Wednesday, November 20, 2013

"Your time will be up, and you won’t be able to play anymore."



THE TRUTH ABOUT SPORTS!!!

By Jock MacKenzie – twice voted one of 50 best radio sports broadcasters in the United States.

The following came my way from Ron Atkinson, a good and close friend from prince Edward Island, Canada.
Ron made annual golf visits to palm Harbor many times in the past where we met for the first time.  he is still in Canada following the death of his wife but, thank heaven, we continue the friendship that started out in palm coast many years ago.

he wanted us to know about the privilege of playing golf via a letter from a “former” golfer who no longer can play but has reflected on his years in golf and would like the rest of us to think about how we approach the game now: good, bad or indifferent.

when I read a golfer’s writing for the first time tears began to form because I know it could happen to me despite those beautiful pine & cypress courses in palm Coast to play.  nah, I keep thinking, not me, i will be like the golfer in Portland, Maine who played the green every day, never missed once.  not, that is, until they found him at the club’s bar instead of enjoying the green.  he had called the end of the day at age 100 and settled his round tossing down his favorite drink.
when I tracked down this story i came away with the thought that, yes, I want to go to one hundred like this amazing golfer in the state of Maine even though I know this wouldn’t happen. who knows?  maybe it will be for me, for you and especially the good guys and gals i will long remember because of their ability on the links
I know this: as time works its special way of doing things, my golf at two beautiful golf courses in Pine & Cypress right here in Palm Cost are places I will remember all the way to the man upstairs.

Please read the heart-felt words of this golfer in Canada because what he says now may be what you will be saying when time has its way. . .

He wrote "I cant play golf anymore. I tried to swing the club the other day but my body would not cooperate.  The best I can do now is sometimes take walks on the course. my eyes are not as good as they used to be so I don't see much.  I have a lot of time to sit and think now and I often think about the game.

Golf was my favorite game.  I played most of my adult life, thousands of rounds.  As I look back, I guess I had it pretty good but now that i cannot do it any more i wish i had done it differently.

its funny, but with all the time i spent playing golf I never thought i was a real golfer.  it does not make much sense since I scored better than average and a lot of people envied my game.

I met a whole lot of different people out on the course.  that was one of the best things about it. So why am I writing this letter, just to complain?  its like i said, my golfing was not that bad.  I really do not want you getting to my age and feeling the same regrets that i am feeling now.
I wish I could have been a better playing partner.  i was not a bad person to be with but i wish i had been friendlier and got to know people better.

I am now inside a lot now and miss the beauty of the outdoors.  for years when i was walking, i wish i could have been a better playing partner. I wasn't a bad person to be with but i wish i had been friendlier, laughed and joked more and given people more encouragement.
it was my favorite game.  i played most of my adult life, thousands of rounds, thousands of hours practicing.  as i look back, i guess i had a good time at it.  now that i cant do it anymore, my wish is that i had done it differently.
it is a wonderful game. please do not lose yours.  play a game you want to play.  play a game that gives you joy and satisfaction and makes you a better person to your family and friends.  play with enthusiasm, play with freedom.  appreciate the beauty of nature and the people around you.  realize how lucky you are to be able to do it.
play a game like golf that enriches your life and do not waste a minute of it. play with freedom.  someday it will be gone.
so why am i writing this letter anyway, just to complain?  no, as i said, my golfing experience wasnt that bad but it could have been so much better, and i see that clearly  now.  i don't want you getting to my age and feeling the same regrets i am feeling now.

i wish i could have played the game with more joy, more freedom.  i was always so concerned with doing it right that i never seemed to be able to enjoy just doing it all.
i wish i could have been a better playing partner.  i was not a bad person to be with but i wish i had been friendlier and gotten to know people better.  i wish i could have laughed and joked more and given people more encouragement.  i wish i could have made more friends and had a better time.

i am inside a lot now and i miss the beauty of the outdoors.  for years when i was golfing i walked through some of the most beautiful places on earth, and yet i don't feel i really saw them, beautiful landscapes, trees, flowers, animals, the sky and the ocean.  how could i have missed so much?

it is a wonderful game.  please, don't lose yours.  play a game that you want to play.  play a game that gives you joy and satisfaction and makes you a better person to your family and friends.  play with enthusiasm, play with freedom.  appreciate the beauty of nature and the people around you.  realize how lucky you are to be able to do it.  all too soon, your time will be up, and you won’t be able to play anymore.  play a game that enriches your life. don’t miss a minute of golf.  someday it will be gone!"


                          

Sunday, November 3, 2013

My Best Friend Demanded I Drop Everything For The Game Of Baseball



THE TRUTH ABOUT SPORTS!!!

By Jock MacKenzie – Twice voted one of 50 best radio sports broadcasters in the United States.

 When the world socks you in the gut, a bad day on the golf course maybe, think of the best friend any of us would be lucky enough to have and let the ball roll from there.
My best friend was a sports columnist, Leo Cloutier by name, who came to my house every week demanding that I drop all I had on tap and join him along with others in a game of baseball
That was when he was a star writer in his home town newspaper. He later became big time in that field so much so that Ted Williams of the Red Sox gave him the car he drove when devoted fans at fenway park gifted a new auto.
The thing about Leo that stays with me was his belief by everyone whether baseball, golf or whatever, is this dictum he used in life. When things went bad he used it. When his sports ability shone like the brightest star, Leo loved speaking it at each turn. Simply said, on each occasion it was “With malice towards none!”
He wrote that belief in column after column because he believed in it and, in actuality, it had become part of his life.
So I ask, what does this have to do with we gofers coming off the links today – especially with individual golf prices happily cut in good sized numbers at both Pine Lakes and Cypress Knoll to a point that you may want to consider joining yourself.  We are enjoyed and happy when playing the game well but when the day is not ours with plenty of available turns the smiles of happiness are too often missing.
I have done it.  Members of my “Sludgehammer” Group at Pine & Cypress have done it. countless other groups in Palm Coast have done it.  We love to boast and smile with what we did but rarely do we think how lucky we are to be on this beautiful grass for hours and then brighten the rest of each day with friends.
However, never in all these groups do I hear “With malice toward none!”
My friend Leo is up there somewhere and I will always believe he is watching us like a bird.
To Leo, enjoying the sport is what counted, whether it be golf, baseball tennis or whatever.  When I get home after a good or bad day on the Pine or Cypress courses I stop and think of my late friend Leo and the words loosen all the anger by nightfall.
Try it.  When the world socks you in the gut, think of my friend Leo and the thousands of times he wrote and spoke those special words: “With Malice toward None! In most cases including myself, life and sports will take a huge turn toward the better!  These few words have so much good meaning for all of us that you may want to consider sparking your day with it.
Wish it and speak of it, do as you prefer.
But always remember, “With Malice Towards None!
Hey! What was good enough for Ted Williams will always be good enough for me.
Including Leo Cloutier’s “With Malice Towards None!”