This story takes place back in 1999, before the turn of the century. Back before we had fancy cell phones with cameras, social media and all that kind of stuff.
It’s about a guy named Will. He was the top player on my golf team that year at Red Bank Middle School.
We hit it off right from the start because we both loved baseball, except he was a Braves fan and I was a Yankees fan.
He learned quickly that I love talking about sports, but I want to talk about facts. I don’t care about peoples opinions on teams or anything else. If you want to talk to me, let’s talk facts.
So one day we’re talking, and he said, “The Braves are in the middle of a six game winning streak. I said, “How can they be in the middle of a six game winning streak?” He said, “Well they’ve won six games in a row.” I said, “No, they’re at the end of a six game winning streak. They were in the middle of a six game winning streak after they won their third game.” That story has been told many times since then and variations on other streaks have been bantered back and forth, as well.
So, here we go with this story as best the two of us can remember. Well, kind of. Some parts I may have just made up. That’s what living back before the turn of the century adds to good story telling. Nobody videoed or tweeted about it as soon as it happened.
We were playing our season ending tournament at a course in Ooltewah, called Hampton Creek. It was a tight, little course with a creek and lots of trees. It was similar to the course we played and practiced on called the Quarry, in Red Bank, near our school.
Will hits the ball a long way now and even back then he hit it a pretty good ways. Except, you see, he really never had a clue which direction it was going. Who the heck does, right ?
When we practiced, I would pair up the players. We had two girls on our team, Alicia Potter and Brooke Carter. They were good golfers and, sadly, not many schools had girls on their teams. So, I made sure they got to play every match. I always tried to take care of my girls. Especially, when it came to bullying. Yes, bullying has always been around. Bully Brooke and you get the wrath of Coach Carter! End of story!
So, one day, Will was paired with Alicia in practice. Now, neither of us can remember, but I think it was Chris “Dough Boy” Harwood that came and told me he saw Will and Alicia over in the woods kissing. Around that time, Will was friends with Dough Boy’s sister. So maybe Chris was getting back at his sister for something. To this day, Will says that didn’t happen. So that’s a part of the story that maybe we will never know for sure.
I’ve played golf with Will and his current girl, Lilly, a few times here in Florida. He seems to hit it in the woods more often when Lilly is playing with us. I don’t know, he might be smooching with Lilly, too!
When we played in school tournaments, I always had a cart since I was in charge of the tournament. I would ride around and watch the different groups and monitor play.
I always encouraged parents to come watch their kids play. Will’s dad, Roe, was usually in the gallery. So, as I was checking on Will’s group, I stopped in the fairway to talk to his dad. About that time, Will was hitting a shot into a green with a lake all along the left side of it. Will rolled it over a little bit and it went in the water left of the green. Next thing I know, he slammed his club up against his bag. His dad looked at me and said, “Go get him!” So I took off in the cart and as soon as Will saw me he said, “Coach! I know! If I slam my bag or my club again, you’re going to take me off the course. It won’t happen again.” I said, “You got it, buddy!”\
See, when you have rules and expectations with your players and bother to enforce them, players know how to monitor their behavior themselves. I really didn’t have to say much of anything. That’s one thing that I always admired about Will. He was fiery, but he learned how to control himself and set an example for everybody else. As expected, he never did that again.
Blake Blalock’s dad, Larry, was kind of our team photographer. He always had a camera at the matches to take pictures of the kids. Remember this was 1999 and we didn’t have cell phones back then. You had to actually have a camera to take pictures and go get them developed.
So, I had been around the course watching our different groups play and just making sure the tournament was running smoothly. When I came back around by the clubhouse, I saw Will walking up to the green at the par three 9th hole, his last hole of the day.
There was a creek running all the way down the left side of the hole. Roe and Larry were standing there watching. So, I stopped and got out to talk to them. By then, Will was already on the green. I really don’t remember what his score was on the hole, which is normal for me.\\
Will and I have played countless times over the years. We always play “Match Play” format. I never know what I score on a hole. I’m just playing one shot at a time and enjoying the round. He always keeps up with our score and tells me at the end of each 9 what we both shot.
Will and I at TPC Sawgrass
As he was leaving the green, he started to walk across the creek. Now, he contends that there was not a bridge to walk across, but I think I remember a walking bridge. So for the sake of this story, let’s assume there was a bridge. So anyhow, he started to cross the creek with his golf bag on his shoulder. He stepped on a rock with his right foot. His foot slipped. Oh man! Splash! His right foot, up to his shin, is in the creek!
Sadly, for my added entertainment value, his coordination was good enough that he caught himself and didn’t fall in the creek face first. Darn it! Now, that would’ve been funny. Well, he goes to step out of the creek and pulls his right foot up. Except there’s no shoe! We started laughing and I thought, “I got to tell Larry to take some pictures of this. Before I could get the words out, he said, “Don’t worry Coach! I’m on it!” Click. Click. Click. Larry was snapping away with his camera. Lord have mercy! It was hilarious.
So, Will stuck his hand down in the creek, pulled out his shoe and it’s covered with mud and so is his sock. He came on out of the creek and walked over toward us. Geez. He was such a good sport about it. He looked up and, more or less, posed for Larry to take pictures of him putting his shoe back on. So, when he made it to me, I said, “Hey! What’s up Mud Boy?”
A few years ago, when Will was working on an engineering project in Orlando, he came over to Clearwater for a round with me. Yes, match play. So anyhow, on a par four, I hit my tee shot in the woods, near a creek. I saw my ball and stepped near the creek, but not in it. The ground was a little mushy. I hit my shot and as I moved away, yep, my right shoe had mud all over it! Cell phone in hand, Will snaps off a few. Click. Click. Click. He says, “What’s up! Old Man Mud?”
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Coach Dee Carter is a retired teacher and coach from Chattanooga, Tennessee. His bride of 32 years, Emily, has been with him every step of the way. They now reside in Clearwater, Florida and are enjoying the laid back beach life. He says, "Please join me as I share my stories and experiences throughout my career and beyond. Some real and some imagined. Each day at school, I wanted to make my students think and laugh. Hopefully, my thoughts and observations will do the same for you. Live the moment and enjoy each day!!" View more posts.