Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Golf Book
BY: Fred Funk
He conquers who endures.
~Persius
Let me open with one of the best statements I've ever heard. While practicing after an early round at Memphis, in ninety-degree heat with matching humidity, Kirk Triplett yelled over to a bunch of sweaty pros, "There has to be something really screwed up with us to excel at this game."
I think Kirk's little quip explains how this game can really mess with you. When things are going well, life is good. The life of the road, with its bad food, bad hotels and lonely downtime, is okay. But play poorly and everything gets magnified. Negative vibes seem to have a ripple effect into every aspect of life.
I don't believe there is such a thing as a natural golfer. Can you imagine someone picking up a club for the first time and making a magnificent swing, sending the ball on a beautiful flight and on target? Maybe in the movies. I do believe that every player who has made it on tour has worked extremely hard to learn what it takes to score.
It baffles me to see some guys, who have professional talent beyond what I could ever imagine, struggle or never make it. At the same time, others make it with less talent, and go on to have great careers. I'm not sure where I fit in this scenario, but you can judge for yourself.
My childhood years were the best. I cannot imagine anyone having better times than me and my friends shared from age seven through college. We all had jobs, we had sports, we had good homes, good schools, but most of all, good times.
From age eight until sixteen, I had a paper route. Each year my route grew until I had about one hundred customers. When I turned sixteen, I started driving the delivery truck on weekends, making eight dollars per hour, a lot of money back then. I did this through college. At age twelve, I also started working at the U of Maryland golf course. I started as a cart boy, then range maintenance, then pro shop.
My athletic background was typical of most kids back then. I played nearly every sport at the boys club level. Baseball, football, basketball, not really excelling in any one of them. I was a very good athlete, but I didn't really believe in my skills. One sport I did do outside the norm was boxing. From age eight to sixteen I fought in the Junior Golden Gloves. We trained hard, fought hard, even bled hard, but it was fun if you can believe that.
All this and I haven't mentioned golf. Well, at age ten I went with my dad to caddie for him, and I decided to try the game. I loved it and really got into it, except I never gave anything else up. My responsibilities with work and other sports, let alone school, meant my time for actually playing golf was limited early on. I believe to this day, my dedication to being a good employee, a decent student, and to do the best I could at any sport, molded me for my drive to get to the tour.
I've said that I was a good athlete, but I was small and not very fast. Bad combo to stand out in most sports except boxing and golf. In boxing you always fought someone the same size, and I liked that, except there were some pretty tough guys my size. Does Sugar Ray Leonard ring a bell? Well, he rang many a bell, and I witnessed most, because he grew up in the same county I did. He was one of those "can't miss" kids.
Me, I was never a "can't miss" kid; I just kind of blended in. I was average as a junior golfer, but I became one of the best in the county in high school. My freshman year at U of Maryland I did not make the team, then transferred to PGCC (Prince George's Community College) for two years, then went back to Maryland and was team captain my last two years. Following graduation, I headed south to a Florida mini tour in 1981 and went "belly up."
My future in golf looked bleak, until my coach at Maryland offered me his job because he got promoted to Athletic Director. From 1982 to 1988, I was Coach Funk, when hired the youngest Division I head coach in history. It was through this time period my game picked up. I worked hard on my game, harder than any of the players. I was determined to see if I had what it took to make it. In 1984, I won the National Assistant Pro Championship. This allowed me to go to Q-School, but I failed. Failing in '85 led me to '86 Q-School.
Having had my best summer, I tore a rotator in my left shoulder and failed again. Skipping '87 Q-School, I showed up with no expectations and what happened? I made it.
Failing my rookie year sent me back to Q-School but I easily qualified and made it back to the Tour. I never went to Q-School again. My career was a long progression, many highs, seemingly even more lows, but the triumphs did come and my career as a whole was a great success.
I believe my childhood experience helped mold me, even drove me to have the successes I have had. I've had one goal this whole time: "How good can I get?" I believe I can't answer this yet; I can still improve, still learn. Stay tuned for the sequel to my story because of my belief, "Never Ever Say Never."
