The Ballad of ‘The 39′

As the weather starts to break, the tools of spring start to come out – garden hoses, rakes, shovels, and of course — golf clubs. It takes extreme conditions for the mighty golfer to say, “Not today.” And sometimes, even then, there are those who will not let nature dictate when golf should be played. The story below is about 39 such golfers.

The emails and phone calls started coming the night before.

“Are we playing?”
“Are you calling it off?”
“It doesn’t look good.”

It was a sleepless night. The fate of our biggest Dad’s Club fundraiser of the year was in my hands. And the forecast was calling for rain. Lots of rain.

We had dodged the rain bullet before. There was always a “window” of time without rain. But not on this day. There would be no break.

The rainy morning came, as did more phone calls. “So? What are you waiting for?! Surely we won’t play. Just call it off.” But I couldn’t. Not yet.

Later at the clubhouse, it looked like no one was going to show up. There were just three players for the longest time. Then two more showed, then another. Five more came in, then another three –- everyone coming out of obligation and curiosity.
I discussed options with our outing chairman, the course manager, decorated veterans, and the girl making hotdogs in the kitchen.

The rain continued. With the crowd getting restless, we decided to throw the question out to the group. My first attempt to get consensus was met with little enthusiasm.

I had only one more card to play, and I played it. “Regardless of whether or not we play,” I said, “remember why we are here. Remember, that this is a fundraiser for the kids.”

The change in the group was nothing short of inspiring. First some murmurs, then from the back of the crowd, “Let’s do this!”  Amid laughs and shaking heads, “Why not?” and “Let’s have some fun!”

Raffle ticket and mulligan sales increased, checkbooks opened and cash was flowing. When all the checks were cut and the groupings were complete, there were 39 players that would not let rain stop the outing.

As everyone left the clubhouse in rain suits and a spirit of fun, I glanced out the window. I could almost sense the rain saying with an evil smile, “Bring it on.”

Outside, I stood for a moment, already feeling the uselessness of my rain suit, looking at the golf carts lined up like aircraft about to take-off on their mission. The course pro said a few words to start the outing, but they were lost on the staccato of rain on the roofs of the carts.

Then, one by one the carts splashed through newly formed rivers to appointed tee stations. An older man stood still, watching as the carts went by, as though he offered a silent salute to the players. “Give ‘em hell!” I imagined him thinking.

Then I realized he was scratching his head saying, “These clowns are nuts!”

The rain continued. As small streams of water poured off hat brims and rain hoods, heads stayed down and faces remained focused on the little white balls, setting up on tees in the middle of puddles. A determined concentration was felt throughout the course as the clubs swung back.

There may be a day when RAIN would stop the tournament … a day when RAIN would cause many to give up to play another day… a day when RAIN would stop men and women from participating in a school fundraiser. But it would not be THIS day.  On this day, RAIN would be defeated. On this day RAIN would know that the spirit of competition, camaraderie and caring would not be dampened.

The sound of the pouring rain could not deafen the explosions of balls coming off the tees… or the swishing sounds of the clubs as they slipped out of our hands, traveling almost as far as the ball.

And so it would be this day, for the faithful 39.