the Elks gave me a chance at stand up comedy. 1 had promised to introduce the _ comedians and wanted a few minutes to try my humor. Bombed big time — or little time, depending on how you see it. It was not funny except to most of my buddies who did not go. Rumor has it that John has found another “untalent.” T tried though and worked on “my humor” in front of a crowd.

A general feeling of being ill at ease has marked my day to day lately. 1 don’t feel well when | am alone or with someone, I look over the shoulder of the talker and hear nothing. The focus of the deer hunt was an exception. I’m sorry it lasted only a few hours. Lam at a loss to explain how I feel.

The change in my demeanor since Edie died is only noticeable to my best friends. | am quieter and reflective — more mortal. I think of her often and hear her laugh and voice in my mind. I have slept in my bed only a few times lately, preferring the couch and the din of the TV to put me to sleep. T have read about 7-10 books lately, but none on self-help. 1 want a change, bright lights, loud music, laughter, dancing, and water. Could be I want company too.

I will print this out and send it along with some other stuff, I certainly fike to hear from everyone and want

you to continue to keep in touch. Thanks for reading this stuff. John S i) =

Something Is Gaining On Me

As | look back on my career, It never did exist. I tried most everything, I truly did persist.

There must be a reason Why I never came in first And now I’ve gotten older and | think I’ve shucked the curse But somehow things are the same, in fact they’ve gotten worse.

I never win. There’s always something wrong Damn things were faulty and it was taking much too long It’s not my fault. It never is, the sun was in my eyes.

My cap flew off, the gun was jammed, it wasn’t synchronized.

Well, friends, it’s sad to say l learned it yesterday I was always in the running But was pressing all the way. John Casey 12/07/06

STORK (AKA Terry Sledge)

He is 6 foot five and weighs 245 LB. He is the friendliest person in Southern Illinois. He seldom frowns or gets upset, but when he does his path gets wider.

He is a beer man; an executive, a desk guy, a computer geek, who runs a beer distributorship in a town of 20,000 in Southern Illinois. Stork loves what he does. But Stork’s compassion is summed up in these words: “what do you say, pardner?” Something is up when he says it. Something could be a golf game or a float trip on a white water river, a visit to a pub, or any get together. He has buddies.

Stork enjoys arranging excursions and buddy trips. He and they mutually benefit from these trips. He’s been doing it every since he left Texas. He has led a group to Hilton Head Island for the past 27 years; a float trip for 17 years, and none are ever the same. All trips have their own appeal. Stork will organize a game at the local golf course with the same enthusiasm of a full blown trip.

He tells jokes, listens to yours, and laughs at both. He gets involved in big events, but also the small ones that count. He soothes a wounded brother, helps someone who needs it and doesn’t keep track of favors. He is an anchor too and he has handled more handles on coffins that an undertaker. His eyes are wet when he does.

Stork — Terry Sledge — loves people; granted some more than others. But make no mistake; he is acommon man who is successful at what he does.

278

Terry Miller

Born:

Address: Edwardsville Retired School Teacher

Strong accurate player Competitive

Andy Kohler

Born:

Address: Edwardsville Owns own business

Extra long hitter

Likes to have fun

Jack Haskell Born:

Address: Bethalto Retired

Gets it out there The Bruiser is over 70

Jack Strepper Born:

Address: Alton Retired

Surprisingly good Unhurried

Bob Van Doren Born:

Address: Bethalto Owns own business

Big Hitter — good irons too Aggressive

Scott Smith

Born:

Address: Alton Tech — phone man

All around good game Organized leader

Felton Brown Born: Address: Retired

Keeps it in play

Barry Moyer Born:

Address: Godfrey Architect

Long Driver Improving

Jerome Tucker Born:

Address: Bethalto Retired

Sneaky long and good Often injured

Dana Henderson Born: Address:St. Louis Emp:

Swings hard — hits hard

Hall of Fame player

John Streeper Born: Address:

Longer than his dad Positive player

Knows the game

Hap Turnbeaugh Born:

Add: Wood River Retired

Gives 100% every shot Quick witted

Danny Meyers

Born:

Address: Bethalto Professional Salesman

Long driver-great putter NASCAR Fan

Lee Graham Born: Address:

Hits them straight all the time Longish Left hander

Mike Oligias Born:

Address: Godfrey Internet magician

No holes in his game

BLUE TEES HITTER

Who Dat

Born?

Address: Alton Retired from Olin

Amazing player Deadly (slow) putter

John Casey Born: 10/30/40 Address: Alton Real Estate Sales

Hinge in his swing Grinder

Cecil Page

Born:

Address: E. Alton Owns Trucking Co.

Great up and down player Language master

Mike Yarbrough Born: Address: W. River

Sometimes the longest of all “Watch it.”

Dennis Gill Born: Address: Alton Pro.

Still Long

Larry Payne Born:

Address: Bethalto Airplane Sales

Well Dressed — good player Preacher material

Sam Coffee Born: Add: Edwardsville

Wide Stance Improving all the time

Mick Henkhaus Born:

Address: Bethalto Retired Politician

Better than he lets on Illini fan and quipster

Max Goessman Born:

Address: Alton Boeing Engineer

Steady and Straight Straight and Steady

Kenny Carlisle Born: Add: Bethalto

Straight hitter deluxe Modest (but good)

Ron Bishop Born: Address: Ed’ Ville

Independent Who Me?

