Who Introduced You To The Game

[Bradley Anderson]

I'm curious to know how you took up the game of golf. Specifically I would like to know who introduced you to the game.

I was invited to go along with my dad and my grandfather at Macktown in South Beloit. After a year of caddying for my grandfather, I was given a set of junior clubs, and they asked me to play with them.

So I was introduced to the game by my dad and my grandfather.

Later on I got a junior golf pass and began playing with other kids from school. In the late 60's and early 70's, a junior golf pass in the Rockford Park District was $2.50, with the only stipulation being that you had to be off the first tee in the early morning - I think it was before 8:00. Every morning there would be dozens of kids riding their bikes to Sinnisippi and Ingersol to play golf. 

[Eric Smith]

Pretty much the same story for me Bradley.  Dad and my grandpa took me along with them when I was 9 years old.  Had to use their clubs which were a little too long in the shaft and they were right handed, I'm left handed.  It didn't matter - I was hooked and began playing as much as they would let me.

Still playing right handed, strong arm on top!

[Tom Huckaby]

My only real difference from Bradley was that it was just my Dad, and it happened in California.

I begged my Dad to play and he finally took me when I was 8.  He then took me out quite a few times thereafter; and I started playing with friends and without my Dad at about age 10 - par three courses only.  Shortly thereafter I took some lessons, got decent, got an official Junior Golf card from the LA municipal public golf courses which allowed me to play for something like $2 at certain specified times... and the rest is history.

 

[Greg Chambers]

My grandfather started me on hitting balls into the vacant lot across the street from their house when I was 8.  He then took me out on the course a year after that, and taught me the game and its etiquete.  From there I played the nine holer across the street, Laguna Lake, daily for a few years.  The rest is history.

[Phil Benedict]

My older brothers and my father picked up the game around 1960.  About the time golf was starting to be televised.  I wanted to do what my brothers were doing.

[PCCraig]

Seems like most on here were started by their parents...mine never actually played.

I learned how to play in "Junior Clinics" at the local muni, there were close to 150 kids there with three pros teaching. Essentially it was a driving range session once a week. (I later worked at the same course and became a teacher).

I can honestly say that my love of the game is 100% organic.

[Jim Briggs]

Owners of local public.

I grew up about 5 minutes away from a local public, which had owners (a father and son) that were interested in getting juniors involved in the game.  Was about 13 years old and at the beginning of the summer they would charge me and about 10 or 12 friends $50 dollars for an entire summer of golf.  We couldn't show up at peak time in the morning, but around noon time or after was OK.  We'd play 27 holes or so and then help bring the flags in, park the carts in the barn etc.  On Sunday afternoons they would organize a scramble and come out and play with us.  Did that for about three years until they ended up selling the course.  Great introduction to the game...

[Mark Pearce]

My wife.  We met at Law College and when we finished had a few weeks before starting jobs.  She had played since a child and suggested I learn.

[Phil_the_Author]

My parents...

When I was about 5 years old, my oldest brother used to drive out to Bethpage and sleep in the car on Friday nights to get a tee time for the family (father, uncle & aunt). Saturday mornings would begin for me about 4:30 when he would wake us all up with a phone call to let my father know what time to be out there. My mother would drive him and I was always selected to drive along with her so that she wouldn't drive home by herself...

[TX Golf]

Dad and Grandpa

Edit: But my first time on a golf course was the old Wailea Orange course. I was 6 weeks old and my parents had me in the basket in the back of the cart. The marshall came up and asked them if they had a baby on the course, and when they denied so they wouldn't get kicked off, the marshall handed them a baby blanket and said it fell of the back of the cart. Anyways, he was cool and let them continue. I guess I got started on this crazy game early.

[Tom Huckaby]

Hmmmmmmm...

I was looking at this more in terms of who facilitated my being able to play.  That would be my Dad, for sure.

But in terms of why I came to love it... why I started to play in the first place....

I begged him to play long before he ever asked me.  For me it came from watching golf on TV... and swinging the clubs we always seemed to have lying around.

I wonder if this qualifies me as having love for the game that is 100% organic.  Maybe not.  But I want to claim 90% at least.

 

[Kirk Gill]

Jack Nicklaus.

My dad never played the game, and then he died when I was 8. However his parents, my grandparents, lived in Upper Arlington, Ohio. JN was raised in Upper Arlington, and my grandparents gave me a sweater from the local high school, the Arlington Golden Bears. We snagged drinks at the Nicklaus drug store. I latched onto Jack as a sports hero, and begged for clubs, which I received for my 9th birthday. The local recreation district had lessons available, and Mom drove me there........

[John Moore II]

Introduced to the game by a guy who was a friend of my dad's and owned a mini-golf course across the street from my house. First time I played on the course was with someone whose wife worked with my mom in the hospital pharmacy. My dad has played golf maybe 3 times in the past 30 years.

[Tom Huckaby]

Interesting also, I too have to attribute some of my introduction to the Golden Bear... all of my stuff occurred in early 70s.. and just who was dominant then?  Well, Johnny Miller tried... but it was all about the Bear.  I latched on to him as a hero early....

TH

[Bradley Anderson]

Seems like most on here were started by their parents...mine never actually played.

I learned how to play in "Junior Clinics" at the local muni, there were close to 150 kids there with three pros teaching. Essentially it was a driving range session once a week. (I later worked at the same course and became a teacher).

I can honestly say that my love of the game is 100% organic.

Pat,

That is so cool that you got into golf on your own. Just curious. How old were you when you went over there? How much did it cost to get involved? I ask that so that we can learn from your story - for comparison purpose verses likelihood of you're venturing into it this way if you were a kid today.

[Tim Bert]

I probably have one of the few non-family stories, so I'll chime in here.

