- Staff
- #1
Everybody's got a story. I found this one typed up on my computer. I wrote it last year when I was really playing horribly and decided to "retire" from competitive golf... heh.
You guys have known me for only a couple of years at most, so I’ll start at the beginning.
1980–1988 - I started playing golf at a young enough age that my earliest memories involve a golf club. By age ten I was winning Jr golf tournaments and by 12 I was breaking 80. By age 14 I held a 1.4 handicap, won in multiple states, and lettered as a freshman - qualifying for state individually. Working at the course allowed me to develop my game whenever I wanted, which was good because we were poor and free golf was pretty much the only way I could ever play. I had planned on going to Arizona State (obviously on a scholarship ) and then going pro. Solid plan.
1988-1994 - Then life happened. Girls and skateboarding were sooo much more fun than golf. Getting drunk at lunch, getting laid at night, golf fell by the wayside. But my talent allowed me to still be competitive. Win-freakin-win! Then my grades slipped, I barely graduated, and college wasn’t an option anymore because my hopes for any scholarship money didn’t pan out. I got into a fight with my golf coach and didn’t even play my junior year.
1994 - I enrolled at Southern Utah University. The pro at my home course knew the golf coach there and I had three cousins attending, so it seemed perfect. The coach couldn’t have cared less. He had kids there that were 4.0 students who had won state. I amassed a 2.7gpa and played in state, but never won. Golf started in September but by October there was so much snow on the ground that the golf team had to drive to Nevada to practice. I hated it. I hated the snow, I hated the school, and I hated Utah. After the first semester, I quit and headed to Phoenix to a computer drafting school. Which I quit after one year.
1996 - I was offered a job at a machine shop. I still golfed whenever I could. Mainly corporate scrambles. What a joke.
1999 – I got married. Bought a house. Got into debt. Had to work more…
2001 – Had my first kid. I vowed at that moment that I would be getting paid to play golf before he reached elementary school. So I joined the AGA and started playing as many amateur tournaments as possible. My best finish was T7 which is still my claim to fame because I beat PGA pro Ted Purdy by one shot. After four years of no success, I put the clubs in storage again and had my second child in 2005. My oldest is now in 7th grade and I never made a dime playing golf.
2008 – I moved to Oregon. Golf-wise not a great decision, but life-wise a superb one. I found a local club and the flame began to burn once again. When I learned that the US Open would be held up the road in Seattle in 2015, I decided that my new goal was to qualify. I had no expectations of winning, or even making the cut… I just wanted to stand on the tee box at the Open and have my name called.
2013 – Another five years of tournaments with no success. I’d only broken 80 a few times at any important tournaments recently. I was watching the golf world slip away. After the last tournament I made a realistic decision. I was done with competitive golf. For good? Maybe. For now, absolutely. I’ll still be at the US Open, but on the outside of the ropes, corralled with all the drunken frat boys.
I'll probably always be competitive on the course. It's in my blood. So much that last week was the first time I drank alcohol while playing (even during regular rounds with friends). I take golf seriously... well I took golf seriously. Maybe now I can just relax and actually ENJOY a round with my son.
And that’s the sordid tale of how I came to retire from competitive golf at age 37.
So what's your story?
You guys have known me for only a couple of years at most, so I’ll start at the beginning.
1980–1988 - I started playing golf at a young enough age that my earliest memories involve a golf club. By age ten I was winning Jr golf tournaments and by 12 I was breaking 80. By age 14 I held a 1.4 handicap, won in multiple states, and lettered as a freshman - qualifying for state individually. Working at the course allowed me to develop my game whenever I wanted, which was good because we were poor and free golf was pretty much the only way I could ever play. I had planned on going to Arizona State (obviously on a scholarship ) and then going pro. Solid plan.
1988-1994 - Then life happened. Girls and skateboarding were sooo much more fun than golf. Getting drunk at lunch, getting laid at night, golf fell by the wayside. But my talent allowed me to still be competitive. Win-freakin-win! Then my grades slipped, I barely graduated, and college wasn’t an option anymore because my hopes for any scholarship money didn’t pan out. I got into a fight with my golf coach and didn’t even play my junior year.
1994 - I enrolled at Southern Utah University. The pro at my home course knew the golf coach there and I had three cousins attending, so it seemed perfect. The coach couldn’t have cared less. He had kids there that were 4.0 students who had won state. I amassed a 2.7gpa and played in state, but never won. Golf started in September but by October there was so much snow on the ground that the golf team had to drive to Nevada to practice. I hated it. I hated the snow, I hated the school, and I hated Utah. After the first semester, I quit and headed to Phoenix to a computer drafting school. Which I quit after one year.
1996 - I was offered a job at a machine shop. I still golfed whenever I could. Mainly corporate scrambles. What a joke.
1999 – I got married. Bought a house. Got into debt. Had to work more…
2001 – Had my first kid. I vowed at that moment that I would be getting paid to play golf before he reached elementary school. So I joined the AGA and started playing as many amateur tournaments as possible. My best finish was T7 which is still my claim to fame because I beat PGA pro Ted Purdy by one shot. After four years of no success, I put the clubs in storage again and had my second child in 2005. My oldest is now in 7th grade and I never made a dime playing golf.
2008 – I moved to Oregon. Golf-wise not a great decision, but life-wise a superb one. I found a local club and the flame began to burn once again. When I learned that the US Open would be held up the road in Seattle in 2015, I decided that my new goal was to qualify. I had no expectations of winning, or even making the cut… I just wanted to stand on the tee box at the Open and have my name called.
2013 – Another five years of tournaments with no success. I’d only broken 80 a few times at any important tournaments recently. I was watching the golf world slip away. After the last tournament I made a realistic decision. I was done with competitive golf. For good? Maybe. For now, absolutely. I’ll still be at the US Open, but on the outside of the ropes, corralled with all the drunken frat boys.
I'll probably always be competitive on the course. It's in my blood. So much that last week was the first time I drank alcohol while playing (even during regular rounds with friends). I take golf seriously... well I took golf seriously. Maybe now I can just relax and actually ENJOY a round with my son.
And that’s the sordid tale of how I came to retire from competitive golf at age 37.
So what's your story?