~Persius
Let me open with one of the best statements I've ever heard. While practicing after an early round at Memphis, in ninety-degree heat with matching humidity, Kirk Triplett yelled over to a bunch of sweaty pros, "There has to be something really screwed up with us to excel at this game."
I think Kirk's little quip explains how this game can really mess with you. When things are going well, life is good. The life of the road, with its bad food, bad hotels and lonely downtime, is okay. But play poorly and everything gets magnified. Negative vibes seem to have a ripple effect into every aspect of life.
I don't believe there is such a thing as a natural golfer. Can you imagine someone picking up a club for the first time and making a magnificent swing, sending the ball on a beautiful flight and on target? Maybe in the movies. I do believe that every player who has made it on tour has worked extremely hard to learn what it takes to score.
It baffles me to see some guys, who have professional talent beyond what I could ever imagine, struggle or never make it. At the same time, others make it with less talent, and go on to have great careers. I'm not sure where I fit in this scenario, but you can judge for yourself.
My childhood years were the best. I cannot imagine anyone having better times than me and my friends shared from age seven through college. We all had jobs, we had sports, we had good homes, good schools, but most of all, good times.
From age eight until sixteen, I had a paper route. Each year my route grew until I had about one hundred customers. When I turned sixteen, I started driving the delivery truck on weekends, making eight dollars per hour, a lot of money back then. I did this through college. At age twelve, I also started working at the U of Maryland golf course. I started as a cart boy, then range maintenance, then pro shop.
My athletic background was typical of most kids back then. I played nearly every sport at the boys club level. Baseball, football, basketball, not really excelling in any one of them. I was a very good athlete, but I didn't really believe in my skills. One sport I did do outside the norm was boxing. From age eight to sixteen I fought in the Junior Golden Gloves. We trained hard, fought hard, even bled hard, but it was fun if you can believe that.
All this and I haven't mentioned golf. Well, at age ten I went with my dad to caddie for him, and I decided to try the game. I loved it and really got into it, except I never gave anything else up. My responsibilities with work and other sports, let alone school, meant my time for actually playing golf was limited early on. I believe to this day, my dedication to being a good employee, a decent student, and to do the best I could at any sport, molded me for my drive to get to the tour.
I've said that I was a good athlete, but I was small and not very fast. Bad combo to stand out in most sports except boxing and golf. In boxing you always fought someone the same size, and I liked that, except there were some pretty tough guys my size. Does Sugar Ray Leonard ring a bell? Well, he rang many a bell, and I witnessed most, because he grew up in the same county I did. He was one of those "can't miss" kids.
Me, I was never a "can't miss" kid; I just kind of blended in. I was average as a junior golfer, but I became one of the best in the county in high school. My freshman year at U of Maryland I did not make the team, then transferred to PGCC (Prince George's Community College) for two years, then went back to Maryland and was team captain my last two years. Following graduation, I headed south to a Florida mini tour in 1981 and went "belly up."
My future in golf looked bleak, until my coach at Maryland offered me his job because he got promoted to Athletic Director. From 1982 to 1988, I was Coach Funk, when hired the youngest Division I head coach in history. It was through this time period my game picked up. I worked hard on my game, harder than any of the players. I was determined to see if I had what it took to make it. In 1984, I won the National Assistant Pro Championship. This allowed me to go to Q-School, but I failed. Failing in '85 led me to '86 Q-School.
Having had my best summer, I tore a rotator in my left shoulder and failed again. Skipping '87 Q-School, I showed up with no expectations and what happened? I made it.
Failing my rookie year sent me back to Q-School but I easily qualified and made it back to the Tour. I never went to Q-School again. My career was a long progression, many highs, seemingly even more lows, but the triumphs did come and my career as a whole was a great success.
I believe my childhood experience helped mold me, even drove me to have the successes I have had. I've had one goal this whole time: "How good can I get?" I believe I can't answer this yet; I can still improve, still learn. Stay tuned for the sequel to my story because of my belief, "Never Ever Say Never."
http://www.beliefnet.com/Inspiration/Chicken-Soup-For-The-Soul/2011/03/Never-Ever-Say-Never.aspx?source=NEWSLETTER&nlsource=49&ppc=&utm_campaign=DIBSoup&utm_source=NL&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_term=mail.ru
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