Is That It?

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The last swing of the golf club yesterday was true, but for some reason (because it’s golf) the ball stopped an inch short of dropping in the cup.

I ended with a bogey instead of a par.

It was cold when we hit our first tee shots. My hands were ice cold and I need my hands to be comfortable to play well.

I also had cuts all over the thumb on my right hand because I played fetch with Ollie, and he kept nipping me as I tried to get the ball from him.

So plenty of excuses.

But there aren’t any excuses that truly fly when you’re playing with the same guys week in and week out, and I enjoy the course we play on each week, and I truly enjoy the company each Sunday morning.

We lined up on hole 7 - a short par 3 and I led off with a ball to the center of the green. Pops and JC also put it on the green and Scotty was just short.

The sun was rising and the nip in the air was letting go of the morning. I watched Scott line it up and he hit a perfect chip shot.

As I watched the ball hit the green and race for the cup I had a single thought:

“Damn. I’m going to miss this.”

Scott’s ball ended up close enough that he was going to get a par.

We were all in good shape.

The season had started with Scott having a health scare. We dealt with a rainout or two and hurrying up to finish for the Bills games.

One day I put it all together and played the best round since the 1980’s.

Golf did its job, each week, for my mental health.

“Now what?” I thought.

I stepped up and eyeballed the long putt for birdie.

Then I hit it straight in.

Fist bumps all around.

God.

I’m going to miss it.

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