Greetings Golfers,

Yesterday was the opening day of Men’s League. As usual, guys were telling golf stories up in my office.

One guy was talking about while having the best round of his life, one of the guys in his group was secretly hoping for him to blow it. We’ve all felt the vibes of our playing partners, whether rooting for us or against us.

They asked me if I’ve ever had that happen in a Pro-Am tournament. Very insightful question. During the 90’s, I used to play in a big Pro-Am … it was held at 2 courses and really a lot of fun. The format was an A player, B, and a C player team game. But one year, my A player didn’t care about the team game, he just wanted to beat me. So, while waiting to hit our second shots on a par 4, I asked him what club he was going to use – he said a 6 iron. I was a little ahead of him, so I decided to hit a 7 iron. I hit it a mile over the green. He then said “Sorry, I used a 9 iron and had it upside down. I thought it was a 6 iron”. Right. This was a 2 handicap player and this was his home course. (My brother Dan still laughs about it).

But a much goofier story happened the next year in this same Pro-Am. I got what I thought was a great team. The A player had been the low-amateur a couple of times, the B player was better than his handicap, and the C player had the max handicap of 36. Here we go! Well, on the first green, while the C player was lining-up his putt, our A player encouraged him by saying “Make it Russ”. So, Russ turned around and told the A player “F-you! Never tell me what to do”. It got worse from there. Our A player usually shot around 70 … shot 90. And our buddy Russ, shot over 200. Seriously.

So the next day at the other course, I didn’t think Russ would show-up. He did. On #1 tee, he whiffed, then topped his next attempt into the water. Another 200+ round with Russ yelling at us every step of the way.

The next year after the first round, I walk in the porch and see a nice young Pro from Sioux Falls with his head in his hands. I asked how his round was. He said he played with a guy who shot over 200 and was the meanest man he’d ever met. I asked “Was his name Russ?” … he said “How’d you know?”

Really glad that Russ isn’t in our Men’s League!

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com

Deer Run Golf Club
8661 Deer Run Drive
Victoria, MN 55386
(952) 443-2351
www.deerrungolf.com
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