| Biographical Non-Fiction posted April 18, 2023 |
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A dear friend whom I must now leave
A Love Letter to Golf
by Jim Wile
My Dearest Friend,
It is with much regret that I inform you that, after my 60-year love affair with you, I must leave you now. It was a difficult decision for me to make, but I want you to know that I will always love you even though we must part ways.
You have afforded me some of the greatest pleasures in my life. From my earliest days with you at age 10 or 11, I fell in love with you as you surpassed all other sports like baseball and tennis and occupied so much of my spare time. Through a great deal of practice and instruction that I gained from a few lessons, plus hours of reading about you, and watching the pros play on TV and in person, I gained a level of proficiency that helped me enjoy you to a great extent. I was never nearly as good as the pros I used to watch, but I played at a level that was personally satisfying for the amount of effort I could afford to put into you.
Of course, there were a few periods of frustration like all golfers face, but I was always able to overcome them somehow until recently. My age and infirmities have finally caught up with me to the point that they have robbed most of the enjoyment from the wonderful game that you are. As late as age 68, I came within 4 strokes of shooting my age on a 6,000-yard course, a goal I've always wanted to reach. But that’s as close as I will ever get.
In the last couple of years, I have had two surgeries on my foot and two on my right arm, including a total wrist fusion that prevents me from bending the wrist at all but at least alleviated the pain I was having. I could still play after that, but I lost a ton of distance and almost all of my short game except for putting. I’m not sure I could come within 20 strokes of my age now, even from the red tees, and even that will make my body ache throughout the round and for the next couple of days. I wish it weren’t so, but that’s a fact of life now.
Rather than watch my game degrade even further as my pain increases, is not how I want to think about and remember you, so the time is now to say farewell and thank you for the wonderful memories of all the enjoyment I got from you.
Here are just a few highlights of my time together with you that remain as very fond memories:
The first time I broke 80 – I was on vacation in February during the winter break of my junior year of high school. I began the round with a rather mediocre 43 on the first nine, but started hot on the back nine with birdies on 10 and 11. Then I put together a string of pars. It wasn’t until the 17th hole that I realized that all I needed were two bogies on the final two holes to shoot 36 and thus a 79 for 18 holes. I bogied the 17th, but as the pressure mounted, I started to butcher the 18th. It was a par-4 hole, and it took me four shots to reach the green, ending up eight feet behind the hole. However, I put thoughts of failure behind me, and with my first-ever chance to break 80, I proceeded to knock the ball into the hole for 79! I was pretty excited about that, and Dad was really proud of me, too. To complete what had become at that time the best day of my life, I met a cute girl that night. We hung out together, which included going to a casino, where I won $10 by putting $5 on red in roulette and winning and then taking a long walk on the beach, where we made out. A memorable day, to be sure!
Building my backyard putting green – I recount this story in a previous posting on FanStory, and I will provide a link to it below in the Author’s Notes, so I’ll just say a few things about it here. The inspiration to build it came one early spring morning in 1998 as I looked out on the yard from the deck of my house in Michigan. I had been cooped up all winter, unable to play due to the weather, but I really had the golf bug, and as I stood there, I visualized a putting green in the backyard, much like Ray Kinsella visualized a baseball field in his cornfield in the movie Field of Dreams. If I build it, I will putt.
After a great deal of labor with help from my 13-year-old son, Greg, we had ourselves a real bentgrass putting green just like a golf course green. I loved maintaining it too, which involved mowing it every other day with a greensmower, fertilizing, topdressing, aerating, spraying for fungus and insects, and a host of other minor jobs, but I loved it all. I even loved putting on it! I had been a golf course superintendent for a few years, so I knew what I was doing, and it was a thing of beauty. There is a picture and video of it in the story I link to below.
Watching Tiger Woods play – I had always liked watching the pros play golf, but never as much as when Tiger burst onto the scene in1996. He was an absolute phenom because he could do things no other golfer could do. He won at an unparalleled rate and was captivating to watch, as he played with such power and creativity, and never seemed to miss a putt when it counted. Through the years, injuries have plagued him, but I have enjoyed each of his comebacks. I’m afraid his time is almost over now, at least his time playing the tour, but I will still watch him whenever he plays. What hours of enjoyment and excitement he has given me over the years!
My final round – I played my first round with my dad when I was 12 and my last round with my son last week when I was 71. That’s Greg and me in the picture at the top after our final 9-hole round playing together. I told him afterward of my decision and that I would love to occasionally ride around and watch him play sometime if he cares to. He said he would love that. I’m crying now as I write this because I so enjoyed playing with him—my favorite golf partner, as my dad was when he was alive. The three generations never got to play together because Dad died when Greg was only four.
Let me just finish by reiterating the tremendous pleasure you have provided me over the course of my life, my dear friend. Although I can’t play you anymore, I maintain a great interest in watching you. I still receive a thrill from watching a well-fought match, like the one last weekend at the Heritage Classic, where Matt Fitzpatrick eked out a win against Jordan Spieth on the third playoff hole. Both men just dazzled with remarkable shots and near misses at the end for the conclusion of a thrilling match. You can still get my heart pounding.
Although I must part from playing you, I will remain a loyal fan and will always think fondly of you, as you have provided me with some of the greatest pleasures and memories in my life. For that, I will be forever grateful and thankful.
Your dearest friend and fan,
Jim Wile – April 18, 2023
Jim Wile – April 18, 2023
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Here is the link to My Backyard Putting Green. Just click it to take you there for a picture and video of the green.
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