After months of talking about taking up golf, the Bun and I did so a couple months ago. He gave me golf lessons as a law school graduation present, and we’ve been getting to the driving range on a fairly regular basis all summer (save for the last few weeks leading up to the bar).
Yesterday, the Bun and I purchased our first sets of golf clubs. This was big. It signaled a tangible commitment to golf– the DTR, if you will, to the game. Up until this point we were just casually seeing golf. After a few lessons, it would have been easy to just walk away and not feel a strong sense of loss, grief, and guilt. It would have been just a summer fling. Now that we’re an official couple, we’re going to have to really work at our relationship. It will take time and perseverance. There will likely be tears. And of course, the breakup will be that much harder.
It also has the high potential of turning into a very tangible reminder of another failed athletic endeavor. I’ve sucked at almost every sport I’ve ever played. Part of this is inherent. I am not particularly agile, and I have no hand-eye coordination. A lot of it, though, is that I really hate doing things that I’m not automatically good at. If I can’t do something well, I’m loath to do it at all.
But, so far, so good as far as golf is concerned. I’ve seen slow but steady improvement all summer, and the Bun keeps reminding me that golf is all about evening the playing field with all the handicaps, differences in men’s and women’s clubs, etc. Plus, if anything will keep me going to at least becoming competent it’s that golf is such a part of biglaw.
By the way, we bought our clubs at Dick’s Sporting Goods, and we had a *fantastic* experience. The staff was friendly and helpful without being intrusive. They had a practice room where we could hit some balls, a wide selection of clubs, and most importantly there was no up-selling. If you’re looking for clubs, get thee to Dick’s.
