Golf | Family | 1970s
Daily Magic: 16 July 2024
Golf memories: the good, the bad, the humiliating
Golf is a Simple Game … Except
By Bruce White
I played organized baseball in Philadelphia as a youth and considered myself an above average player. I was a pitcher with a good breaking ball and not too shabby at the plate either. There was a golf course within walking distance of my house and I wanted to see how I would fare on the course.
How hard could it be? In youth baseball, you’re trying to strike a ball 3 inches wide with a wooden bat 2.62 inches in diameter. The ball is traveling at 50–75 mph and is liable to move in any direction. Hitting a well pitched baseball is one of the most difficult things to do in all of sport. In golf, the ball is smaller at 1.68 inches in diameter and you are striking it with a metal iron or wood 3 to 4 inches wide. The big difference is that the golf ball lies still on the ground. It does not move. How hard could it be to hit something lying on the ground that does not move?
I would soon find out.
My Uncle Ray had given me his old set of clubs. We had a grassy area behind our row house block. That would be a perfect place to start my golfing experience. I started with the 9…
