Dear Ray;
My introduction to golf came at the time that I was able to carry a bag of
clubs for 18 holes of golf. I caddied as a boy of twelve at a local country
club in Marshfield Wisconsin. That was 71 years ago and I could tell you a
lot about the clubs used at the time. My father bought me my first set of
clubs that were anything but the" hand me downs" that most of the caddies
got ahold of. I was working summers at my Fathers Bee Keepers Manfg Co. and
he got ahold of a set of irons that had Wilson heads and Kroydn heads. I
have no idea of the swingweight but they were heavy as lead and I grew along
the nicks and mars I put on those old clubs, playing the muni courses both
in Madison and Milwaukee. I went into premedical school at the University
of Wisconsin and played there for two years and then played around the
Milwaukee area while I attended Dental school for four years.
Even during my early years of golf I was interested in the fundamentals of
the golf swing and read everything I could find on the subject. In the first
years after World War Two, I got more serious about the game and had more
time to practice. I had a flourishing Dental Practice going and still found
time to play on weekends and on "men's day" which was on a Wednesday.
My handicap during those years hung around an 8 and some years were better
than others. I soon found that some of my greatest pleasure was playing
different courses and I traveled around the state and played at various
sites where they also had competitive trapshooting which was another of my
loves. I was a much better shooter than a golfer at the time and won four
different state championships in three of the surrounding states, both at
sixteen yards and at handicap. I was a loner much of the time, what with
playing with strangers most of the time at the varied courses, but I made
many wonderful friends, most of whom are gone now.
I have always been one of those players that love to hit golf balls and work
on various aspects of the golf swing. I can have a great time just working
on the various shots and sometimes spent the afternoons on the practice
range working on some aspect of the swing when I could have been playing.,
I got called back into service as a Major in the Air Force during the
Korean War and had a chance to golf on the dusty plains of Texas as well as
other unusual places.
When young I studied the swing of Bobby Jones and later Slamin Sam Snead and
Ben Hogan. Then along came Palmer with his powerful upper arm movement and
of course Jack. I watched them all and studied the way they hit the ball
and how they wrote about it. My library is still extensive and I have books
from those early years.
My best golf was played during the sixties and seventies. I had the time and
took trips to Florida with my wife each winter for at least a month. During
this time I played to a five handicap and won a few unimportant golf , so
called tournaments (forty of fifty Dentists who were usually too hung over
to give me much trouble)
I was not a very long hitter, 24o was my average, with a little draw, but I
hit ninety percent of the fairways and was seldom in trouble.My scores
usually depended on my putting and that has always been very erratic.
Sometimes I seem to be in a "sinkum mode". Other days I can't make anything!
I just can't explain that. It surely isn't for lack of practice! Or a lack
of new putters in a futile search for the perfect magic wand.This where my
Email problems start. I hope to recover the rest of it.
Thanks......Doc
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