Institutions

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            This isn't the "institutions" topic that first comes to mind, but after dwelling on it a while, I'm going with this interpretation! 


        Maybe not many of us would consider golf an institution, but for our father Roscoe, it certainly was. I don’t know exactly when he picked up the game, but once he did, that was it for him. It was an all-consuming pastime. I suspect he started playing in college in Memphis TN in the 1930’s.


The first real proof I have of him playing a round or two was in the newspapers during WWII when he was stationed in Atlantic City NJ at the Thomas M. England General Hospital (previously Haddon Hall Convention Center). Also in his letters home when he was stationed in Germany he mentioned he played a round of golf with a previous commanding officer he knew.

Dad on the golf course somewhere
Our dad on the golf course in AZ maybe

In any event, his love of golf never ever waned during his lifetime. He had a 17 handicap in 1946, winning a handicap tournament at the Atlantic City Country Club with a net 63. He tried to get our mom interested in playing, and she did play some rounds with him early on, but it just wasn’t the all-consuming passion that he had. When mom and dad retired and moved from NJ to NC in the mid-70’s, golfing certainly played a large part in the decision on where to move. 


Needless to say, this passion for golf found its way to the TV set while we were growing up. We watched all the tournaments that were televised on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and I knew all the names of the top players in the 1960’s. 

golf calculation for stance
I found this in dad's papers. It shows a correct stance calculation. See? He loved the game!

Years ago, I rescued many of our old family 16mm movies and had them transferred to digital. I was watching them just the other day, and it was amazing how much of the content was taken up with recordings of dad analyzing his golf swing. And any holiday, if there wasn’t snow on the ground, would involve family on the front lawn with pitching wedges. And they didn’t watch out for the little kids running around much either. 


In the 1980’s our folks took a European vacation, traveling to France, Germany, Holland, and of course (you guessed it) Scotland!! I still have the cap he bought over there from St. Andrews!! I don’t think he got to play a round there, but he sure loved seeing it. 

St Andrews
The golf cap he purchased at St. Andrews in the 1980's

My husband loved golf as well, and he and my dad and other friends played so many rounds together. I love that they had this "institution" to bond over. We had some fabulous vacations together, where golf played a large part.


When my mom and dad did retire, dad certainly kept up the golfing routine, in between gardening and playing bridge, and always on the lookout for a better driver, putter, or pitching wedge. He was a great golfer, shooting his age many times. He passed away at the age of 80, having another distinction of shooting 5 holes in one during his life. His nickname on the course was "the machine'. Sure hope you get to play a round or two every day up there in the stars Dad.  Miss you!

License plate
His license plate boasting his 5 holes in 1

I’ll finish with this little ditty that dad really loved. It was written by Arnold Palmer.

    • Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated.
    • A child can play it well and a grown man can never master it.
    • Any single round of it is full of unexpected triumphs and seeming perfect shots that end in disaster.
    • It is almost a science, but it is a puzzle without an answer.
    • It is gratifying and tantalizing and unpredictable.
    • It requires complete concentration and total relaxation.
    • It satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect.
    • It is at the same time rewarding and maddening.
    • And it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented.