Three members of our men’s distance squad – Mark Valentino, Ken Walshak, Andrew James – decided to go golfing over the Easter holiday weekend back home on Long Island.
Most of you know of my aversion to distance runners’ trying any “real” sports, for fear of injury. Golf is relatively benign in terms of risky sports behavior, but there is still mild concern. There is a reason most of these guys are distance runners. Oh! Am I suggesting that maybe they lack athleticism of the “team sports” or "ball sports?” Perhaps I am!
Anyway, from a distance, I handicapped it this way: Tino would win in a landslide. My thinking was that Tino is the best “pure athlete” of the three – remember, his favorite event is the steeple. Oh, I know that Kenny’s steeple PR is 12 seconds faster than Tino’s. Details, details. Never let the facts get in the way of some good trash talking.
Sarcastic texts were sent. No way these chumps can hang with Tino on the golf course. Boys being boys and challenges being challenges, it went from a friendly, uncompetitive game of golf – these guys said they weren’t even going to KEEP SCORE! – to a major grudge match.
Much fun was had, but this old coach’s prediction came true, as you can see by the scorecard. The final tally: Tino 45, Kenny 47, AJ 51. You’ll note that Kenny finished with a flourish, making it close with a final-hole par. Oddly, AJ also had a par, and those were the only two pars of the day. Tino never parred, but he was consistently mediocre. On this day, it would prove to be the best.
So while the real golfers were slugging it out down at Augusta at The Masters, these guys were having some fun on their short weekend at home.
1 comment:
Golf is not a real sport. Have fun with it so long as you don't aim for opposing player's legs.
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