John McLoone

It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon to be on the golf course. I wasn’t there, but it looked like a nice day.

I’m kind of jealous of people who golf. They have this structured block of time set aside, often several days of the week, where they can get away from it all.

I used to golf, and I’m thinking I should again. I gave up the sport for a couple reasons. I had a lot of kids that required at least some of my attention during the four hours I would be golfing. That was the primary reason. My wife and I used to golf late on Fridays and grab dinner. Four kids 5 and under meant our social life was Legos and Barbies with a mac and cheese entrée following.

Second, and I’m man enough to admit it, I wasn’t very good. I went through a lot of golf balls. I come from a family of golfers, and I just didn’t get that gene, I guess. There was a stretch where I golfed several times a week. I progressed to the point where if I was in a foursome, I was a respectable fourth in score each time, but I wasn’t an absolute embarrassment. I could come within a handful of strokes of the third-worst golfer.

I took golf lessons when I was a kid. I admit that I probably didn’t pay attention too closely. When the end of the season rolled around, there was a tournament. There were too many kids to fit into foursomes, so I was invited instead to just hit balls on the range. “Maybe he’d be better at tennis,” my parents were told. So, I took tennis lessons. Unlike golf, I could hit that ball a mile. Unfortunately, hitting the ball out of the park in tennis is frowned upon. My mom was asked if I could not sign up for the next session. That was fine with me. I didn’t really like tennis.

I was never a stellar athlete. I played some football, soccer and basketball. I was never a starter. My senior year in basketball, I should have had my chance. We were a really bad team. The team before us was horrible, and they were better than us, obviously, because they comprised most of the starters. I was excited for the year. The coach pulled me aside on day one and told me that because we were mediocre at best, he was going to play younger kids instead and would I please quit the team?

That’s the background on my athletic ability. I was asked not to participate in three sports as a kid.

I’m older now and perhaps a touch more mature. I think I could handle golf again. The first go around was mostly social, and maybe this time it will be too. I have more time and less desire to know exactly where the beer cart is at all times. Maybe I’ll even take a lesson or two and see if perhaps my participation in a different sport would be more appropriate.

If that’s the case, I’ll see you on the pickleball court.