Larry Brooks Born: Address:

All around game

Very confident

Adam (Cartwright), Born: Address:

Smooth player & good Definitely an A player

Dick Gerber Born: Address: W. River

THE BOSS! Focused and intent

Team #1

Team #3

Team #5

Charlie Carisle Born: Address:

Longer than most

Fire in his veins

(Arick) Born: Address:

Who will show up? Could be his year

Mike Gerber Born: Address: W. River

The Underboss Loose, as in laid back

Team # 2

Team # 4

Team # 6

Clint Mardis Born: Address:

BIG DADA! Motivates team

Dave Crow Born: Address:

Is long — maybe crooked Hunts and fishes

Rodney Eveans Born: Address

Mighty Mouse King Rod

THE DREADED LON

The dreaded Lon is one-of-a-kind.

He's the one who comes through in a bind. Sinking a 4-wood shot on number six

is only an example of his many tricks.

Unlucky Randy, Dr. Cook, Jim, Tominy and Mac all vow that they will pay him back.

That group, plus the ‘new’ Phil

ave some of the few he has stuck with a bill.

He could teach 'The Law' how to chip,

and he can put up with Piper's and Murphy's lip. To do both, he would rather not,

except that it serves to increase his pot.

After a mid-game session of gin

that he and Bobby G. was destined to win,

he muttered as golf resumed, "rain, rain, go away, little Johnny came to play."

He's not strong, vulgar or burley. He can't be with a great wife like Shirley.

Nothing matters very much and few things matter at all,

but one thing for sure, goif with Lon is a bali.

He's good with people and at golf he can learn

to keep his head down, and buy when it's his turn. Mild mannered from his toe to his pinkie,

but he can gee pissed when his dinner's a twinkie.

John Casey May 26, 1989

he Mastins 2OI. Rent Nuale Ca

Good news came a few weeks ago when a good friend called and asked me what I had planned the second week of April. He said, “Would you like two tickets to THE MASTERS.” “Yes!” “You've got-em” he said.

Ishare. It’s not hard. I called a friend, then two more and received affirmatives. We will split them and all of us can experience a wonderful golf tournament. Georgia, particularly Augusta, was on my mind.

I have doubted my ability to write anything that would satisfy myself, and believed the public would be more difficult to please. Then one day a lady told me that when she sees a column in the Telegraph that I have written she puts it aside until she can gather her son and daughter and announces, “lets see what John has written.” She then reads the column out loud to them. Inever imagined such an endorsement. Encouraged by this, I’ll write about my Masters experience.

Name dropping is such a bore, self-serving and disgusting. Hence, it’s appeal. . So, Pll become a golf name dropper. I have been to quite a few professional golf tournaments and, not being shy, managed to talk to some pros. I’ve also watched golf on TV since Palmer burst on the scene. Before global warming, Augusta, GA heralded spring, warm weather, short sleeves, golf, and name dropping. Amie provided the tickets. 7

When I entered the gate at Augusta on April 11, 2013, [handed my grounds pass to Paul Bunyan in kakis. He swiped it, looked at me and said, “Hi John, we’re glad you're finally here. Amie said you were coming; Jack is warming up for the start of the tournament. Jack said you caught his cap at the 94 PGA at Valhalla.” He continued, “They have a step stool for you to see the ceremonial first shot of this year’s Masters.

Paul handed me back my pass and an envelope. It was from Norm, Zack, Mike, Paddy, Chris, Dave, Eldon, and Tom and Jerry. Inside were three one dollar bills and three quarters and a note. Enjoy a pimento cheese sandwich on us and don’t forget to tip. My eyes glistened.

I weaved through the azaleas, stepped lightly onto the 375 acre golf course that was once a fruit farm just as Tom Watson and a few friends came by. “Mr. Watson,” I called out, “it’s good to see you again. You too, Jason Timberlake, I enjoyed you at the Oscars.” He looked disinterested. “Mr. Trump, Michael J, its good to see you. This is better than a board room or a court.” “You got that right John, the 50-year old Jordan remarked. “That letter you sent me about the president’s birth certificate woke up some folks; thanks John.” “You are welcome, Mr. Trump.”

“Fave you seen Rory or Tiger?” I asked David Feherty, “Naw,” he replied, but I hear they are betting it up on the practice green at 50 quid for makes.”

I saw Holly Sonders and Kelly Tilghman of the Golf Channel and called out. “Great outfits girls.” “Oh John, we were just talking about you, want to join us?” “Rain check girls, I’m due in the tower with Sir Nick Faldo and Nantz. “©

Bubba was frothing and antsy when he came by. I called out, “unbutton that top button on your shirt; it’s pinching your face.” He turned quickly and said, “No one talks to Bubba like that.” He smiled when he recognized me and asked, “John, what's my chance for a repeat?” I said, “I’ll tell you Saturday.”

The 14 year old kid from China, the youngest person to play in a Masters tournament had a throng around him and a dozen little Ricky Fowlers brightened the landscape waiting for the neon man. Golfers dress in splendid frocks, and have knobs of

© Gartner Studios

Tickets to the Masters

ood news came a few weeks ago when a good

friend called and '

asked me what I had planned the second week of April. He said, “Would you like two tickets to the Masters?” “Yes!” “You've got ‘em,” he said. |

I share. It’s not hard. I

called a friend, then two

more, and received affir- matives.

We will split them and |

all of us can experience a wonderful golf tournament. Georgia, particularly Augusta, was on my mind.

