My grandson, Nathan, came to St. George to participate in the Utah Junior Golf Association's Southern Utah Jr. golf tournament at the Southgate Golf Course on Saturday May 16th. He played in the Johnny Miller Division.
Nathan and I played at Green Springs on Friday with some friends. What a day. The weather was perfect and the course was in great condition. As we played, my memory went back six years to the day that I bought him his first lesson with a local golf pro, Kevin Averett. After that lesson we found our way around the Dixie Red Hills course and I tried to offer suggestions now and then. I wasn't the greatest teacher, having taken up golf after arriving in Ivins in 1998 and being prodded to play by Nathan's dad. One round at the spectacular Sky Mountain course in Hurricane and I was smitten.
My son, Peter, has played since his college years and he patiently endured my early struggles. He became Nathan's primary teacher. Nathan also had a few professional lessons along the way and benefited from playing on school teams.
Over the years the three of us shared many great days on various golf courses. One of the nice things about golf is that the handicap system makes it practical for three generations in a family to be competitive while having different levels of ability.
Nathan and the others in his foursome (Braxton Barber, Greg Diaz, Carson Huishkamp) receive their instructions before teeing off.
He watches as his first drive finds the fairway.
Nathan and his playing partners record their scores. I had the pleasure of walking the last nine holes with them. At the sixth hole the gallery doubled as a friend of one of his partners joined me just as Nathan drained a 35 foot putt for a birdie. We both followed the players for the remaining three holes.
Nathan finished tied for tenth out of fifty-two players with a 73. Now he's planning for college with the help of a golf scholarship.
He receives his Scout Eagle Award on June 4th and graduates from high school the next day. We will have a party and maybe squeeze in a round golf.
Life is Good.
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