You have responded, um, enthusiastically, to the Golf Digest U.S. Open Contest. At last count more than 53,000 of you have submitted essays arguing that you should be the average-golfer representative in the foursome that plays Torrey Pines a few days before the Open under the lights of NBC cameras.
The essays are funny, moving, inspiring and amazing. Some of them suggest that golf is, as my spouse has suggested, an illness. But most just indicate that you've fallen in love and you can't get out.
Every profession in the world is represented, from air traffic controller fighter pilot, opera singer to rock guitarist, gynecologist to Health and Human Services Secretary. Nearly every branch of the military service, the teaching profession, the entertainment field and medicine is here. Plus a lot of moms and dads. A sampling of recent entries:
Mercedes, from West Hartford, CT:
While I can blast the ball past the average guy, I’m not goofy enough to think that I’m Tiger or Lorena. The key: play smart. I played the day before my son was born (and having gained 62 lbs.!) and seriously considered playing between contractions the next day This is cake. My husband died five months later. Golf has been my salvation ever since. Playing in front of the world is nothing. What’s the worse that can happen? Even a bad shot can be the basis for a good story. I have many.
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James from Harker Heights, Texas:
Task Force Phantom dreams of our Commander, Army Colonel Greg Maxton, playing Torrey Pines this summer in appreciation for sacrificing his top two passions in life, Family and Golf. Colonel Maxton, who boasts a 5 handicap, untiringly led us through our 15 month deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom without one round of golf. Colonel Maxton and his wife, Karen, selflessly devoted themselves to our unit and our family members. The Soldiers of Task Force Phantom dream to give him this chance of a lifetime in playing the US Open course as thanks for his inspiring dedication to us.Ernie from Houston:
I think I would shoot low-mid 90's. I am a single digit handicap. I have been in the entertainment business my whole life and am fairly comfortable with cameras. I am a 2 time Grammy winning engineer who would love the opportunity to play a course setup for a major event.
Ted from Minnesota:
After my dad died in 1977 golf kept him with me. Then came college, career, kids, divorce and custody struggles. No time for golf. When my son entered eighth grade we found our way back. I'll never forget his first round. The elderly starter gave him a pat on the back. The guys he paired us with praised my son's first ever drive. That round felt like a return home. My game is respectable, a bogey player. I know and follow the rules. Golf is more than a score though. It is a legacy from father to son.And Rob from Indiana:
On March 11th my 3 year of daughter Nora was accidentally backed over by our neighbor’s minivan which severed three-fourths of her liver and nicked her spleen. After seven days in the pediatric ICU and 14 weeks of rehabilitation she miraculously made a full recovery. The mortality rate for her type of accident is over 96 %. I was very lucky. Most are not. I want to do my best for Nora doing something we love together but score is irrelevant. I just want the opportunity to have her with me eating popcorn and saying “good shot daddy.”
Your stories bowl us over. Keep them coming. You have until Tuesday.
--Bob Carney
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