Thave doubted my abili- |

ty to write anything that would satisfy myself and believed the public would be more difficult to please. Then one day a lady told me that when she sees a column in The Telegraph that I-have written, she puts it aside until she can gather her son and daugh-/ ter and announces, “Let’s| see what John has writ- ten.” She then reads the column out Joud'to them. I never imagined such an endorsement. Encouraged by this, I'll write about my Masters experience. Name-dropping is such

a bore: self-serving and disgusting. Hence, its appeal. So, I'll become a golf name-dropper. I have been to quite a few profes- sional golf tournaments and, not being shy, man- aged to talk to some pros. T’ve also watched golf on TV since Arnold Palmer

burst on the scene. Before | global warming, Augusta, |

Ga., heralded spring, warm weather, «short sleeves, golf and name- dropping. Arnie provided the tickets.

Fohn ust

GUEST =! COLUMNIST

When I entered the gate at Augusta on April | 11, 2013, I handed my grounds pass to Paul Bunyan in khakis. He swiped it, looked at me and said, “Hi John, we’re glad you're finally here. Arnie said you were com- ing; Jack is warming up / for the start of the tourna- ment. Jack said you caught his cap at the ’94 | PGA at Valhalla.” He con- tinued, “They have a step stool for you to see the |. ceremonial first shot of this year’s Masters.

Paul handed me back my pass and an envelope. It was from Norm, Zack, | Mike, Paddy, Chris, Dave, Eldon, and Tom and Jerry. Inside were three one-dol- lar bills and three quarters ° and a note. Enjoy a pimen- | to cheese sandwich on us and don’t forget to tip.

My eyes glistened.

I weaved through the azaleas, stepped lightly onto the 375-acre golf course that was once a_ fruit farm just as Tom Watson and a few friends | came by. “Mr. Watson,” I called out, “it’s good to see | you again. You too, Jason Timberlake,’ I enjoyed you at the Oscars.” He looked disinterested. “Mr. Trump, Michael J., it’s good to see you. This is better than a board room or a court.” | “You got that right John,” | the 50-year old Jordan remarked. “That letter you sent me about the presi- dent’s birth certificate woke up some folks;

Page C4 Sunday, April 14, 2013

‘Tur TELEGRAPI

thanks John.” “You are welcome, Mr. Trump.”

“Have you seen Rory or Tiger?” I asked David Feherty. “Naw,” he replied, “but I hear they are betting it up on the practice green at 50 quid for makes.”

I saw Holly Sonders and Kelly Tilghman of the Golf Channel and called out. “Great outfits, girls.” “Oh John, we were just talking about you, want to join us?” “Rain check girls, I’m due in the tower with Sir Nick Faldo and Nantz.”

Bubba was frothing and antsy when he came by. I called out, “Unbutton. that top button on your shirt; it’s pinching your face.” He turned quickly and said, “No one talks to Bubba like that.” He smiled when he recognized me and asked, “John, what’s my chance for a repeat?” T said, “I'll

‘tell you Saturday.”

The 14-year-old kid from China, the youngest person to play in a Masters tour-

| nament, had a throng

around him and a dozen little Ricky Fowlers bright ened the landscape waiting for the neon man. Golfers dress in splendid frocks and have knobs of gold on their wrists and chains of gold around their necks, If one of them breaks, any- one that gets hold of the pieces may keep them. “No one follows a chump.” (W.C. Fields)

My favorite Masters Champions used three kinds of intuition when they won at Augusta: ordi- nary, expert and strategic. Ordinary intuition is gut instinct. It involves a vague notion of key points and direction (Fuzzy Zoeller, 1979). Expert intu- ition is a snap judgment that corresponds to the power of knowledge based on extensive facts and

experience. (Phil Michelson’s 6-iron from 195 yards — 2010.).

Strategic intuition is a slow, thoughtful way that is a deep and wide process of reflective thinking through all the possibilities (Jack Nicklaus, age 46, 1986).

Zooming deep and wide is a skill I have not culti- vated to any degree. I tend toward gut instinct mixed with snap judgment con- stantly being updated for new possibilities with rich experiences. “Imagination encircles the world.” (Einstein)

White belts will go away (please), but roars of patrons, green wrapped food and brilliant flowers are painted on my memo- ry cells. I hope they never. fade.

I was a patron at the 2013 Masters and wore a WALDO shirt.

John Casey of Alton is curious consistently and loves reading, writing and adventures. He is an agent with Coldwell Banker Commercial Brown Realtors in

Edwardsville. 8

VOICES

TWO FEET FROM THE HOLE – DOWNHILL

The slim tee holds a ball White and dimpled, rather small How innocent it does appear This harmless little sphere

By its size I could not guess

The awesome strength it does posses Since I fell beneath its spell I’ve been in the fires of hell

My life now is not the same Since I started this crazy game It’s on my mind for hours on end And oh, the money it’s made me spend

It makes me yell and spit and sometimes I threaten to quit My desires the ball refuses And does weird things that it chooses

It hooks and slices, slows down and dies Any many times disappears before my eyes It may take a whim And hit a tree or take a swim

With lots of grass on which to land It finds a tiny patch of sand T’ll take a drink to ease my sorrow The ball knows I’ll be back tomorrow. Je-3/2007

TWO FEET FROM THE HOLE – DOWNHILL The slim tee holds a ball White and dimpled, rather small How innocent it does appear This harmless little sphere By its size I could not guess The awesome strength it does posses Since I fell beneath its spell I’ve been in the fires of hell My life now is not the same Since I started this crazy game It’s on my mind for hours on end And oh, the money it’s made me spend It makes me yell and spit and sometimes I threaten to quit My desires the ball refuses And does weird things that it chooses It hooks and slices, slows down and dies Any many times disappears before my eyes It may take a whim And hit a tree or take a swim With lots of grass on which to land It finds a tiny patch of sand I’ll take a drink to ease my sorrow The ball knows I’ll be back tomorrow. Jc-3/2007

Golf The slim tee holds a ball White and dimpled, rather small By its size I could not guess The awesome strength it does possess My desires the ball refuses And does weird things that it chooses It hooks and slices, slows down and dies And many times disappears before my eyes My life now is not the same Since I started this crazy game It’s on my mind for hours on end And oh, the money it’s made me spend T’ll take a drink to ease my sorrow The ball knows I’ll be back tomorrow.

