Every year about this time, I call some of my buddies and the conversation is eerily similar about our weekend plans.
"When are we going to get out and get some golf in?"
Sometimes it's me asking the question. Sometimes it's my buddies asking if I'm actually free.
Regardless, the question is asked all the time and the answer is never quite what we want it to be.
Mainly because far too often we are unable to golf as much as we truly want to.
In fact, once it gets to October or so, my wife usually asks me how much I had been able to get out and golf and the answer is always - not enough.
Hopefully that changes this year.
I'm not good at the game. In fact, I'm quite horrible.
Breaking 100 for me is a REALLY good day and one that results in phone calls to all my friends who weren't there, telling them how well I was hitting the ball.
No, too often my shots usually end up, shall we say, a little wet, or lost in the bottom of a water hazard that I really should not have been anywhere near.
No, the challenge of the game is not the fun part. Rather, the best part of golf for me is the camaraderie.
It's driving around in a golf cart with your best friends, making fun of drives or putts and, just as importantly, making fun of your own shots.
I remember one time I was out last year, I lined up for an approach shot. I had actually been shooting well and was due for a horrible shot.
I looked at my best friend and said, "Hey, watch this!"
I then proceeded to shank my shot so badly, it ended up on the fairway - of the hole next to us. Needless to say, I did not score well that hole.
But for me, it's those shots and those memories that keep me coming back.
Mainly because the good shots are way too few and far between.
To reach Jason Tarwater, SportsMonthly Director, call 816-350-6348 or e-mail jason.tarwater@examiner.net.
