The History of My Game

As anyone who knows me can attest, I have a terrible memory. Not selective like some, just porous, I forget the good with the bad. Having said that, the earliest I remember playing an actual round of golf was as a sophomore in high school in Littleton, CO. I had a good friend who was already into golf, thanks to his dad. I started off hitting golf balls out of his backyard into some "woods". Looking back, this probably wasn't the smartest idea as the "woods" were mearly trees that provided a buffer zone between the backyards, a small canal and then some commercial buildings; and probably not more than 200 yards away from my friends yard, a very busy street. (Broadway for anyone familiar with Littleton) Luckily for the oncoming traffic, we were only using a 7 or 8 iron and rarely got the ball over his fence. I eventually picked up some used clubs at a garage sale and my friend and I would frequent the municipal course at the Littleton Golf and Tennis Club. I can't begin to imagine how many of my tee shots were swallowed by the small lake to the right of the fairway on the first tee. I survived off finding errant range balls and lost golf balls throughout the course.

Not long after getting my first set of clubs I recognized the need for additional practice on my own. My two younger brothers remember me taking them to the local park and having them retrieve my golf balls while I practiced. Ahh the joys of being the older brother. Keep in mind during this tenure of my game, I wasn't even good enough to keep score...let's put it that way.

After high school I left for a year of college and then to serve a mission, all the while my mother was selling my golf clubs at a garage sale. I didn't pick the game up again until I became seriously involved with Stephanie and found out all of her brothers played. After we were married, I picked up my second set of golf clubs at a used sports equipment store. I played off and on at Nelson family gatherings. My move to sunny Tucson, AZ found more opportunities to play with some friends and it is probably here that I really started keeping and paying attention to my scores. I won't mention what they were out of self preservation! I played some great courses here, including the #1 on my all time favorites, Starr Pass.

Moving to California is were it really started. Firstly, the job that took me there was to work as part of the Golf Group at PWC. We valued golf courses for a living. I traveled the country inspecting and analyzing golf courses. The guys I worked with all played, and I played often with them. This is where I really started becoming self conscious of my game as they were all much better than I. In fact this is where I started leaving my driver in my bag and even on one occation teed off with my 7 iron the entire round. (My driver didn't reimurge until only very recently) This was also the time of my first real job and my first real paycheck. I had a little discretionary income to play with, and I did, mostly with my good friend Aaron who would come play an early 9 holes on a Saturday morning with me often. Just prior to moving from California to Colorado I was probably playing my best golf. It was at that time that I recorded my best round, albeit 9 holes, but a 38! (I've never come close since).

In Colorado I have found several friends to play with and which brings me to my current standing in golf. An estimated 35 handicap and other than my wedges, a bag full of used clubs. Not that I am complaining, I like my clubs just fine, you just need to know what I am working with here.