RGA Al, Doc, Jim and Mike, Devon, Eric, Dan, the other guy And me. First Half winners of RGA That’s what we be.

john 5/20/08

Golf The slim tee holds a ball White and dimpled, rather small By its size I could not guess The awesome strength it does possess My desires the ball refuses And does weird things that it chooses It hooks and slices, slows down and dies And many times disappears before my eyes My life now is not the same Since I started this crazy game It’s on my mind for hours on end And oh, the money it’s made me spend I’ll take a drink to ease my sorrow The ball knows I’ll be back tomorrow. RGA Al, Doc, Jim and Mike, Devon, Eric, Dan, the other guy And me. First Half winners of RGA That’s what we be. john 5/20/08

Two Richards

I met Richard (Dick) Gerber at a golf tournament in 1976. He reminded me of Richard (Dick) Gunn who I met in 1963. I didn’t think I would like either one of them. They were unsmiling, had piercing eyes and a grim face. They hardly noticed me. For that matter, I didn’t think they noticed anyone.

Both men would have remarkable careers in education as well as in sports. Golf was Gerber’s sport; baseball was Gunn’s. They were the toughest competitors I have ever known.

Dick Gunn was 23 or 24 when I met him on the campus of Eastern Illinois University at Charleston, IL. He and I each had a room in an off campus approved house. Dick had served in the Army and used the GI Bill to help fund his education. He was about 59” and weighed 165 # or so. He had a distinctive gait; the balls of his feet hit the ground first, then his heels. His back was straight and his shoulders were always square. He was efficient.

Dick’s knock on my door one day during exam week surprised me. He announced his purpose through the door. “Hey, John lets take a break and play tennis.” I opened the door, greeted him and said, “I’m game”.

It was a short walk to the empty tennis courts. We choose the center court and started banging balls around to warm up. Soon we volleyed and I won. My first serve was over hand and was an ace. My second serve was also over hand but it hit the net and I served the second ball under hand. Dick swatted it over the fence and out of the court. I served again and again hit the net, and again served the second ball under hand. Dick hit it over the fence and out of the court. “What the hell are you doing?” I shouted, “Are you nuts?

Dick came running to the net. His face was flushed and his eyes were mean.

“T didn’t come up here to play pity pat tennis! Either you do your best and serve over handed all the time or this game is over.” “O.K” I shouted back.

For the next hour or so there was fire in our grim game as both of us fully exerted ourselves. He won more points than I did, but we both hit good shots and received the obligatory “nice shot” comment.

When we finished, we rounded up the balls and put the rackets back in their presses and waked home. Our walk was casual and friendly and we kibitzed about the game and ourselves. Our relationship had moved to a higher level. Dick Gunn did not teach me to compete, but he did awaken me to the fact that when you do your best that’s all you can do and your competitor will appreciate the all-out effort. We played again. And all the games I have played since, none of them were “pity-pat”.

Dick Gunn and Dick Gerber were more alike than different. They embody competition. Their pores drip with competition sweat. They revel in striking the ball with precision. They don’t pull against their competition as much as they strive to improve their own game. They know the score, and importantly, their opponent. They want a battle. They love to win. They’re driven to improve. They relate to the competitor who can bring it. They respect courage more than the skills and talents of those they play against. Try to be on their side. If you are you’ll know they have immense pride in a game that lasts a few hours and builds relationships that last a lifetime.

Sometimes the two cool Richards were more than I could take and I would seek refuge from their frosty souls. It’s a fact, I hate losing more than I love winning. I can always do my best though and have made that a mantra for all the games I play.

Since leaving college I have not played a game of any sorts with Dick Gunn, but I have kept up with him somewhat. He earned a Doctorate and became a legendary history professor at Wisconsin. I met him one summer when he and his teen aged son were taking a tour to visit many of baseball’s major league parks. Dick was comfortable and smiling. I noticed.

Dick Gerber had a distinguished career as an educator and an amazing record as a golf coach. I’ve seen him with his youngest son and Dick’s joy was unmasked. He too, was comfortable and smiling.

Since 1976 I have played several games of golf with and against Dick Gerber. I remember the games more than he does as he was focused on killing me on the course and wanting to be friends when we finished. I told him I was a sore loser.

“Leave me the hell alone for a bit, Richard!”

John Casey

435 ‘4 ‘Bluff St. Alton, IL 62002 618-670-5646

835

We tied the second hole and Jack won the 3 with a bogey. The game was tied. We tied the 5" and Jack won the 6 with a nice putt. He went one up. Number 7 was bogeyed by both of us and Jack remained one up going to 8. Jack’s 3-metal landed in the center of the fairway, only the second fairway he hit all day. I was in the right rough about 147 yards from the hole. My second shot came up short in the right rough. Jack’s shot hit the green just past center and came up 18 foot short of the back pin.

