Sunday, April 28, 2013

200th Post! 22nd Excerpt From My Original Golf Diary

    Screen-Free Week starts tomorrow, so I am getting this in before it begins.  In this post from May of 2001, I talk about one of my idols, Payne Stewart.

Written on 5-9-01.
 

    I found Payne Stewart’s books easier to read.  One was his wife’s biography on Payne.  The other was more anecdotal, and from many different perspectives. I did not know that he had ADHD.  For a sport that requires so much focus, I was surprised to find that out.  I guess, though, that people who have ADHD can also have times of “super” focus.  Later in his career, he got a routine before every shot and stuck with it.  I guess this was extremely helpful.  He was consistently in second place or in the top ten.  I remember seeing the picture of him in Eric’s Golf Digest with an actual monkey on his back showing that he had not been able to win a major.  What a good sport to allow a picture like that!  I liked the way he dressed, knickers and all.  It made him stand out from the crowd.  His father was the same way, but a really terrible dresser, wearing clothes that really didn’t match.  His father always left a room making sure people remembered him.
    Payne's mouth got him in trouble an awful lot.  If the press ever wanted a sound byte, they knew who to talk to.  I admire the way he told it like it was, but I see myself being more conscientious about hurting people’s feelings.  I don’t think he intentionally ever meant to hurt anybody’s feelings, however.  He was also incredibly giving.  He would use his talent to give back to the community and various charities.  For one tournament he gave away almost all of his winnings.  I would like to do that, too.  He was also generous with his time with friends and fans.  I would love nothing more than to fill the niche that Payne would have filled on the Senior PGA Tour (Not that anyone could ever take Payne Stewart’s place!).  What a dream to make a lot of money playing golf, and then to give it away to charities.  That would be so cool, and I know Payne would do that if his life was not taken so tragically, and he had ended up living long enough to play on the Senior Tour.  

    We do have a few things in common.  We have the same initials.  I am very religious and consider my family to be a top priority. I don’t like to conform either, and I can be a practical joker like he was sometimes.  All right, maybe I’m not that much of a practical joker. I don’t see myself mashing bananas in anybody’s shoes after a tournament because they had beaten me.  Then again, I guess it depends on how bad somebody beats me.

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