Hole No. 6 at Helfrich Golf Course.
I RECENTLY BROKE A 17-YEAR SILENCE with a childhood friend. I invited him to the Ryder Cup. I had an extra ticket and knew Doug lived just a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Louisville.
My family moved from my childhood home of Evansville, Ind., to California when I was 12 years old. Since then I’ve seen Doug about three times. When we were growing up in Evansville, Doug and I and our brothers constantly played sports: baseball, football and Indiana’s obsession, basketball.
Later, Doug and I separately took up golf. We competed for our high school golf teams in Indiana and California. When I was in my 20s, we played once at Helfrich Golf Course in Evansville. Doug was very good. He was also hard on himself.
Recently, I called Doug. “You’ll never guess who this is,” I said. And, soon after, “Would you be interested in going to the Ryder Cup?”
Doug will head east on I-64 from Evansville. I will head west on I-64 from Virginia. We will rendezvous in Jeffersonville, Ind., just opposite of Louisville, on Tuesday night for supper at my aunt’s house. Then we will make the short trek to Valhalla early on Wednesday morning.
We’ll certainly enjoy the Ryder Cup. We’ll also enjoy catching up on life. A lot has happened since we were 12.
−The Armchair Golfer
More Ryder Cup coverage:
2008 Ryder Cup TV Schedule
2008 Ryder Cup: Valhalla Golf Club Preview
2008 Ryder Cup Report
Very nice story! Looking foirward to your Ryder Cup and childhood stories!
Hi just being on this site called Amuso.com and there is a contest
called Sports Legends.
The contest is to find out what are people’s favourite Sports Legend is. All you have do is enter your entry and get people to vote for your song. Thought it might be an something you might be interested in for a post.
Here’s the
link: http://www.amuso.com/gameshows/lifestyle/SPORTS-LEGENDS-3?ref=i/GS
Keep up the awesome work on the blog.
Greg Salter
Great story. Look forward to some pics of they way you were compared to how you look now.
That’s so awesome! The niceest golf story I’ve read in a while. Have a great time!