The "competition" theme mentioned in Bernie's post, gives a small window into what makes this foursome somewhat unique. Golf can certainly be a contest. There are people that play golf and place a small wager on the outcome. It is not unlike people playing poker for low stakes just to make the game "interesting." Indeed, one time last year, a guest said when we arrived at the 16th hole par 3, "everyone kick in a dollar and the one who lands on the green closest to the hole gets the money." There was stunned silence from the 3 regulars. We don't compete against each other, we compete against the golf course which tries to convince us that the tree in front of us has plenty of space to hit through it and then laughs as the clunk of the ball hitting wood results in a position that is a mere 10 yards further then where we hit it. We all sheepishly handed in our dollars to the guest and reluctantly begun the competition. The result was poetic justice for this group - nobody hit it on the green! The money was returned, and although the original foursome has returned to that hole many times, none have ever suggested that we repeat that wager. The reason is that this group defines the opposite of competition. If one of our members is struggling with their play, the others will offer support or sometimes a joke or even talk about non golf topics to try to help the golfer get back on track. We have all had those times when every shot seems to slice and every putt comes up short. But for this group the "competition" is to make sure that everyone reaches the finish line (18th hole) having had fun and each having some memorable shots. We enjoy it when Barry exclaims, as he did on the first hole 2 weeks ago, "Wow, what a sight, all four balls in the fairway!"