I slowed down my thinking and settled into the process of golfing my ball. I needed a par to have any chance to play another hole. Jack had makeable birdie putt and a sure par. My wedge was good and rolled out to end up about 8” from the cup. It was conceded. Jack missed left and I conceded his 2 footer.

Nine is tough but my handicap hole. I had a good chance to tie the match. _ : . eater wee Jack’s long towering drive landed out of bounds. He hit’agatn and his ball sailed 275 yards into the fairway. I won the hole and match was square. We headed to sudden death.

On # 1, our playoff hole, Jack hit high and right into the rough. My ball was down the middle. Jack’s next shot hit a tall tree dropped and he had to chip out. I hit another good shot and was about 130 from the pin. Jack hit the green with his 4t» shot. My 3" shot was pulled left and short of the green. I chipped to about 2 1/2 foot of the hole. Jack missed, he conceded the match. l had my first win in the 21st century.

I looked at my book of plans for the first time that day when I got home. The first sentence in the book was: This is where you want to be, doing what you like to do, with someone you like, now don’t get lost in “drifting” or in the past.

John Casey

is Ht Flas

Spake L

YOU LUCKY BASTARD

You’re left handed for goodness sake And it seems it is the long putts you always make Know what? – You’re everyone’s champ But it’s your mouth you need to clamp

You act like you are in a snit And hundreds of times you threaten to quit Every excuse is just plain lame I’ve heard them all, they’re all the same

How good you play is always dazzling It is unbelievable and simply amazing You’re an “A” player and hit from the back Now leave me alone, give me some slack

You make more money than you can count It has to be a gianormous amount And yet you have golf buddies at which you sneer When they suggest you buy them a beer

Dotty puts up with you because she’s a saint You aren’t a prize – you isn’t, you ain’t And your children love you and you have a nice pet You’re simply the luckiest person I have ever met

“B” john 9/15/08 Green with envy

[have written poems to many of my golfing buddies. They put them up like badges and may from time to time recall them. Some are rough and not ready for prime time.

YOU LUCKY BASTARD

You’re left handed for goodness sake And it seems it is the long putts you always make Know what? — You’re everyone’s champ But it’s your mouth you need to clamp

You act like you are in a snit And hundreds of times you threaten to quit Every excuse is just plain lame I’ve heard them all, they’re all the same

How good you play is always dazzling It is unbelievable and simply amazing You’re an “A” player and hit from the back Now leave me alone, give me some slack

‘You make more money than you can count It has to be a gianormous amount And yet you have golf buddies at which you sneer When they suggest you buy them a beer

Dotty puts up with you because she’s a saint You aren’t a prize — you isn’t, you ain’t And your children love you and you have a nice pet You’re simply the luckiest person I have ever met

Zip it up Lee Letit be Beaman Your fan

“B” john 9/15/08 Green with envy

Gentlemen, Tuesday’s game was my most enjoyable one for a long time, perhaps since Pana in September 2018. You were the reason.

Have you ever felt like a hamster in a wheel, furiously churning your was through life but somehow not going anywhere? Well, that’s where | was.

| had to stop blaming luck, people, outside influences or circumstances. | am 100 % responsible for what | do with my life, always, every time, no excuses.

| believe | have regained my spark and stop living the life | have and start living the life i‘m after. I’m unwilling to put up with my own bullshit any longer.

When | played golf today a reoccurring malady would not go away and caused me and my group to wince. Short chips and putts of any distance were either bladed, chopped, shanked and muffed. They were ugly.

| see the shot, know the club to use, can read the line, and vision a successful outcome. My motor skills are damaged and confidence is non existence.

| plan to stop the torture and develop a plan to play again. | can’t take too long either. Time is running out on me.

A start is to review clubs and equipment. Rolling Hills is a tiny course from the up-front tees. The fairways are wide and the greens are large. The grass on the fairways are a bit blotchy and uneven. Around the greens grass is longer and tougher. But, hey, we use preferred lies and move the ball around for a place we like.

| carry fourteen clubs. | don’t need that many. A sand or lob wedge needs to be solidly struck to be effective. | don’t need a 3 or 4 iron and maybe not a 5 as it’s getting close to using a hybrid club. | like my driver and 5-medal club. | think | need a good 3-medal. So it’s like this: Driver, 3-medal, 5 medal, two hybrids (4 & 6), 6-7-8-9-& Wedge and a putter. That’s 11 clubs.

I’ve got oodles of balls and some are good, some vintage and most are hard covers. I’m trying not to consider distance as much as performance and think a softer ball is better for me. | don’t hit many practice balls, but think | should at least hit 20 or so with a few clubs. Chipping and putting on the two large practice greens aren’t much help as they are almost perfectly level and faster that the playing greens.

My arthritic hands contribute to my problem. The primary problem is my left hand. Broke fingers playing baseball. My fingers don’t bend enough to give me a firm grip. If | try to choke the grip my hand and arm tightens and contributes to the problem. | need to design a glove. | know they are illegal.

