Golf Balls over the Barn

Now everyone has to learn how to play golf at some time but I was almost forced to after my freshman year at Shidler.  You see during a track meet at Newkirk I decided I wanted to try the broad jump and no I am not talking about a woman but a track meet.  Now if you know anything about physics a 210 lb. boy at 6 ft. 2 in. runs slow and should never try running then jumping and landing without some idea of the potential consequences.  Well this boy did and it messed me up bad.  By the time we got home that day I could not walk so they took me to the chiropractor in Shidler.  I forgot his name but I believe his office was next door to Berman's Drug store.  He decided that I needed to go to Tulsa to see an orthopedic surgeon. Well Dr. Maoza (not sure how to spell it) ended my football career and I was very depressed about it. 

So my parents got me started playing golf.  I took lessons over at the Ponca City Country Club.  One of the first things i did was purchase about 250 practice balls and and old 8 iron.  There are positive and negative aspects of this as when you live on a farm there are plenty of places to hit balls but the problem is finding them.  After surveying the landscape I figured the best probability was hitting the balls from our front yard toward the hay barn which was a good 100 yards from the house.  We kept things pretty neat and mowed around the barns and house so I had a good chance of finding the balls.  One thing to note if you ever find a good farmer you will probably find a very neat and well kept set of barns and equipment.  I even remember in the round barn we had dirt floors and dad would have me sweep it about once a week so it would look neat.  Think about that, sweeping dirt on a dirt floor, does that make since?  Anyway farmers have a lot of pride in what things look like.  Most times you will find a farmer has a lot more money in the combine or barn than their house.

Anyway, back to golf.  I hit thousands of balls at that barn and anyone that came to the house generally hit balls with me.  In fact I got where I could consistently hit over the barn and into the cattle pens.  Now if you don't know, cattle pins don't have any grass and very few weeds because it is full of composted and fresh cow manure.  Do I need to explain?  Well it was easy to find the balls but sometimes they were green from the manure.  You should clean that off before you hit the ball again as it will splatter, believe me I know.

Well the best thing about this entire deal was that I got to play golf with Becky Sharp at the Shidler Golf Course.  She was actually very athletic and a great golfer.  The golf course had sand greens, go figure that one out.  Well she was a delightful person and sadly just before the sophomore year she moved to Texas as her dad got transferred.  We wrote each other for a couple of years until we both started to get distracted by school and other things.

Well if you have never played golf on sand greens you need to go to Shidler and try it out.  It is a great experience and the wind can make you look really good if you are hitting the ball with the wind down hill. 

Well what did I learn?

•  Obviously to play golf
• Sometimes being handicapped makes you a much better person and you learn to appreciate what you lost, football
• When you cannot have what you want, football, it makes you a better football player when you get it back
• Don't feel sorry for yourself but persevere and look for a new opportunity

Thanks for your time,
gary@thepioneerman.com