Ever notice
how you can pick out a golfer in any crowd? There’s something about the way we
dress, the way we act, there’s something about all of it that just screams “I’m
a golfer!”
The late,
great Harvey Pennick, legendary teacher of Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite and author
of the famous “Little Red Book”, also authored the lesser known but no less
impactful “If You Play Golf You’re my Friend”. Harvey was an old school Golf
Professional and almost all of the old school pros that I knew growing up in
the business had one thing in common, they could talk golf. Man could they talk
golf! They could talk about players, they could talk about courses, and they
could talk about the golf swing, and so on, and so on, and so on. If you showed
any interest at all they would tell you story after story about the things they
had seen the people they had met and the places they had been.
Man I miss
those guys, they were humble, and they rarely talked about their own exploits.
The game was the thing, it was bigger than anything else and those “old school”
guys would do anything to protect and nurture and grow it. It is said that golf
is a game of tradition and sportsmanship where honesty, honor and fair play are
the most important things. It seems to me that those traditions meant a lot
more before the game became so popular worldwide.
Golf is not
about how much you paid for your new driver, it’s not about racing around the
golf course on a cart in a constant state of impatience. Golf is not about
hitting into the people in front of you. Golf is about friendship, a shared
passion; it’s about respect for the golf course and your fellow participants.
So the next
time you see that golfer in the crowd talk to them and more importantly listen
to them, I’m sure they will have some great stories to tell!
Ian Wiber
Director of Golf, Kokanee Springs Resort
ianw@kokaneesprings.com
250.227.2005