When I played golf today a reoccurring malady would not go away and caused me and my group to wince. Short chips and putts of any distance were either bladed, chopped, shanked and muffed. They were ugly. I see the shot, know the club to use, can read the line, and vision a successful outcome. My motor skills are damaged and confidence is non existence. I plan to stop the torture and develop a plan to play again. I can’t take too long either. Time is running out on me. A start is to review clubs and equipment. Rolling Hills is a tiny course from the up-front tees. The fairways are wide and the greens are large. The grass on the fairways are a bit blotchy and uneven. Around the greens grass is longer and tougher. But, hey, we use preferred lies and move the ball around for a place we like. I carry fourteen clubs. I don’t need that many. A sand or lob wedge needs to be solidly struck to be effective. I don’t need a 3 or 4 iron and maybe not a 5 as it’s getting close to using a hybrid club. I like my driver and 5-medal club. I think I need a good 3-medal. So it’s like this: Driver, 3-medal, 5 medal, two hybrids (4 & 6), 6-7-8-9-& Wedge and a putter. That’s 11 clubs. I’ve got oodles of balls and some are good, some vintage and most are hard covers. I’m trying not to consider distance as much as performance and think a softer ball is better for me. I don’t hit many practice balls, but think I should at least hit 20 or so with a few clubs. Chipping and putting on the two large practice greens aren’t much help as they are almost perfectly level and faster that the playing greens. My arthritic hands contribute to my problem. The primary problem is my left hand. Broke fingers playing baseball. My fingers don’t bend enough to give me a firm grip. If I try to choke the grip my hand and arm tightens and contributes to the problem. I need to design a glove. I know they are illegal.

False, but well intended praise, make me aware that I’m not playing well and my playing partners offer positives. Silence or a tap on the shoulder would be better. | also watch everyones ball when they hit. | don’t talk to my ball and not to theirs either. A ball doesn’t listen well.

| estimate | take 20 -30 seconds to get ready to hit; from sticking a tee in the ground, sizing up the shot, visualizing the flight and swing. | like quietness but often have to try to block it out.

Playing on a team that everyone keeps track of the points they have, the points they need and “what’s it going to take to win” Is distracting. Everyone silently knows. Some of our best shots are on par 3’s. | think it is because a single shot may win a stob and we win money. We concentrate better and chose our club wisely.

This week | played on Jeff's team. He is 64’ish, talll, strong and hits the ball a mile. We used his tee shot on 11 of the 14 long holes. He loves golf and plays rather well. He is also very courteous and aware of other players. | believe watching him over the shot and being quiet helps him. We should do it more. He’s heard “Great Shot” a lot.

Our team was four individuals being very concerned with our own shots. We cussed (I did for sure) and commented on our wayward shots. | needed to concentrate better and learn to shrug off sounds around me.

| needed to play better!

John 5/20/22

Jeff John Dale Don

False, but well intended praise, make me aware that I’m not playing well and my playing partners offer positives. Silence or a tap on the shoulder would be better. I also watch everyones ball when they hit. I don’t talk to my ball and not to theirs either. A ball doesn’t listen well. I estimate I take 20 -30 seconds to get ready to hit; from sticking a tee in the ground, sizing up the shot, visualizing the flight and swing. I like quietness but often have to try to block it out. Playing on a team that everyone keeps track of the points they have, the points they need and “what’s it going to take to win” Is distracting. Everyone silently knows. Some of our best shots are on par 3’s. I think it is because a single shot may win a stob and we win money. We concentrate better and chose our club wisely. This week I played on Jeff’s team. He is 64’ish, talll, strong and hits the ball a mile. We used his tee shot on 11 of the 14 long holes. He loves golf and plays rather well. He is also very courteous and aware of other players. I believe watching him over the shot and being quiet helps him. We should do it more. He’s heard “Great Shot” a lot. Our team was four individuals being very concerned with our own shots. We cussed (I did for sure) and commented on our wayward shots. I needed to concentrate better and learn to shrug off sounds around me. I needed to play better! John 5/20/22 Jeff John Dale Don

PLAINTIFF: Withheld DEFENDENT: Withheld

CHARGE # 1: Hitting golf balls

into the woods

The plaintiff said the defendant hit four balls into the woods. The Defendant says he hit two balls into the woods. Further, the Defendant says he picked up two balls he hit near, but not into the woods.

The Plaintiff said she recovered some balls the next morning that she claims the defendant hit into the woods. All of the balls hit by the defendant and plaintiff were recovered within one day.

The plaintiff supplied the balls and golf clubs and had also hit numerous balls into the field. The plaintiff and defendant recovered most of the balls the same day as they were hit.

The balls the plaintiff found the next day, when the defendant was absent, was claimed to have been hit by the defendant.

Defendant pleads Guilty of hitting two golf balls into the woods.

The Judge accepts the plea of guilty. No fine is assessed. The judge tells the defendant to never again hit any balls that are not yours at or into a woods.

CHARGE # 2: Stealing small white rocks

The plaintiff has a strip of land that borders a walk. Small white rocks Line the walk and meets the base of the house wall. The defendant had a hobby of painting words on rocks and giving them to people. In the past,

He had asked for and received permission of the plaintiff to use some of her rocks for his hobby. The defendant no longer pursues this hobby.

The plaintiff called the defendant the next day after the episode of hitting golf balls and asked if the defendant had picked up some rocks. He replied, “I did not pick up a rock from your bed of rocks.” The plaintiff replied, “Then, did you pick up rocks?” The defendant’s reply, “No, I did not pick up any rocks from your bed of rocks.”

Defendant pleads Not Guilty of stealing rocks.

No evidence of any rocks was found that indicates the plaintiff stole any rocks. No fine was levied, no reprimand was made.

The judge announced: “No penalty is assessed. THIS CASE IS CLOSED.”

