A golf pro’s thoughts on important matters

Ray Sarno

A vast majority of men, when turning on the radio or television in the morning, will turn to the sports news.

People calling in will voice their opinions on why their favorite team blew it the day before. There will be a quick glance at the headlines in their newspaper, and then turn to the sports page.

Presidents will make personal calls to individuals, or teams, who have achieved something of heroic proportions the previous day. Without sports for people to let off steam, can you imagine how grumpy sports enthusiasts might be every Monday?

Golf is getting so technical today that it is beginning to rival Einstein’s theory on relativity. Announcers are continually commenting on the “routine” players go through before hitting a shot.

Unfortunately, many 90 shooters are trying to establish the same routine before hitting their shots, causing the slowing down of play.

My golf career started long ago, and I have had many routines over the years. They usually start with a prayer, and then facing as far away from the most severe trouble on that particular hole.

My serious golfing days are now well behind me and now my main routine starts in the morning when trying to pick my choice of clothes for the day.

My closet is divided equally. All of my slacks are on the bottom row and all shirts are on the top. My socks are neatly set in pairs in a drawer, which must match any combination of slacks and shirt for that particular day.

The average golfer, who incidentally is the largest financial supporter of the game, goes out to the golf course with the intention of having a good time.

Not being a good golfer, and not having too many opportunities to play, makes it important for him to get off to a reasonable start.

All sports have warm-up periods before starting. Golf pros have extensive warm-up periods before going to the first tee. Mr. Weekend Golfer usually has no warm-up at all, and his first shot can set the trend for the rest of the round.

So many parents have their youngsters take golf lessons to become another Tiger. These parents do not have a clue as to what it entails.

In some aspects, it is similar to learning how to play a musical instrument, however, golf is more complicated. Your musical instrument can be played and practiced at home. Usually at least an hour a day is required.

Learning golf also requires practice every day, but where? If they do not have a place to practice, learning will become a long, drawn-out process, and with less-than-anticipated results.

A friend of mine took up the trumpet during our grade-school years. He drove everybody nuts with his practice.

One day my friend came over to my house to practice and my dad said he would give him a dollar if he could sit and practice a whole hour. After about 15 minutes, my dad gave him a dollar to quit.

We had very nice neighbors, and did not want to lose them, so my friend was asked whenever he came to our house to please leave the trumpet at home.

All playing professionals practice constantly. That is their job. They are not salaried, and if they can’t produce they lose their playing privileges, and have to play at a lower level.

Sometimes they are taken off as a starter on the first team and have to work their way back.

Out of the top 125 players on the PGA Tour, most casual fans would not recognize the names of 75 of them. They are the ones who are just making a living and hoping to make cuts and win something each week.

A final thought, “If profanity had any influence on the flight of the ball, the game of golf would be played bar better than it is.”