Arnold Palmer's Speech at Augusta

[warbirdlover]

or somewhere there was a crowd.... There was a clip in today's PGA golf on Arnold and he sat down, everyone went quiet and he told of how stern his dad was and how he never heard him swear in his life... Then he told what his dad told him... "Son, dont ever forget this.... golf is a game.... enjoy it!!"

Pretty cool thing to remember when we all start bitching.

[VtDivot]

Did his dad play golf for a living? Pros these days look at golf as a business and they should. The press used to give Duval a hard time because he didn't enjoy the game. What a bunch of imbiciles. I mean who really likes their job?

[warbirdlover]

In that case I wouldn't want to be a pro and hate golfing all day. I want to be average and enjoy golfing all day.

[BigJim13]

Originally Posted by VtDivot

Did his dad play golf for a living? Pros these days look at golf as a business and they should. The press used to give Duval a hard time because he didn't enjoy the game. What a bunch of imbiciles. I mean who really likes their job?

His dad was a club pro in Latrobe if I am not mistaken. As for the Duval comment, I remember when Curtis Strange was announcing for ABC. He was talking about how when he was a kid he ate, slept and drank golf and that is why he was able to make it as a pro while his brother didnt have that drive and became a weekend golfer like us. Strange then went on to say that he sometimes wished that he had not become a pro because it took alot of the fun out of the game and he could never really just enjoy a round of golf, even if it was just with his buddies...

[VtDivot]

Originally Posted by BigJim13

His dad was a club pro in Latrobe if I am not mistaken. As for the Duval comment, I remember when Curtis Strange was announcing for ABC. He was talking about how when he was a kid he ate, slept and drank golf and that is why he was able to make it as a pro while his brother didnt have that drive and became a weekend golfer like us. Strange then went on to say that he sometimes wished that he had not become a pro because it took alot of the fun out of the game and he could never really just enjoy a round of golf, even if it was just with his buddies...

Sometimes maybe, except when he was winning back to back US Opens.

[VtDivot]

Originally Posted by warbirdlover

In that case I wouldn't want to be a pro and hate golfing all day. I want to be average and enjoy golfing all day.

I guess we're lucky then! Although I don't seem to often enjoy it

[BigJim13]

Originally Posted by VtDivot

Sometimes maybe, except when he was winning back to back US Opens.

Yeah I am sure that helped just a bit...

[Bravo]

This philosophy is why I play with the group I play with.

About two years ago, I was playing with two groups and split time between them...

Group one was a fellows about 5-7 years younger than me who walked. I like walking and I usually play better when I walk. Besides it helps me stay in shape and I save $14 per round. Their primary wager was an individual Stableford/Dogfight and if you won, you could rake in $100 for first and $50 for second.

Group two was guys about 5-7 years older. They always rode in carts. Their bets were always team bets....and a big win would be $10 per player.

During this period of time, I had gone through a series of lessons and disciplined practice for about six months and I was playing the best golf of my life, shooting in the mid-70's. I raked the table on the individual Stableford three times in group one and took home some very nice bucks.

But Group one never really had the cameraderie of Group two. Group two's team wagers made you always be rooting for yourself AND 1-3 other players in your foursome. It's format was often foursome against foursome...so you were usually rooting for everybody in your foursome to play well. You actually celebrated birdies, sandies and closest to the pin, because these were guaranteed cash for the group - Trash - which was irrevocable, regardless of which team actually won the hole.

After about a year of playing with both....I committed to Group Two and have stayed with them.

They enjoy the game much more. They are more relaxed and don't get uptight when someone in the group is on fire....

[warbirdlover]

you could rake in $100 for first and $50 for second.

Bravo

That would NOT be fun (for me) losing that kind of money....

[Ravenous Bugblatter Beast]

Originally Posted by warbirdlover

In that case I wouldn't want to be a pro and hate golfing all day. I want to be average and enjoy golfing all day.

You ought to move someplace else than Wisconsin for that every day part of things.

[Fourputt]

I was once too serious about golf. I could have a great time, but only when I played well. Otherwise I was no fun to be with, and didn't seem to really enjoy it while I was out there, although I now know that I was enjoying it even when I didn't seem to be. Then I went through a period starting about 7 years ago where I experienced a couple of injuries (to both my right and left arms), forcing me to play less golf, and often playing horribly when I did. But, in spite of the deterioration of my game, I was appreciating those chances when I did get to play even more, because they were all too infrequent.

Last year I finally got back to a full season of reasonable health, and my game is/was terrible, but I find now that I really have a good time on the course no matter what. I still struggle to keep my scores under 90 on a course where I've shot a 1 over 73, but I'm just feeling good about being out there, and my handicap is starting to go down again from a high point of over 18. I will never again get so serious on the course that I can't enjoy every round, every shot, and take something good away from the course with me.

Of all the players I've read about and heard about during my life, I think that Arnie is the one I'd most prefer to play a round of golf with. He enjoys the game for itself, and I doubt that he could ever take the attitude that Curtis Strange has. There's a lot to be learned from a man like Arnold Palmer, and not all of it is just about playing golf.