Randy Smith: Why I Really Don't Like Golf

  • Friday, April 9, 2021
  • Randy Smith
Randy Smith
Randy Smith
I truly tried to play golf several times in my life. I wanted to play the game and play it well but I was simply no good at it. I once owned a cheap set of clubs and played with some friends in college. None of us were any good but boy I was really bad. My tee shots wouldn't get more than four feet off the ground, if they didn't go behind me. (Yes I hit the ball behind me several times and don't ask he how I did it because I have no idea.) I would become so frustrated with my shots that I started to throw my clubs or even break them right there on the course.

After several trips to the golf course, I surrendered.
I came to the realization that I was just no good at golf. I had been a pretty good athlete, playing baseball, football and basketball but golf never seemed to make it into my list of things I was good at. Now with that said, I enjoyed covering golf tournaments. One of my truly fond memories was covering the NCAA Golf Tournament played at the Honor's Course in 1996. That was when Tiger Woods was the winner and I was able to interview him several times that week. That was a lot of fun.

I also had fun covering some of the local tournaments in the area, especially when Betty Probasco was in her prime. She was one of the greatest golfers I ever had the privilege of watching. And in the 1980s especially, she had some great battles on the links. In 2007, I was asked to host the Volunteers In Medicine golf tournament to raise money for the county's uninsured folks, and I readily said yes, even though I didn't play. We hosted that event for six years and raised more than $200,000 for the VIM Clinic.

So, with the Masters going on in Augusta this weekend, I may watch it for a while but unlike others, I am not going to stay glued to the screen. It's almost like watching any sport just to be watching sports. Heck, I covered sports for more than a half-century so occasionally I like to watch a cowboy movie or a cop show. 

Don't get me wrong. I appreciate golf as a sport and I admire those who have stuck with it and played, even though they really weren't any good. I also appreciate the ones who are great players because it takes a special person to be able to hit a golf ball, and follow it around 18 holes. I didn't have the ability nor the patience to play the game. Which brings me to the fact that I don't like golf because I'm no good at it. I hope my grandchildren play golf and enjoy it, because it is a great past time and a super way to get exercise.

Now, still to be written...Why I really don't like hockey.

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Randy Smith can be reached at rsmithsports@epbfi.com
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