In golf, you can't always be good

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

You can’t be good in golf all the time. It’s all but impossible.

Harry Davis has every right to challenge that theory, but he’s special.

Remember, Davis would have been on the golf circuit had he not made the correct decision to remain home and steer his children to the proper way in life, including a daughter who is now a movie star.

Golf, like other things in life, is full of ands and ifs. Dick Ackerman, for instance, would have been a local star we all admired had he not suffered a serious illness. He’s fine now, and I’ve seen him slug the ball as far as anyone, but he doesn’t do it as often as he once did while living in Manchester, N.H.

Dan Tearpock is another. While playing with the Sludgehammers group, he can be amazingly good or amazingly not so good. Just like the rest of us, he’s right down the middle with blistering shots, but on another day, he can spend more time in the woods than a deer.

Jim Canfield, who was the first mayor of Palm Coast, is a lot better at swinging these confounded golf clubs than he is given credit for. He’s more steadfast with the swings than most of us and doesn’t always win for the day, but, by golly, he comes close.

One of the golfers with the smoothest swings here is George Rhatigan. But a health problem lowered the boom on him, and he had to call it a day and hang ’em up, as they say. I know he misses those trips to the tees, and we equally miss those gorgeous golf swings.

Hardly a day goes by when purchasing goodies for the stomach that I meet a popular golfer who tells me that he hasn’t played in months because of muscle tears or other health problems.

By the way, I’m a leading contender for the “Can’t be good in golf all the time,” but how about just some of the time?

Funny things
Golf is a sport that makes one live with dreams. For example, I’ve always wanted to win a tournament with someone named Jill. The headline? Jock and Jill went up the hill. As Bubba might say, “I want to hit the incredible shot.”

So does Rick McArdle, Mike Joyce, Ty Capps, Willard Anderson, Kee Rhee, Rich Thompson, Dennis Willerth and every other golfer.

In the reality of every sport from soccer to golf, our past is not as important as our future. So, let’s just look ahead and move on.

One special note ...
David Crocombe, a dear friend of Grand Club Golf members and especially of the well-known Ed Namen, passed away at his home in Canada earlier this month. Crocombe was known as “Far North,” a nickname given to him by Ray Garnett many years ago.