Similarities

Today marked the return of one our original foursome to the fold. Barry returned to the Saxon Woods course after honing his game in the tropical island of St. Kitts. Barry brought along his friend Bob who usually plays at a country club in Rye. Bob brought along his hi-tech gizmo called the Sky Caddie which allowed him to tell us the exact distance we were from the green. This was an often illuminating experience, but didn’t seem to change anybody’s club selection. It was good for the intellect, but after the batteries went dead along the way, we went back to our old way of figuring distance. The approach is to look for the posts on the side of the fairway that are put in every 50 yards and estimate how much in-between the posts you are. We were joined by a walk-on by the name of Oliver who told us of his surprise when called the reservation system yesterday and this early time was available. Speaking of time, today was the day that our tee time moved from 6:52 A.M. to 7:12 A.M. This change evokes mixed feelings. On the one hand it is nice to sleep another 20 minutes, but it is also an indication that the mornings and evenings are getting darker and it is a signal that the summer (which seems like it just started,) is slipping away.
So – now to the similarities mentioned in the blog title. What do these folks have in common? Oliver and Ian from last week’s blog? Barry’s friend Bob and Ken Barish? Barry Gold and the professional Golfer John Daly? Oliver and Ian both are natives of the United Kingdom area who came to America for a bit of a visit and decided to stay. Oliver is not quite from the United Kingdom, because I don’t think that the folks from Ireland would want to be lumped in with those guys. But both Ian and Oliver work in the securities Industry, met their wives in America, got their green cards and decided to stay in this country. Oliver actually won a lottery in Ireland to get his original visa. Just in case any of us forget what we have going for us in this country, these guys are a reminder.
What do Bob and Ken Barish have in common? Well I guess I would have to say style of play. Both players have what I would call a methodical style of play. In an earlier blog, Bernie recalled Ken’s earlier tendencies to take an excessive number of practice swings that had been cut down to a reasonable number. Well Bob does something that I haven’t seen many players do, before almost every shot (including putting) he lays down his club at his feet and uses it to line himself up. After he is comfortable that his feet are lined properly, he picks up the club and takes some practice swings. He has a very very slow backswing, so after a couple of practice swings we are ready to go. Like Ken, nobody is complaining, Bob is fun guy to play with and things move along at their own pace.
That leaves the last similarity, Barry Gold and John Daly. They both Shot in the high 80’s in the last couple of days. For John Daly, Shooting an 89 on the second day of the British Open was probably not the high point of his career. In an otherwise difficult tournament, that score was the highest. But as Paul Simon wrote, “One man’s ceiling is another man’s floor.” An 88 for Barry, or any of the fab four is a round for the ages. It is one to savor and remember. It might make Barry re-think his bike trip next week, so he can repeat this performance on his home course. To put an 88 in perspective, par for this course is 71. If you shoot one over par on every hole, you would shoot an 89. To the non-golfers, this may not seem like much, but trust me, most times people are happy to break 100. Barry was hitting his drives straight down the fairway. They were kept low, so as not to be impacted by the wind, but they rolled forever. These shots were complimented by a number of beautiful approach shots that landed softly on the green. Well done Barry. Bernie would have loved to witness it, but he is resting up for his triumphant return on August 3rd.
I’m not sure if there will be a golf blog next week, because again the other members of the foursome will be doing other things, so I will be by myself. I might choose to go to the beach with my lovely wife. We will see what happens.