1 post tagged “golf”

A few years ago I had the opportunity to experience something that I will never forget:  I got to go to The Masters!  Now, if you're not a golfer, that means nothing to you.  If you are a golfer and haven't gone, I've just become a stumbling block for you as your jealousy builds.  So here's how it all happened:  Two of my closest friends, Hagan and Adam, decided to make the trek to Augusta on Wednesday for the practice round before the actual tournament started.  (If you think this post is random...you're wrong.  Today is the Wednesday before this year's actual tournament.  Well, when I started this post it was the Wednesday before the Masters.)  Anyway, we hop in the car and drive to Augusta with NO TICKETS.  After parking what felt like five miles away, we finally make it to the gates of the famed Augusta National.  Our plan was to find someone that was leaving, buy their pass and head back in for ourselves.  You see, you can come and go as you please with the pass.  So our wait begins.... about an hour or more into the wait, Hagan lucks out, finds someone leaving for the day and buys that person's pass.  Well, that was the last time we saw Hagan for a LONG time!  No compassion for his friend and brother - Hagan takes his ticket and is gone leaving Adam and I in search for two golden used tickets.  After about another hour, we see this guy standing by himself on the side with two tickets.  We walk up to him, ask if he's selling, and proceed to buy two really over-priced passes from what we eventually realize is a ticket scalper.  Yes, I admit it:  I bought a ticket from a scalper for too much money, but I got in to the most famous golf tournament in America.  

At this point, Adam and I are made because we just spent so much money, excited about the aura we experience as we see the course, and frustrated at Hagan for selling us out like he did!  Eventually, I'm not sure how, but we found the sellout.  Then, we proceeded to walk at least 5 miles for hours, amazed at the magnificently manicured course, exhuasted from the hilly terrain, and in awe of actually being at The Masters.

Next, the funny part happens:  We finish up the day by spending at least an hour watching the pros putt on the putting green.  I know it sounds lame and boring, but it was a lot of fun watching these men practice, do weird putting drills, and putt on the most famous greens in the world.  As we were getting ready to leave, Stuart Appleby was putting in front of us.  A fan standing near us proceeded to call out for Stuart.  "Stuart, Stuart, Stuart"...the guy yelled.  Now at this point we're all thinking that this guy is a friend or family member of the pro.  Nobody just screams at professional golfers for no reason...at least that's what I thought until the guy finally got Stuart's attention and proceeded to say, "Hey."  Yep, that's it, "Stuart, Stuart, Stuart....Hey."  Are you kidding me?  You were so adamant about getting the attention of someone that was at work and really famous, you finally get his attention, and the best you can come up with is "hey"?  Me and the Jordan brothers lost it at this point!  We just busted out laughing, eventually left, and still laugh about that to this day.

I kept trying to come up with some spiritual application for this story, but everything was really forced.  If you go back to the first post I ever wrote on this blog, you'll see that my purpose in writing is to help people love God and love others.  No real spiritual purpose to this post other than to say that I've been blessed with the joy of Christ.  The abundant life I have in Him allows me to enjoy laughing, reflecting and making great memories with friends.