I just noticed on your links page, that you talk about working for Troon and being a golf fan.  I play too.  What's your handicap?

I usually don't like to mention it, because it tends to upset other golfers, but I'm a scratch.  My Dad's a teaching pro, and he brought me up on the game.

I don't know how much you follow the PGA, but I used to play golf (and Little League) with Lucas Glover, who's on tour now.

What about yourself?

**For those of you who don't know golf, there's nothing weird or dirty about the term "scratch".  It just means that my handicap is zero or better.  ;)**

Very nice.  I've heard of Lucas Glover.  That's pretty cool.  But no, I'm not nearly that good.  No clue what my handicap is cuz I never bother to record stuff.  I usually shoot lower to mid 80's though.  For 19, that's not to horrible though.

And yes, I follow the PGA quite a bit.  I knew Payne Stewart before he died.  Even carried on a couple conversations with him.  Pretty cool story if you ever want to hear it.

Quote :

I knew Payne Stewart before he died.  Even carried on a couple conversations with him.  Pretty cool story if you ever want to hear it.

I'd love to hear the story.  I actually met Payne Stewart, as well.  It probably wasn't to the extent that you knew him, but he did give me a quick golf lesson.  My Dad used to play in his NFL charity Pro-Am outside of Chicago, and I'd usually take the day off of school to go down and watch him play.  There were usually a bunch of Chicago Bears players there, too.

I'm the second one from the left here.  As you can tell, it was quite a while ago.  Also, I wasn't quite ready for the picture to be taken.  That's my Dad on my left.  He hasn't had a moustache in more than ten years.

Wow....that's really cool.  My story is from Tuscan, Arizona.  I'll type it up after work tomorrow though....I can't even see straight, and since my contacts are out, I'm lucky if all this is typed correctly.....meep....

*yawns*

I'm not very good at golf.  I've been out on a driving range once, and I learned a valuable lesson that day:

Put your ball-basket underneath the machine before you put the token in.    

--Last edited by yuoofox on 2007-03-10 08:41:25 --

*laughs slightly* Yeah, Yuoo....that usually does wonders.

And here's my story:

I was down in Tuscan for the (then called) Tuscan Chrystler Classic.  After his practice round, I went up to Payne to get his autograph on my hat.  After he signed it, I made the (somewhat smart-ass) comment that his first name was the same as my last name (Payne).  He took off his glove and gave it to me.  Being the star-struck 12 year old I was, I thanked him and began to walk off.  He called me back and said "Let me sign that.  Your friends will never believe where you got it if I don't!".

The next day, after a full round of true tournament play, we saw him in a restaurant and were going to just quietly walk by to our table without bothering him.  HE called ME by my first name, called me over to his table where he was eating with Bob Guilder, and talked to me about what I did all day.  For almost half an hour!  It was amazing.....

*sighs* I actually cried that day, when I heard he'd died.

That's a great story.  He always had an undeserved reputation as a bit of a jerk, because he wasn't all kissy-kissy with the media.  They're the ones that determine what your public perception is.  I remember having to correct people after meeting him.  They were under the impression that he was a grade-A a-hole.  Of course, as you know, that couldn't have been further from the truth.

He took me aside for a good ten to fifteen minutes to give me a lesson before the pro-am round.  He was out on the course and played the same par 3 with each group.  I wasn't playing, I was just riding around in the cart with my Dad.  He made me get out of the cart to play the hole with the rest of my Dad's group.  He also let me use his clubs to do so.

I remember crying, as well, the day he died.  I was in college and was following the whole thing on the internet.  It was like a kick to the gut when I refreshed the page to see the update that it was his plane.

Yeah.  I remember hearing about the plane when I was at school, when I walked by the teachers lounge.  Didn't think to much of it until I saw the evening news when I got home that day.  I sat and stared at the TV, without processing a thing, for about 15 minutes, then quietly got up, went to my room, and just cried.  

What all do you have signed by him, John?  I have his glove, and what I had originally had him sign was his PGA tour card.  Essentially a golfer "baseball" type card.  I do have a picture with him, but I didn't have him sign it....*sighs*...I should have.

I got a hat signed, as well, but I think that's back at my parents' house.  I have a bunch of other autographs from The Masters, but, for some reason, my parents have those, too.  ;)

I've been pretty lucky with all the celebs I've met and memorabilia my family and I have been lucky enough to collect.  One of the coolest memorabilia items my family has are a ticket and program to game 7 of the 1960 World Series.

My parents also have a picture of me and my sister sitting in a golf cart with Michael Jordan back in the mid 80s.  I should have them bring it with them next time they visit so I can scan it.  I'm still not sure why I haven't done that after 20+ years.  

I also used to work up at a golf course in North Scottsdale that tended to draw in a lot of famous people.  I met Gene Hackman, Alice Cooper, John C. McGinley, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, Terry Bradshaw, Kevin Federline (ugh), and a bunch of baseball players at spring training while I was up there.  Of course, I only made six bucks an hour, so it wasn't all good.  

Very nice.  I used to be a marshall at the Lock Lloyd (now Tiffany Greens) Golf Course for the Senior PGA event near Kansas City.  Did that for like....uh...8 years I think?  I saw so many people.  Deron Cherry (played for the Kansas City Chiefs), George Brett, and a lot of others.  It was fun.

Oh yeah....he signed one of my hats too.....forgot that one...He being Payne

WOW! I'm definitely not putting money on any golf rounds when I'm in the area.
I'm just handicapped when it comes to golf. Now if I could use a hockey stick, Happy Gilmore style...
However, I have played on the "real" Troon course in Scotland, as well as the home of golf... the olde course at St. Andrews. I'll send you pictures of the snowman we made on the green.

You know what I told you about messing around on greens.

That's nothing compared to the time we hot-rodded the cart on the green. Greenskeepers aren't very happy when you do donuts on the green.

I was at a driving range once. With some practice, I managed to hit the ball....

I'm enjoying my golf training.  And as soon as I get scratch and get on tour, then I can get some real money for the cats

I wanna try my hand at handling a different kind of "Tiger"

Dang, you're a scratch golfer AND you own your own golf course?  GRRRR *throws clubs and balls around*  Not fair!!  I just played with another fur up here that is a scratch golfer, it's fun to watch  He only shot a -3 at a short course...  

Nbowa is referring to me. If I don't hit the ball well, I scratch. *sharpens claws*