Grownup golf

Sunshine and 50 degrees today in north Texas, so I headed for the golf course. Only a few brave souls on the course, so I joined up with strangers. Dan, 51, is a pilot for an international airline. Bob, 60, was just laid off after 20 years from his corporate sales job, and worried about job prospects for a senior.

As we talked, I found Bob to be a decent guy. I wondered if I knew someone who could help him. Maybe I could arrange a golf match with the one of the sales executives in my neighborhood. Or perhaps with that company president in my Saturday golf league.

Bob spoiled it for me on the 12th hole. Unable to escape a steep sand trap, he threw his sand wedge far into the greenside pond. I couldn’t believe it! It was a new wedge, one I’d seen priced at $140 in a golf shop. Who throws away $140? Certainly no one I’m going to recommend to my friends.

Dan joked later about how Bob has done that a few times over the years. So Bob’s outburst didn’t seem related to his recent layoff.

Am I expecting too much? that fellow golfers not have temper tantrums? I make allowances for the high school kids I meet on the course from time to time. But shouldn’t a grandpa have learned a little self control?