Mr. Big Shot

My golf game is in the toilet so I need to find something different to blog about. I played golf with my friend Fred Flintstone on Saturday at my home course, Stonecreek Golf Club. I was expecting to tear the place up and give Fred a run for his money. Alas, it was a disaster. I could not hit my driver at all. I duck hooked it, topped it and pushed it right all day. It got so bad that I finally put the driver in my bag and teed it up with my 1-hybrid. I have never done that before. I shot a stinky 98. Fred was using his slap shot drive and hitting it long and straight. He ended up shooting his normal easy 85 even though he had not played for about 6 months.

When you play golf as a twosome you are oftentimes paired with one or two other players. The conversation is generally about golf and other sports, and maybe your jobs, but not much else. Generally, golfers are good guys but every once in a while you get a clunker. Saturday was one of those days. We were teamed with Mr. Big Shot. Mr. Big Shot was a recent college graduate with an engineering degree. He had just been hired by one of the large aeronautical engineering firms that build helicopters or fighter jets for the military and, according to Mr. Big Shot, was making a lot of money. Fred and I both congratulated Mr. Big Shot on his graduation and success and told him how lucky he was to get such a good job in this market. Mr. Big Shot also told us that his wife was due to have their first child in about two weeks, his mother-in-law was with his wife and they had told him to get out of the house and go play golf all weekend (this should have been our first clue)!

By the third hole, Mr. Big Shot was 5 over par and told us that he had been a state wrestling champion and while pinning his opponent in the state finals he hurt his back and had surgery. His back was very stiff, hence the 5 over par, because he did not have adequate time to warm up before the round. By the 5th hole, Mr. Big Shot told us that just played Superstition Springs Golf Club and shot 78 and that he was playing TPC at Scottsdale on Sunday. He triple-bogeyed the 5th hole and as we walked off the green he said disgustedly that this would probably be a round in the low 80s for him. Even Fred snickered at that comment.

Mr. Big Shot had a 49 at the turn so he needed to shoot a 2 under par 34 on the back 9 for an 83. On the 10th hole we learned that Mr. Big Shot's wife was a registered nurse at a private prison hospital and makes a lot of money. She supported him through college and between them they were making enough money to own a 5-bedroom, 4-bathroom house. He double-bogeyed No. 10 and bogeyed 11 and 12. When we got to the 548-yard par-5 13th hole, Mr. Big Shot told us that his wife and mother-in-law were heading to the hospital to have the baby and he hurried off in his cart. Fred and I looked at one another amazed and simultaneously said that he shot in the low 80s, just like he said!