The thing I like most about the game of golf is the people I get to meet. This game has introduced me to life long friends, athletes, famous stars and all sorts of other interesting characters.
In the character department is my newest golf bud Earl. I met Earl this past Tuesday at my home course. Earl is one interesting cat, both physically and personality wise. Earl is a working class guy who enjoys the game of golf very much. He plays regularly, fights the slice and enjoys numerous frosty beverages on the course. Earl has a very cool handlebar mustache which goes great with his very outgoing personality.
Earl’s golf game is that of a higher handicapper who fights the slice and loves to make the occasional par. I couldn’t help noticing that he turns his driver face to about a 38 degree closed position; an effort to combat the slice. I also noticed that he often hits his driver off the deck. He told me any distance outside of 200 yards is when he’ll hit the big dog, regardless of the lie.
Earl’s big dog (driver) is something to behold. The club is an old Callaway C4. He has undoubtedly hit this thing thousands of times. The finish is cracked and falling off and it looks like it is a million years old.
During our round I was admiring Earl’s C4. Then something terrible happened. When hitting the club off the deck from 201 yards on the 15th hole, the sole plate came off. Earl was quite sad, but kept hitting the club. A few shots later, a circular plug of some sort came out which left the bottom of the club with a big hole (picture below).
The Ugly Whistling Driver – click to zoom
Once the hole was exposed the club would whistle during his swing. That was the funniest damn thing I think I’ve ever seen on a golf course, but I felt bad for Earl as he loved this old driver and swore by it. I suggested that he get some epoxy at Home Depot and glue the driver back together.
After the round I was thinking about how fun it was to play with Earl. He loved to high five you if you made any putt outside of three feet, or hit a drive in the fairway or hit a green in regulation. He was blown away by my 75, which in my mind sucked. It is all about perspective and he really helped me enjoy the day and not worry about my score.
Later in the evening I was thinking about Earl, hoping that I’d get the chance to play with him again to not only see if he’d fixed his driver but to enjoy his company. Then it dawned on me that I’d made a mistake. I have so many drivers in my garage that I should have offered to give Earl a new modern one.
I swear if I see him again, I’ll do just that.
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Hahahaha! I laughed pretty good when you got to the part of his club whistling. Good God…that is an ugly driver!