Tee Times Magazine’s Characters and Critters
Tee Times Magazine’s Characters and Critters, is a fun collection of articles covering individuals and our wildlife friends that inhabit our area golf courses. These are stories that will either bring and smile to your face or a tear to your eye. Please take some time to read and enjoy this wide diversity of interesting stories.
THE BUG THAT SAVED GOLF CONTINUED…
In late March, while self-quarantined in my Florida condo, I visualized how the golf industry could actually benefit from the work-from-home mania created by COVID-19. As I wrote the first “Bug That Saved Golf” story for Tee Times, I assumed that in a few short months the whole China Virus Thing would be… only a memory.
Larry “The Axe” Hennig
I vaguely remember Dick shouting, “Larry turn him loose!” In the early 80’s I became friends with a good golfer who loved to play golf for money, drink Tanqueray and Tonic and knew people from every walk of life.
Golf In The Wine Country
Not the familiar beeping of my alarm clock… the wake-up call was an exotic, but not totally unfamiliar, barking sound. My eyes fluttered open darting around the room searching… searching for something familiar.
The Bug That Saved Golf
Remember the last golf boom? The last golf boom was spawned by a mixed-race kid named TIGER. Let that sink in. Who would believe that the demon virus BUG, COVID-19, will prove to be a much needed shot in the arm for the golf industry?
DOUGLAS McFARLAND – Retired Law School Professor, Counselor To U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice, Writer And Golfer
The very successful MGA Senior Tour is loaded with characters. They come in all shapes, sizes (sometimes very large) and backgrounds. Each week old friendships grow and new acquaintances become friends. Sometime during the round the conversation goes, “Are you retired or still working?”
Leopard Frog
The (Old) Geezers have been friends since childhood. The Geezers were raised on large wheat farms in western Kansas and became friends and competitors playing high school football and basketball. As teenagers they learned to shoot pool at the local pool hall/bar/filling station. During their college years the Geezers learned to gamble playing golf and poker.
Caddies For The Twins
The twins, Billy and Bobby, were born to a middle class family from Idaho. The very active young boys soon became known as the “B Bubs.” With a father who was a CPA and a board member of the local golf club, and a mother who taught school, the B Bubs excelled at school and golf. The B Bubs spent their summer days at the golf course.
Tall Dr. Jim, A PhD In Business, And The Golf Want-To-Be
Back in my college days I earned a double major: BS in Business Administration and a Doctoral Degree in Golf, with a minor in finding and cleaning the “fish.”
Non-Golfer Golfers
Human critters are invading our golf courses. The question is, “Are human beings animals (or critters)?”
FALL GOLF
In late Fall with the leaves mostly on the ground, golfers who are in tune with Mother Nature notice the abundance of wildlife that share their golf course.
82 IS TIGER’S NUMBER!
Half way through my 77th trip around the third rock from the sun, I have become more aware of time, as measured numerically – by numbers. 82 victories is a huge number.
Pit-Shih Tzu Tournament
Each year as the oak and cottonwood dress their golf course in the splendid fall colors, the members a small town golf course in rural America prepare for their favorite golf event.
PAUL PALMER, MY GOLF HERO
I first became aware of Paul Palmer on the high school basketball court. I was an 8th grader when Paul was a senior. In Hays, Kansas, my hometown, the junior high and the high school shared the same building and the same basketball court.
Teenaged Bald Eagle Eating Lunch
It was the third day of the annual golf adventure for the Fab-4, a gang of former college golf teammates. During their freshman year their coach once referred to the group as the Fab-4 (comparing them to the Michigan freshman who nearly won the NCAA Basketball Championship). The name stuck.
LeRoy, The Special Needs Caddie
This is a feel good story about the great game of golf helping a special needs child develop a bond with his father.
Tornadoes On The Golf Course
I know that a tornado is not a Critter. But tornadoes are definitely a part of life on a golf course. Therefore, for this story, I will use my author’s license and call a tornado, a Critter on the Course.
