Where do I even begin?…

Hmmm…

Well, you’re probably only going to care about the golf stuff. Because, well, this is a golf website. So, I’ll do my best to keep this from being a snoozefest.

So, I was born in a hospital at 6:02am on….

I’m kidding!

I was getting bored just writing that.

Ok, let’s start at the beginning.

Man… That’s getting farther in the rearview than I care for it to. 

Well…

Dad put a club in my hand as soon as I could walk. I didn’t really get a choice in playing this game. And honestly, I’m thankful I didn’t. Even though I wasn’t super into it.

My family has video of me at the driving range taking a swing and then doing a Power Ranger move. Every swing got a power punch. Or a kick.

No joke.

Over the next few years, I did a few less kicks. And chipped the ball in a few more buckets.

Our driving range had these metal drums. They would clang so loud when you got one in. The cool part was everyone knew. 

The sound was especially loud at night. But at that time “everyone” meant like… 4 of us.

To build up my skills, Dad would take me to the local par 3 course. It’s amazing how quickly a 3 shot hole can turn into a 6 shot hole. But I kept trying.

I got on the big boy courses right before I became a teenager.

Dad and I would go out every weekend and play our local course. The pro would always come talk to us while we were on the range.

I never paid much attention. I was focused on trying to keep from slicing the range balls onto the first hole. I wasn’t old enough to pay for medical bills.

[Side note: Maybe one of these days I’ll talk about all the houses, carts, patios and fences I’ve hit. But that’s for another time.]

A few years of that and then high school. I don’t miss those days.

I had an idiot “coach”. He thought he knew stuff. Turns out… He didn’t.

I didn’t play my junior year because I couldn’t stand the guy. I didn’t suck up (not my style), so I wasn’t a favorite.

My grades improved and I had more time during the week. But it bugged me that I wasn’t out there.

Before Senior year started, I found out we were getting a new coach. The old one was “mysteriously” stepping down. I won’t speculate why. I don’t really care. I was thankful he was gone.

The new coach ended up being my English teacher. I don’t like to sound egotistical, but I was a lot better than him.

So he made me a captain. I don’t know if that says more about him or me, but I took it.

Being a captain meant I played against the toughest competition in our area. I won a few… and lost a few. 

I’m far from a perfect player. But, my teammates thought I was pretty ok. I typically hovered around 4 over.

Once I left high school, it was on to the real world.

But, like everyone finds out, it’s way more than you bargained for.

Job stress. School. Bills. Girlfriend. Then no girlfriend. That actually made things a little easier honestly.

I spent 8 years at a dead end job. It was the devil I knew. I wanted out but was too scared to jump. You ever feel like that?

But, I still had golf. I’ve been playing most weekends (as long as it doesn’t dump rain) since then. 

Along with life, golf has had its highs and lows.

I’ve gone through hand me down clubs, one length clubs, and now custom fit clubs. 

I’ve boycotted a store because they sold me clubs, then wouldn’t let me return them 2 days later when I found out they were “flex” shaft. Whatever that means. They recommended that I sell them on eBay. 

I’ve played rinky dink courses and I’ve played PGA West, Poipu Bay and will be at Torrey Pines this summer.

I’ve changed my swing a thousand times just to save 1 stroke. 

The game has taught me to keep my cool in tough situations. It’s taught me integrity, and to not cheat myself. It helped me develop into who I am.

I don’t talk much while on the course. I don’t drink. I don’t smoke. My life is eerily similar to that now that I think about it. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. 

I’m not a dick. Not intentionally anyway. Just focused.

I’m there to play the game. It deserves attention.

When you do that, you can get pretty good.

So, if you ever get paired up with me, let me know you found the blog. I’ll do anything I can to help you enjoy this game I love so much.

For those of you that made it this far, thanks for reading. 

See you on the course.

-James