Standing on the 16th green at Old Elm Club, looking back down the long, rolling fairway with the sunlight filtering through the trees, I remembered why I loved this game so much.
I had been invited by my good friend Brian to join him at Old Elm even though I wasn’t really playing golf at the time. He needed a fourth, and he knew that I grew up caddying and playing this marvelous little Donald Ross course in the north shore suburbs of Chicago. An interesting and kind invite, especially given that I had essentially quit playing golf with any regularity for the previous twenty years. Perhaps he knew something that I did not. Perhaps he had an inkling that seeing those familiar fairways and greens would rekindle my passion for the game. A passion that I had talked myself into believing was long ago dead.
The story that I would tell people if they asked me why I didn’t play anymore was that I had competed as a kid and had become burned out. I failed in my attempt to make the team at University of Illinois, and ditched the clubs for a full college life. After graduation, I didn’t have many potential playing partners in my inner circle, and so the opportunities did not arise. That was the story I told, and there was some truth to it. The deeper truth though is that I just put the clubs down one day and inertia took over.
Thankfully, on that day several years ago, Brian’s invitation changed my direction.
Looking back now, I realize how fortunate I was to have had the opportunity to caddie at Old Elm. Each day, I got to act as a guide, cheerleader, coach, and comrade to some of the country’s highest powered executives. Perhaps I will share some of the words of wisdom, and the funny stories, of looping around the course in their company in later posts. For now, I’ll just share that I witnessed every brand and quality of golf imaginable, absorbing as much as I could along the way.
We were allowed to play each evening and all day Mondays on this immaculate course created by a master designer. These were times with friends that contained equal parts joy, challenge, competition and serenity. I have putted out on the final hole in the dark at Old Elm more times than I can remember.
That place is dear to my heart. It has its own special magic for me.
Brian and our other two playing partners (Peter and Dan) helped me reconnect with that magic again that day, and it has had me ever since. In the the past 2 years, I have travelled coast to coast playing world-class courses, started working with a coach, and joined the Kingsley Club in Michigan. I have found the joy, challenge, competition and serenity once more, and I can’t get enough. I am truly geeked on golf.
I invite you in to phase two in my journey with this game, and I hope you share with me as well. After all, golf-geeking is always more fun in a group.
MORE GEEKED ON GOLF MUSINGS:
- Musings on Greatness
- The Year the GoG Tour Ended
- 2016 GeekedOnGolf Tour
- 2015 GeekedOnGolf Tour
- Wilson & Me
- New Year’s Shift
- My Bucket List – U.S. Open Venues
- 2014 GeekedOnGolf Tour
- Want to Improve Pace of Play?
- Short Game Game Plan
- These Are a Few of My Favorite Things
- Making It Right is Alright with Me
- 2013 GeekedOnGolf Tour
- End of Season Wrap-up
- From Putt Putt to Punchbowl
- A Slip of the Mind
Copyright 2014 – Jason Way, GeekedOnGolf
Congrats on your most impressive golf resume and Thank You for the great pictures you share. For most of us who will never see these places in person, the pictures are a rare treat! Best Wishes for your efforts at Canal Shores. I loved playing it as Peter Jans..so unique and a neighborhood treasure. Special Thanks for a look at Old Elm and mysterious Myopia.
Thanks for reading Bruce, and for reaching out. I will absolutely continue to share reports from the road, from Canal Shores, and perhaps even throw in a caddie story or two along the way. Happy Holidays!
Thank You for your reply. Lots of fond Holiday memories of Chicago and the Burbs. And during the golf season, I was always fascinated by what may lie on the other side of that Spanish style clubhouse on Old Elm Rd. and the Onwentsia too for that matter. Bruce in Bristol
And please do share those Old Elm looping stories. Bruce in Bristol
Glad to hear you got back in the game. Starting from the beginning going to read the old posts. Enjoy the stories and the photos. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for visiting Matt. Appreciate it. Hope you enjoy the posts.