Golf in the Bible Belt

Me knows better than to say this... but I will. I had an enjoyable time golfing in Oklahoma over Labor Day weekend. We were visiting some good friends (Rose and Roger) and Roger thought he would snag us a tee time at a pretty exclusive club. It was beautiful looking over the city from on top of the high ridge and the course was in very good shape for September. It is easy to think of Oklahoma as flat, dusty and uninviting, but at least the area around Tulsa has a lot to offer with the rolling hills and the lush surroundings.

The temperature was a slightly humid 81 degrees and the locals were complaining about the cool weather. Needless to say, I was feeling the affects and was sweating profusely. But the local host was very pleasant and since he publishes Christian books I figured I had to mind my p's and q's and f's and s's on the course. He also had his son stop and play a few holes with us for entertainment and it turned out very nice because later on during the round, his older son, Greg stopped by to play 7 or 8 holes after he had just finished playing 18... and before a big match with some old college buddies. Greg just happened to be on top of his game as he birdied three of the first 4 holes after joining us and he was driving the ball a mere 330 to 350 yards. He said he was "very happy" with his new driver which Ping had customized for his swing and returned to him that day... I'll say he was happy. He described so many theories about shaft flex, weighting, opening the face and boring the shaft at a different angle... that it had my head spinning with the science. I thought I understood a few concepts, but he was talking in a different language. Not only was he playing well, but earlier this summer he had posted 62... two times that is and then set the course record a few days before playing with us by shooting a 61. This was all before he got his new driver worked out. Wow.

Apparently he is trying to make it on tour and hoping to play on the Hooter's Tour regularly. Something we all aspire to I believe. Now imagine a guy playing this good and still can't break onto the PGA tour... "those guys are good" as the PGA slogan goes.

There was no way to keep up with him so I had to laugh at my poor excuse of a game and then it went to hell... sorry... have to remember who my playing partners are. I tried not to cuss at every shot that went astray, nor the 2 or 3 footers for boogie I kept missing... but it was fun to watch Greg play. So on a par 3 he plays an 8 iron up a hill against a slight breeze to a 167 yard hole and it drops just to the left of the cup... just a touch deep he commented... concerned about the direction from which he had to putt.

Since we had nothing in common as far as our games went, I had to ask him about the mental part of the preparation, since clearly I couldn't compete on the physical side. I queried, "So what goes through your mind as you setup for that type of shot." He replied, "Well, I'm thinking I'm in between clubs so I need to ease off a bit on this 8 iron." It didn't really answer my question, so I slowly shielded my 5 iron from his view and put it back into the bag while admosishing my latest foray into the bunker just short of the green... and I still couldn't curse at my swing even though apparently I eased up on my iron also.

On the next par 3, he misses long and left... but still only 5 yards from the pin which was situated at the extreme back left part of the green. He was just off the fringe. I still had to hit. Since it was an uphill 209 yard hole and I too was between clubs... I opted to ease off a bit on my club selection (which conviently I can't remember) and I proceeded to slide my shot way to the right, positioned nicely between a couple of traps. Then I dumped the next one into the closest trap with an astounding display of pitching prowess, then a couple more swings and two putts and I was out of there. Again since I couldn't say anything to relieve the pressure of my outstanding game, I resorted to a little humor. The only thing I could say was, "Well to quote Henny Youngman, the only two good balls I hit on this hole, happened when I stepped on the rake."

I guess humor is still acceptable in the Bible Belt.