Ultimate Golf Fantasy-Part 3
These dreams, these golf wishes sit right next to winning the lottery for most of us. They are so unrealistic that it often hurts to think about them. It’s hard to win a PGA event when you can’t break 85 at your local municipal golf course. Most of us know where we stand in the golf food chain.
It’s because of that “reality” that most people think more about a course they’d like to play on or a group they’d like to play with. As good as Springfield Cardinals marketing wizard Kirk Elmquist is, his golfing ability will never get him on the PGA Tour. Despite how handsome he is, he won’t get an invite to AT&T’s celebrity show. However, he would like to play at Pebble Beach with a select group of men. His daymates would be Abe Lincoln, George Washington, and Pebble creator “Jesus.” Kirk’s thoughts turned to spending a beautiful summer day with three people who greatly changed the course of history. Alone time with three men she would love to meet. I have a good feeling that I know who would win that match.
One of the best players in our area told me that his dream would be to play at Augusta. The real estate agent, Antonio Serrano, said that he would love to go play, but he would want to win it over. A win at the US Mid-Amateur would earn him a special exemption from playing in the Masters. Playing Augusta is one thing, but playing the world’s elite would be an incredible experience.
Missouri High School freshman Will Hogan is a young man with ever-changing views on golf’s ultimate fantasy. At the beginning of his freshman year, his dream was simply to make the Ozark Varsity golf team. He just wanted to make the team, and he did. Then his thoughts turned to playing at the number one spot. He was able to play the number one spot on several occasions. As he got closer to the state tournament, he wanted to win a championship.
After the first day, his scoring was so good that he thought he had a good chance of finishing in the top 15, which would earn him All-State honors. He did all of this as a skinny, punk freshman. His efforts were just two shy shots of that top 15. As hard-working as Will is, that dream is very achievable. Unsurprisingly when I asked him about his future dreams, they included some lofty expectations: “My ultimate dream would be to play on the PGA Tour and have a very successful career.” The funny thing is, when I talked to his dad, Barry, about his latest fantasy, it also included playing on the PGA Tour (not going to happen). It would be fun to see this father and son combo on Tour though.
A side note on Will’s story; he won that state championship last year as a junior and another fantasy will come true next year, when he will attend the University of Missouri on a golf scholarship.
Golf fantasies aren’t always big. My son Justus is a wonderful 12 year old. When he started playing golf seven years ago his goal was not like the rest of us. You see, I wanted to hit him in the water. He could have cared less about putting it in the hole than watching the ball take off and plunge into the pond. More than anything, he wanted to hit it and see that beautiful splash. He was very good at it, as are many adults… As he gets older, he will learn that it’s not so good to hit him in the water when you keep score.
Every day grown men look at me and ask how they can get my job. They think it’s cool to go to a golf tournament and get paid to be there. In nearly 600 events since 1997, I’ve never missed a cut, I don’t have to count my score, and if I go out of bounds or hit a high shot, people can laugh out loud and I don’t care. Let’s see, great courses, friendly people who really want to be there and I make a living doing golf shows. That sounds like a pretty good golf fantasy to me.
My wife constantly reminds me how good we have it. That is a fact of which I am fully aware. They call it being “blessed.” that I am
