Sunday, July 21, 2013
This week as I was driving with my wife, I was going on and on about how I excited I am for one of my favorite events of the year — this week’s Member-Guest Championship at The Lake Club.
My dear friend Shawn Wire is coming up from Columbus to play with me. The weather looks great. The camaraderie is always a blast. And the tournament is actually very, very competitive.
And as my wife knows, I’ve definitely been getting ready for it — practicing my swing in the yard, hitting balls at the range, playing when possible, discussing strategy and clothing choices (it’s that serious!).
Basically other than work, I’ve been doing something to get ready for this tournament nonstop.
So it was only fair when, after yet another one of my dissertations about some golf swing topic that my wife graciously sat through, she finally said, “Why don’t you write your column this week about what all of us golf wives have to deal with all summer?”
And the more I started thinking about it, the more I kind of liked the idea.
So yes, for me this week, it’s a three-day tournament with one of my best friends in the world. For someone else though, it might be a club championship that they practice for day after day.
Or a scramble tournament that a group of friends really wants to win.
Or a two-man best ball championship at the local muni course.
Regardless of what the event is, for all of us that love the game of golf (I mean really love the game), you know what I mean when I say the game just “gets inside you.”
We’re just excited to play.
We think about little swing thoughts.
Or how to play a certain hole.
Or what club to chip with.
Or what putting stroke to use.
Or a million other little things that we just can’t help but think about.
But the funny thing about golf is, it’s kind of an all-or-nothing sport. So for those of us whose spouses aren’t as consumed with the game as we are, we may not always realize just how nice our better halves are to sit and talk to us about our games for hours on end.
So while I know it’s not as important as being in love or recognizing a great parent, why don’t we, just for fun, say that if couples get Valentine’s Day, and moms and dads have Mother’s and Father’s days, maybe it’s about time that all of us obsessive compulsive golfers come together and pick one day a summer where we take a few minutes to recognize our better halves and let them know that we appreciate their patience with us during the golf season.
So here goes my first attempt to write a greeting card (you’ll have to use your imagination a little).
Golfers, feel free to share this with your non-golfing spouse:
FRONT OF THE CARD: Sunday, July 21, 2013 – HAPPY FIRST GOLF SPOUSES’ DAY!
For all those times you put up with me
Talking about my tee shot on 12
Complaining about a lip out
Practicing my swing in the kitchen
Using all the space on the DVR to tape the third round of the John Deere Classic
And just in general being consumed with golf during the summer
I’d like to offer this card as a thank you.
Redeemable for one home cooked Sunday morning breakfast in bed
INSIDE OF THE CARD: Redeemable any Sunday in between the first and last snowfalls of the winter
I love you even more for understanding why that is.
Jonah Karzmer is a former golf professional who writes a Sunday golf column for The Vindicator. In his spare time, he sells commercial insurance for Huntington Insurance and loves getting feedback on his weekly columns via email at jonah.karzmer@huntington.com