Yesterday afternoon, I got to the course about 4:30 which was later than I had planned, but with 3 hours to get in the 18, I figured I could make it. The starter put me with a young man who was just learning, but he kept up and was pleasant company.
In front of us were 3 guys, one of whom was playing from the tips. (JP, before you get started, I make no judgement based on that.. It is merely meant as a way to identify this particular guy.)
The "tips" guy was funny to watch. He had on the full golf outfit including the khaki slacks (in 100+ temps) and had a certain swaggering bravado that could be seen at a distance. While the other two guys watched, he teed off from the tips. It was a towering, arching.....ground ball about 100 yards. The shoulders slumped and he slunk off the tee box to his cart. He set up over his second shot and did all the wiggles and pumps and hip shifting just like the pros. He froze over the ball for a 10 count and then made the fastest, jerkiest cut at the ball I have ever seen. He almost fell down and the ball bounced and sliced about 100 yards into the right rough. Again with the slumped shoulders. This act was repeated over and over...the swagger to the ball, the professional setup and the lightning fast swing with a poor result over every shot.
Several times, while the other two waited on the green and we waited in the fairway for what seemed like an eternity, I would see him appear walking toward the green from somewhere I didn't even know you could hit a ball on this course.
I decided after the first hole that I was only gonna get in 9, so I just relaxed and enjoyed the show. We moved slower than turtles, but the entertainment value of this guy's body language was worth the wait. On about the 7th hole, something must have happened to put him off his game because he departed towards the clubhouse in his cart and left the other two to finish out. By this time, I had already called my wife and given her an ETA so we could go out to dinner, so I had to leave after the 9 even though the pace picked up considerably with him gone.
I didn't get mad or rail at the unfairness of it all, I just played when I could and let it go as a quirk of life. I did feel sorry for the guy almost. It was pretty obvious that he thought the game was easy after watching the pros, but he found out the hard way that mimicking their movements did not guarantee success.