He added, “Neither the charge of hitting golf balls and

stealing rocks have any basis that the defendant committed

a crime. The plaintiff’s anger apparently was directed to a person she did not like. This will not be put into the records.”

Gentlemen, Tuesday’s game was my most enjoyable one for a long time, perhaps since Pana in September 2018. You were the reason. Have you ever felt like a hamster in a wheel, furiously churning your was through life but somehow not going anywhere? Well, that’s where I was. I had to stop blaming luck, people, outside influences or circumstances. I am 100 % responsible for what I do with my life, always, every time, no excuses. I believe I have regained my spark and stop living the life I have and start living the life i‘m after. I’m unwilling to put up with my own bullshit any longer.

Golf the Bewitcher The game is both fickle and bewitching. It leads you on with little favors that fill you with hope of conquest. Then it scorns and humiliates you and leaves you despairing. You are through, finished, kaput. You come back of course. Suddenly the miracle happens. You can do no wrong. You are Murder Incorporated off the tees and sudden death on your approaches and your putting is phenomenal. In your great joy, you find you love all your fellow men, especially those in your own foursome. You want to share your newly discovered secrets. You give them freely to everyone. You are a saint for generosity. You are also a pain in the arse. But the game, the bewitcher, will take care of you. Just when your confidence is highest, your happiness indescribable golf will let you have it. You will dub your next drive, you will blunder your way into a trap, and you will three-putt. You will be chastised. You will know humility again. No man ever reaches the point at which he can say: I have learned the secret, I have conquered the bewitcher. Golf is man’s most humbling diversion. For that reason alone, the greatest game he has ever devised. No man who golfs is so stubborn, so conceited, so arrogant or so accomplished that he is not constantly striving to improve his score. He may pretend that mediocrity is enough for him. He may say, “I’m having fun, that’s all that matters, that’s good enough for me”. This man is telling a lie and he knows it. Every golfer, at the bottom of his heart wants to play the game relatively well. 293 words John Casey: 435 ½ Bluff St Alton, IL 62002 670-5646 jrcasey134@gmail.com

In theory, a one or two foot putt should be almost impossible to miss. Take aim and move the putter, and the ball will go in. But when you get the brain involved, strange things can happen. A lot of things are going on and fear is ever present for a yipper. There is a monster around ready to pounce on you as your self conscious takes control over your body, or at least your hands that hold the putter. The angle of the putter face, the speed of the movement, and a hoard of complexities get involved. You suddenly become aware that the simplest thing becomes difficult, sometimes impossible. You start compensating for things without knowing what you're compensating for. I have compassion and a personal respect for the victim golfer who battles the demons causing the yips, and continues to endure the woes that they bring. As long as I can and as long as it is fun, I will never give up, but I don't have to win.

PLAINTIFF: Withheld DEFENDENT: Withheld CHARGE # 1: Hitting golf balls into the woods The plaintiff said the defendant hit four balls into the woods. The Defendant says he hit two balls into the woods. Further, the Defendant says he picked up two balls he hit near, but not into the woods. The Plaintiff said she recovered some balls the next morning that she claims the defendant hit into the woods. All of the balls hit by the defendant and plaintiff were recovered within one day. The plaintiff supplied the balls and golf clubs and had also hit numerous balls into the field. The plaintiff and defendant recovered most of the balls the same day as they were hit. The balls the plaintiff found the next day, when the defendant was absent, was claimed to have been hit by the defendant. Defendant pleads Guilty of hitting two golf balls into the woods. The Judge accepts the plea of guilty. No fine is assessed. The judge tells the defendant to never again hit any balls that are not yours at or into a woods. CHARGE # 2: Stealing small white rocks The plaintiff has a strip of land that borders a walk. Small white rocks line the walk and meets the base of the house wall. The defendant had a hobby of painting words on rocks and giving them to people. In the past, He had asked for and received permission of the plaintiff to use some of her rocks for his hobby. The defendant no longer pursues this hobby. The plaintiff called the defendant the next day after the episode of hitting golf balls and asked if the defendant had picked up some rocks. He replied, “I did not pick up a rock from your bed of rocks.” The plaintiff replied, “Then, did you pick up rocks?” The defendant’s reply, “No, I did not pick up any rocks from your bed of rocks.” Defendant pleads Not Guilty of stealing rocks. No evidence of any rocks was found that indicates the plaintiff stole any rocks. No fine was levied, no reprimand was made. The judge announced: “No penalty is assessed. THIS CASE IS CLOSED.” He added, “Neither the charge of hitting golf balls and stealing rocks have any basis that the defendant committed a crime. The plaintiff’s anger apparently was directed to a person she did not like. This will not be put into the records.”

will someone help me with putting my ball? I’ve been averaging 40 putts a game. Tuesday I putted one ball 5 inches. It made it to the in-the-leather distance. John Casey

The original page will appear here.

[Top jotting:] Shorty — the [thaw?] needs cleaning. —

Englander's HARRY VARDON and Ted Ray were considered to be the best Golfers of their time. Francis Ouimet, a caddy at Brookline, earned an invitation to play in the 1913 U.S. Open. He lived across the street from the course. His dad worked 6-days a week. His mom encouraged Francis to follow his dream of becoming a pro golfer.

Ouimet's regular Caddy was 12-year-old Jack Lowery. He got sick, and 10-year-old Eddie Lowery begged to get to caddy in the open.

