Eric's New Career

Also written on 12-29-22.

On to golf…

        Eric and I played on a rare good weather day at Pinon Hills after Christmas.  It was the day before Dad’s 87th birthday, and it was 55º, very conducive weather for golf.  Eric wanted to play the same game we played last time, but we would skip the putting portion since it was busy.  It was close again, and it ended in an unexpected way.

I won holes 6, 7, and 8 for $42,000.00.  I earned a $10,000.00 bonus for being closer to the pin on hole #6, too.  That gave me $52,000.00.  Eric won holes 2, 4, and 9.  He got the bonus for being closer to the pin on hole #4 for $5,000.00.  I was leading coming to hole #9 by $21,000.00.  All he had to do was win the last hole for $1.000.00 and get the longer drive to win $20,000.00 to tie me.  Well, he did just that.

His drive looked like it was heading far to the right, but it was long enough to make the second part of the fairway past the rough that splits the fairways.  Long drive accomplished, he just had to win the hole now.  Much respect for the long drive there.

I had a beautiful drive right up the middle.  Avery (not his real name), our playing partner for the day, said so.  I used one of my neon green Callaway golf balls, but we never found it, and we searched for a while.  Resigned to drop a second ball close to where I think my drive would have ended up, I finished with a bogey…if I hadn’t lost my ball, which would be an illegal score.

Eric gave me an eight, and he said I was lucky to get that, since I never found my drive.  Fair enough.  He scored an honest seven, so he won the hole, too. 

We tied on the game because of that, but how did we do with stroke play?  He scored a 46, and I scored a 45.  That’s with the eight he gave me, so I won in stroke play.  We both had decent scores until the last two holes.  We both had three pars and three bogeys, so it was a decent match for winter golf.  

A funny thing happened, too.  Eric complained about Avery (once again, not his real name) when we were out of his earshot.  He had many rough dealings with him as a customer for the his business.  Basically, Avery had complained a lot and expected extra privileges for no good reasons.  He asked me to not tell him that he owned the Big-O stores, so I said I would say that he was an architect.  I chose that, because of George Costanza.  George always wanted to be an architect, and I think that’s a hilarious bit, so we went with it just in case Avery asked. 

Well, he did ask on #8’s tee box.  I didn’t hesitate.  I told him that I was a retired teacher, and Eric was an architect.  He bought it, but he didn’t ask any follow-up questions for Eric. He did ask questions about my career instead.  

Eric told me later when we relayed this story to the girls that he was conjuring up some of the things he would have told Avery if he was curious about what he does as an 'architect.’  I got away with that one somehow.  Hopefully, Avery won't play with us again, because Eric might have to pull some of those lies out.  

Interestingly, I remember including and quoting Avery in my article in Four Corners Golf Magazine years ago on playing in the winter, and there we were, playing in the winter.

Until next time…