Friday, October 19, 2018

Reminiscing!

Hello and welcome to The Greenkeeper!  Today is Friday, October 19th and we are in the middle of the third of three rounds played today in our annual Fall Member-Guest.  Tomorrow is the final two rounds followed by the Shootout to determine this year's champions.  Once again we are hosting a major event on the heels of a tropical system and you wouldn't know it by looking at the golf course.  Although this year we've endured those weather related challenges, we've been blessed to come through each with minimal impact.
But I'm not here to talk about the weather, or even the golf course.  In a twist I thought I would share something golf related of personal interest with you.  Over the past few days I saw not one, but two things that had me thinking about days gone by.  You see, although I'm not that far removed from my baby face days, I am old enough to have played this game with liquid center, wound balls that would smile back at you if hit a little thin.  The other evening I stumbled across this tweet about the Tommy Armour 845 irons and I couldn't resist reposting it with a comment.  
I still remember exactly where I was when I had a conversation with my old boss about getting new clubs that lead me to purchase the 845's.  My first cousin had recently grown into his late father's Ping Eye 2's and started to get the better of me on the course, I needed more forgiveness if I was going to keep up.

 Next I ran across a video from down under.  Former touring professional Mike Clayton with the help of Mark Hayes and current touring professional, Lucas Herbert conducted a semi-scientific test with old and new golf balls using both old and new equipment.  Now this video is a little lengthy (about 15 minutes) but it's interesting to hear the commentary from Lucas as he is experiencing the differences required to hit the older equipment versus the new and Mike Clayton as he explains to Lucas there was no such thing as club fitting back in the day.  Good stuff for my fellow geeks when you have time to check it out. The Great Distance Debate 

And just when I thought I was through reminiscing I received a package out of the blue from dear friend and former college classmate, Paul Van Buren.  Paul is superintendent at the Kanawha Club in Manakin-Sabot, Virginia outside Richmond.  You can imagine my surprise when I opened a box to find unopened sleeves of Titleist Tour Balatas staring back at me.
What can I say, sometimes it's nice to revisit the past as I believe it helps us keep a healthy perspective on the present.  Thanks for letting me reminisce and I look forward to the next time I see you on the course.
Flashback Friday! 
See you on the course,

 Matthew Wharton, CGCS, MG
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2 comments:

  1. UnknownOctober 20, 2018 at 1:45 PM

    my old Titleist DCI's(circa early 1990s)which I still use, are also one of the best set of irons ever made. Just wish I could hit them better.
    yuck-yuck,
    Mike

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  2. taterjoeOctober 23, 2018 at 9:17 AM

    I have kept a few of small dimpled and large dimpled Titleist from my playing days in National Championships or from holes-in-one from that era. I would tell my sons today you could play them for about 3 or 4 holes and they would go out of round of you hit it thin, the rubber bands would be looking at you. It was a great time with some fond memories. Today, people hunt the Titleist Pro V's as if they were purchased for $4 each as a life time investment and should never be lost or damaged. Different era!!

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