GOLF BUDDIES

        I'm the guy on the left, my son in-law Rick is on the right and in the middle is my closest friend, the late, Kirk Wallace. I miss playing with them both. Separated by Kirk's death in November 2019 and my move to North Carolina in December 2020. 

    I first began playing golf with Kirk in the fall of 1987 when we met at work.  We both were fathers of young children and our time to go out and play was limited so we had to be a bit clever. Getting up at 4 am, stopping for coffee and driving in the dark Saturday morning was our routine. We always played match play. It was a faster game and blowing up on one hole didn't ruin anybody's day. 

    Finishing mid morning, we would give our quick good byes, promising to meet at the Irish Bank pub in San Francisco for lunch and planning our next round. We'd drive home to our families and do what they wanted to do for the rest of the day, satisfied that we had gotten out to play, laugh, real stories and sympathise with each other's current woes. His passing was painful and a reminder to me that I should always treasure my friendships, especially on the golf course. 

    My son in-law Rick was introduced to golf by me shortly after he began dating my daughter. He can rightly blame me for that addiction. I will however take credit for showing him Pacific Grove's back 9 on the water as designed by Alistair McKenzie, a US Open at the Olympic club and many other courses. Although we are currently separated by a continent, we have played once in North Carolina and sometime soon will be playing in California. Sharing stories and laughs with Rick is something I will treasure. 

    Golf buddies are special, almost all golfers have them. The trick is to enjoy each other's company for as long as you can, because, it won't last forever. 

Fairways & Greens