Welcome To Golf Dreams

This is My Blog designed to discuss golf. In an attempt to spice up my life, and actually try to accomplish something, I have decided to chronicle my journey. I plan to practice, play, and live golf for 6 months. I will then attempt to play on the Gateway Summer Tour here in this great state of Arizona! Money and ability permitting!

History

I have been attempting to play this game of golf since before I can remember. I don’t have one of those feel good stories like Tiger watching his dad from his high chair. I can’t remember when I first played golf, nor remember playing much as a child. My first few memories of golf are playing with my grandpa or my father when I was about 11 or 12. I loved all things sport. I was a sports addict to say the least. Basketball was by far my most passionate sport. I had the Michael Jordan’s Playground on VHS and I wore that damn thing out.
Anyhow, my first memories are of my playing partners rolling their eyes in disgust as this 12 year old kid was throwing his clubs, cussing under his breath, and blaming everyone and everything for his terrible abilities. Honestly, I am surprised they kept buying me golf clubs! I will note here my family was BIG into golf. My uncle was a state champion contender, and my grandfather held a 2 handicap. Anyhow, in an attempt to fit in I guess, golf was a necessity. I did enjoy it, its very social, and out on the course boys can be boys. As I reached my teens and I started to find my swing a little, I began to think of playing at a higher lever. I also must disclaim here that I have ALWAYS thought of myself as a much much better athlete than most of the results I was seeing. So somehow my sophomore year I went out for the golf team.

I lived in a small town in Wyoming, and I will just say the golf team was GOOOD! actually they hadn’t lost a state title or conference championship in about 7 years. Needless to say I was not at the top of that list. We ended up with 10 guys trying out for the team and exactly 10 spots. Sweet!! I was on the team, and I speculate that some of my family was proud. 2 weeks into practice things were going good, a few of my buddies were out clowning around, and I ended up with a broken hand. That story is for another post. So there went all hope of being good at golf.

The irony is that it actually made me better. I spent alot of time on the practice green. I had nothing better to do than actually listen to the coach for once, and low and behold I found out a TON of things about golf I had no idea existed.

About then was when the golf passion began to rise. I spent all of my golf time as an excuse to socialize and drink beers as fast as possible. What can I say, I was from Wyoming! As I grew older, started bonding with my grandpa, and started hitting it far, the passion continued to grow.

Present

Fast forward to 2004. I have an uncle who was severely injured in a quad accident in Phoenix Arizona. He falls into a coma for 3 months, I decide it is my duty to help family out. He owned a local carpet cleaning business in the valley and his brother (my other uncle) was trying to keep the 2 going, and I came to help in whatever aspect I could.

Fast forward 4 months…I have found a rowdy bunch to hang out with and we are having a good time. I get bamboozled into going to a club, in which I despised, (i hate crowds) and run into the love of my life sitting on the other side of the window….go figure! She is sober, I am not, one backwards word later we are married…well sorta like that. Again, another time another place for that one.

Fast forward to april 2005. We have been dating a year, and one day when soul searching for my purpose in life I realize that a person can golf all year around in Arizona. I also realize that someone must make money in golf besides the guys on the tour. I bring this fact up to my then girlfriend, future wife and she says “I am sure they have a school for that, they have a school for everything!” 2 Weeks later I am enrolled in The Golf Academy of America

The academy was great for me. It was an interesting subject matter, golf and business, I was in the midst of having my first child and I felt focused. Lets stop to recap…I spend all of my previous golf time having more fun with a can than a ball and I was always believing I was better than I actually was, especially at golf.  The academy has a funny way of knocking you back to reality. There were some great golfers there. To get in, you needed an 18 handicap. Ironically one of the instructors was from the same little town in Wyoming that I was, and I was in. I absolutely LIED about my handicap. If I was 25 handicap it would have been a miracle, anyhow, I figured what the hell.

18 months later, graduation time was upon us. I had spent those 18 months getting married, going on a honey moon, having my first child, and moving into our first house….ohh and going to school. However, I had managed to finish 4th in my class (which was bogus, my fellow town buddie screwed…well another time), I graduated with honors, certificates in club fitting, building and teaching. As well as the most improved player…25 handicap to a 8 handicap….Booyah!

So school is over, my life is ahead of me. I take a job as the USGA intern with the Arizona Womens Golf Association, as an intern in Tournament Administration. It was awesome, fun people and a real eye opener into the business of golf. From there I went on to be the Director of Food and Beverage at a local management company.

Future

I have always been a huge fan of technology and computers. I realized there was a void in some of the mainstream technologies in golf. Yeah they use some of the most sophisticated technologies on tour and at some of the big companies but the average golfer is sorta left out in the cold. I am a Muni, always have been always will, those are my peeps. Cutoff shirts and an 18 pack stuffed in the bag. So i developed ifigolf.com as a way to bring up to date information on golf courses and where to get your moneys worth. There are a ton of courses here in the valley and somewhat complicated to navigate.

As ifigolf comes to a very slow start we are fortunate enough to become part of a charity. To make an already long story short. We have a son with Autism. We were fortunate enough have some amazing help from local business in the valley. In an attempt to help we formed Golf Now Fore Autism to benefit Autism Speaks. As I was putting on this event I fell in love with golf again.

I developed this itch to play, and to practice and to get better. I want to see how far I can go. It is not only a testament to myself and my purpose, but to my son, my wife, and my family to work hard to accomplish something. I wonder if I am as good as I think I am, or can be actually, because right now, for the purposes of actually playing on the Gateway tour..I suck. I can’t break 80 right now. Although close, it just isn’t there yet.

So I have developed this mission to see where I can go. I will continue to work hard at my business, because I am far from weathly, in an attempt to fund this endeavor. I will continue to work hard at golf and chronicle every step, for my record keeping and hopefully for your entertainment. I will continue to get mad and possibly break a club, but remember…club building cert..so I am good there.
I am hoping to find myself, find my future, continue to be a good father and husband, and have fun. Cause that is what life is all about. Adventure and the good with the bad!