Golf
Even a few years ago I could not imagine retiring to Florida to play golf.
It seemed like an option for elite bored old white people who have little better to do with their time than sport the gear, spin around in dinky little carts, and frequent the 19th hole!
“A good walk spoiled,” I would mutter under my breath in tribute to Mark Twain, when someone shared with glee that they were retiring to the links.
And even once we had wended our way to northern Florida and met some perfectly pleasant golfers, the game held no appeal. To be fair, golf is a difficult game to “pick up” for people with low vision who’ve had little previous experience, and Chris’ heart drew him to the cockpit, the music room and, dare I say, the brewery! Yet, all this changed this summer as my son came on an extended visit to help with our medical needs. Alex is far from a two-dimensional person, having gifts of patience, humor, and compassion, but it is not too wide off the mark to say that he lives to ski and play golf.
And so, I accompanied him as he played the public courses in our area, and I had to change my mind about golf. If you have watched the Masters or any of the other majors, you will know it is a game of great skill and precision, focusing the mind and challenging the emotions. It demands both power and finesse and, at times, a sense of humor. Alex was circumspect about retrieving his ball that landed at the margin of a pond where a sizeable alligator basked! One day, we played with a couple of women who held uproarious conversations the entire eighteen holes, even as the temperatures soared.
Golf’s origins are obscure; some suggest it was played by the Romans, others that it originated in Holland. Whatever the truth of these speculations, golf was codified in Scotland, the earliest rules being drawn up in 1744 in Leith and then formalized in 1897 at the legendary club in St. Andrews, where, to this day, they “dinna play on the Sabbath,” although visitors are welcome to take a paid tour. Allegedly, in earlier days, Mary, Queen of Scots, was one of the first female players. She was accompanied by French “cadets,” from whom the term “caddy” is derived.
Alex and I did not delve much into history as he selected his clubs, but we laughed and bonded as we enjoyed the outdoors, somewhat artificially manicured as golf courses tend to be. Nonetheless, as well as the languid alligator, we were entertained by families of turtles and watched white ibis cluster in the distance..
In such a troubled world, I wish everyone could experience the many pleasures golf has to offer, but here’s the rub. It’s still a game played largely by elite white people; the barriers to entry are high. Anyone who’s followed golf at least casually knows that Saudi Arabia has injected dizzying sums of money into golf tournaments, perhaps as a way of distracting the world from their alarming human rights record and, as has happened in other walks of life, has deepened the chasm between those with resources and those struggling to have
“a good walk, unspoiled.“
End Notes
Reading
Labrynth
Kate Mosse
Viewing
Whiplash (Trailer)
Listening
Hold Back the River
Chuck Adams
Violin Concerto Adagio
Bruch
Played by Joshua Bell
Poetry
Invisible Women
Romalyn Ante
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