On the first day of the tournament, 10,000 people came out to watch the match. Ted Ray played poorly, but Vardon was playing well. Ouimet was expected to fold, but he stayed close to Vardon and gained the lead. On #17 Francis birdied and went ahead.

Ouimet's birdie on the [first?] hole meant a five-shot lead and victory. America had a hero.

Disney's 2005 movie — "The Greatest Game Ever Played" — honored Ouimet and Eddie Lowery, who became a rich man — selling Cars (Cadillacs?) in California.

[Top:] Paul Owsley got the Shanks. It was ridiculous, & maddening. One day he adopted a putting Change that WORKED. He cut the Club down to a 17-inch model. He carried it outside his golf Bag. He used one hand. He improved.

I recommend it to You.

If I [were?] unseen and die, I'd be remembered only by my Name.

Barry Moyer — Don't Stop Playing. John [address block:] Rolling Hills Golf Course / 5801 Pierce Lane / Godfrey, IL 62035

(1) 47-inch Putter — One handed. Carry it on your back [boot?].

(2) Option — 47-inch Putter, One handed. From 5 foot off the green.

Barry Moyer, I have heard you have become a bad putter. I believe it is a Short-Lived Problem. I recall my own up & downs problem with my putters (note: plural). I got them, I feared them, they drove me crazy and embarrassed me.

Barry Moyer

[Geo?], Jim, Bill, Bill — I've been writing about golf and golfers since my first game in 1963. It's quickly written, & it's how I remember Everyone and the game. When I play poorly I beat myself up. It Lasts a few hours. I feel I Let my Partners down. I Expect a Lot from myself. My writings are intended to entertain the Readers and give some insight into the game of golf. They are not serious. I'm not trying to be perfect. Jon C 7/31/2019 [bottom note:] Youngsters — Senior Players up to 80 — Play From Sr. Tees. Elders — over 80 — Play from Reds, a Ladies Tee.

4-1-2 Team #3, you're on the tee. It was 9:15. We wait for the Ladies who had Cut in front. Then Two youngsters of Seventy-Eight Laced feeble drives from the yellow markers. The group of Three — Elders — banged their drivers from the Reds. Left to right they flew. It took a few minutes to Collect all balls, which gave everyone a Chance — for everyone to get caught up on ailments, aches and pains. Only one (me) was on the green in three. It was a quarter of a mile journey and would require five putts to reach the bottom of the hole — 1-2-3-4-5 — miraculous up and downs by others of the medley crew. And all par and Two bogeys — 5-6-6-7-8.

The girls were gone when We reached Number Two. It took three minutes to get out of the Carts, and another to hit five Shots, and another five for everyone to get on the green. And another five to Putt out. And another five to reach the next Tee, and another five to hit our drives. I'm dizzy. A small argument on #3 on whether an oldie had a 5 or 4. Everyone's memory except the Putter said 5. The Putter took three minutes to accept the 5. Not Happy. "Oh well." Now a 3-Putt for me is not unusual. I managed it from only 12 feet on #4 and watched an Oldie Putt his 48-foot winding-downhill putt for a gimme 4; and Deemed as he should. It would be his par for the game. (e)

On #6, two shots of 5 reached the green and measurements began that would Last five minutes — All participated. One Oldie Counted 10 steps, the Last one stretched, to his ball — and 10 steps, placed one foot to the spot marker. This Lasted Seven minutes. The Spot was beaten by the first player of the Next Team. We Played Number Seven well and crawled through number Eight with only one Lost ball. We chopped Through Number Nine with only one Lost ball. We Played number Ten with only one Lost ball. We Played Number Eleven with only one Lost ball: "Wait," was uttered after five minutes, "I hit a Yellow ball." He claimed it.

On #12 the oldie claimed he had a 4. It had happened before and it took 4 minutes for others to recount his shots, and he, the Shooter, said, "Oh well!" On We sailed. On 16 we almost Lost a ball, but the five-minute Search turned it up. We finished the round, shook hands and paid our money. Hey, we had fun — with only Four hundred and Twelve shots, which amazingly was the Cumulative age of all five players: four hundred Twelve years. It took Four hundred and Twelve minutes to play the game. We may have won a buck or two. I don't know. I had to Pick up a prescription — a memory Pill. John

Shan,

my USGA golf handicap at Green Hills in [Mt. Vernon] was 4.6. It was Low enough to meet The 1992 U.S Senior Open Championship Requirements to attempt to qualify to play in the PGA Tournament. Pros at Mt Vernon — Michael and Jerry Tucker Encouraged one to attempt to Play at Belle Meade Country Club in Nashville, Tennessee.

I applied and was accepted to Play in Nashville. My best friend Lou McTinley would be my Caddy. June 26, 1992.

A practice round was included and I played with Two Pros. My nerves were shot but Enjoyed the game.

The night before the qualifying round it Rained in Torrents. I slept very Little. I'll not go into details, but it was an experience I won't forget. The rain never let up. [I remember our group contemplated] Playing. I played till the End, Shot in the 80's [CB?] and was with gentlemen Pros who Encouraged me. I had a handful of new friends.

On a opening hole — Perhaps #3 — it was raining in sheets. Lou held a Large Umbrella over my head. We were beneath a 300 year old tree. My ball was 8 foot from the hole and I would wait till the others putted out. Lou said, "Okay, it doesn't get any better than This." [margin: "After the Round"] He and I were invited to have a drink with a Couple of members and Lunch. We passed on Lunch and had a BBQ at a famous Nashville BBQ Shak.

Love, Dad.

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