Jason McOlgan introduced me to the game.  Jason and I became friends in high school one week during the summer when one of our mutual friends wasn't in town so we hung out together instead.  We became good friends over the next couple of years.  The summer after I graduated from high school, he took me to the Navy Memphis golf course.  His dad is a lefty, so he had an extra set of clubs for me.  I enjoyed that first round enough to go back.  Again and again and again.  Little did I know that he was introducing me to one of my greatest passions in this world.   For this, I will never be able to provide equal payback.

Jason and I played all of our golf locally on Memphis muni and public courses.  When I moved to CT and started actually making money, I met Alan Gard and we began going on golf trips.  We traveled to a few courses in New England, then played some golf on a bachelor trip in Vegas, then planned trips to Whistling Striats and Pinehurst around weddings, then took the plunge and went to Bandon.  The preperation for that trip opened my eyes to this web site, to Ran's wonderful course reviews, and to all things golf course architecture... but I digress.

My best effort to reciprocate has been to introduce Jason to the joy of golf course architecture and golf trips.  I haven't yet convinced him to take the plunge and get entangled in all the discussions here, but we have been blessed to share some great trips to places including Sand Hills, Ballyneal, and the courses at Bandon Dunes.  I'll be introducing Jason to California golf next summer.  Pasatiempo here we come!

Thanks Jason.

[Anthony Gray]

  I love this question. My dad took me but he was not a serious golfer. He always would tell me to watch the owner. His name was Ivan Hayhurst and he was his only employee. The course was named White Day and was 9 holes. He designed it so it was totally natural with no traps. The way my dad talked about him was like he would trade places with him. I spent more time catching crawdads than golfing. It was such a peaceful place. Sometimes the golf course is the only place for peace. Sometimes in the morning I help set the pins at my home course and I think about Ivan.

                                       Anthony

[Kenny Baer]

My Dad and Grandfather but mainly my dad.

I used to love to ride in the cart with my Dad.  I remember watching my dad play in the semifinals of the club championship and getting absolutely waxed by a guy who was 5 under, I think he lost something like 7&6.  I remember watching his opponent  make an eagle on a par 5.

I used to just ride around and play the par 3's.  I remember being so excited when the next par 3 was less than a hole away.

I then graduated to playing the par 3's from the ladies, the par 4's from 200 and the Par 5's from 250.

I would say my Dad introduced me to the game.

[Mike Mosely]

My dad, my uncle Irwin, and Aunt Chloe, and my older brother Kurt.

[Mark Smolens]

We moved to Phoenix when I was in second grade.  My dad would play with some guys from work early Saturday morning.  I pulled his cart for $1 and a cheeseburger.  Encanto, Papago, Wigwam, Biltmore (Adobe, before it was Adobe, and before Forest R's recent work).  Mr. Gallagher would give me a dime for every ball I found (those oleanders at the Biltmore were worth another buck).  When we moved to Philadelphia area -- Plymouth Meeting -- in sixth grade, I used to go to a place called Woody's which was pretty close by.  They had a 9 hole pitch and putt that was lighted.  My friends the Livesay brothers and I would skip from 9 green to #2, thinking the guy in the starter shack couldn't see us. . . in retrospect I'm sure he did.  Look at the degenerate golfer he helped create.

[Bill Satterfield]

A couple months after I got married we went to a summer family reunion on my wife's side.  They had a round of golf planned as part of the activities at this little nine hole course (7 par threes and 2 par fours) so I went and played.  Through high school I focused on playing other sports and never even considered playing golf.  After that round though it just really struck a chord with me.  We didn't have hardly any money and we were both going to college but I decided to go to Shopko when I got home and both a set of Knight golf clubs and a bag, all for less than $200.  I got my Dad to go with me at 6:00 in the morning on Saturdays and he would play out of my bag and we would play a scramble together so that we wouldn't get so frustrated with our lack of skill.  In October of that year my Dad bought his own set of clubs and took them with him to Hawaii in December.  While on that trip he got a hole-in-one!  I'm sure that is sickening to those of you that have been golfing for years without picking up an ace, but to add insult to injury he picked up his second hole-in-one 10 months later.  Crazy!

[Jeff Fortson]

My dad likes to say that he gave the doctor a putter so that he could pull me out of my mom with it.  I can't remember life without golf.  As soon as I was old enough to stand and wield a plastic putter I was "playing" golf.

My first 18 hole round was when I was 8.  I think I shot 125.  My first 18-hole tournament was when I was 12, once I had given up on baseball.  I shot 97.  By the time I was 14 I could break 80 and by the time I was 16 I could break par.  I loved listening to my dad's stories about his tournament experience.  Especially how he qualified for the USGA Pub Links Championship at the age of 16.  My dad was by far the biggest influence on my golfing life then, is now, and will be forever.


Jeff F.

[Bradley Anderson]

I think we have the beginnings of a coffeetable book here.

O love reading these stories! You can't make up names like Swifty - that's priceless.

Keep em coming.

[Jeff Fortson]

My dad also took me to lessons he took from Manuel De La Torre when I was really young too, and I hit a few balls with them from time to time.

Is Mr. De La Torre still alive?  Talk about a pro's pro.  The golf world would be the better if it had more Manuel De La Torre's.


Jeff F.

[Brian Laurent]

My dad figured out he wanted to be a superintendent when I was four years old...I was six when he earned his turf management degree and got his first job at Wilmington Country Club, from then until I left for college, I lived on a golf course (literally).  Unfortunately, I took the game for granted and didn't pay much attention to my surroundings.

I remember the exact moment that I became hooked...the 1995 Ryder Cup when Corey Pavin chipped in on the 18th hole.  The drama and excitement of that moment fueled my passion for the game of golf.