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CELEBRATING THE GOLF DAD
On Father's Day, we share memories of the dads (and grandfathers and brothers) who gave us our love for the game.
MOGIE ADAMCHIK
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My dad got me into golf when I was seven. He would let me steer the golf cart as he played a quick nine after dinner. When I was 13, I started taking golf seriously and it became “our thing.” He’d take me to all of my tournaments down in Pinehurst and around the Southeast. He was there to celebrate my achievements and provide wise perspective and encouragement after the tough rounds. Since my senior year of high school, we’ve taken annual trips around the country to play legendary courses. A few of my favorites include Cabot, Pebble Beach, and Streamsong. He’s also been my caddie for many tournaments, from the US Kids Teen World Championships to the Women’s US Open qualifier. We’ve logged thousands of miles and memories together over the years.
My favorite story of us happened on a family vacation to Hawaii when I was a sophomore in high school. We were playing Mauna Kea’s signature 3rd hole when he put one into the ocean. No big deal, he put the next one on the green and we enjoyed the beautiful course. When we finished, we had a few hours to kill before dinner and my dad got the idea that we should go back and snorkel at hole three. We recruited my little brother, grabbed our snorkels, fins, and mesh bags and headed towards the ocean. We swam around to the hole and would take a gulp of air before diving between 6-20 feet to grab balls. It was a blast, but the highlight was when we heard my dad shout, “I FOUND MY BALL!!!” Sure enough, it was his exact Bridgestone from earlier with his initials and company logo on the sides. It was too funny but too cool at the same time. It now sits on his office desk as a memory of that great day!
My dad has always been my #1 supporter and works hard behind the scenes to make it possible for me to play the game I love. I know many people can relate to this, and this inspired me to collect similar memories from my golf homies.
The stories below are told by a variety of players aged 11 to 71 — I hope you enjoy reading their tales as much as I have!
Leah – 31
“Some of my favorite memories of my dad are when he would come to watch me play my junior golf events when I was younger. He would always be there to watch me play no matter when or where the event was held. He was my biggest cheerleader. At the turn, he was always prepared with a snack for me and words of wisdom for the back nine. One time, he had walked further ahead on a hole to watch me tee off since it was a blind tee shot. After I hit my tee ball, he started jumping up and down and yelling. I thought he had lost his mind. It turned out that I had made a hole-in-one and he was yelling from excitement. I’ll never forget the smile on his face and how happy he was for me. I asked him to hold onto the ball for the rest of the round because I was too afraid I’d lose it. Once the event was over, he even went back out on the course and got the flag off the pin for me. It is a day I will never forget.”
Jeff – 56
“My grandfather came back from World War II and started a local career in politics which lasted roughly from 1950 – 1975. Back then part of the deal was that you needed to play golf with all these other politicians and people that were donating to you. He would pay me $0.25 to clean his clubs in the kitchen sink. He also had horses, and a big pasture behind his house. He would hit balls into the pasture like it was a driving range and then send me and my brothers and cousins out to pick them up so the horses didn’t stumble on them. Anyway, he taught us to hit a ball. Not many of us really took at it but I enjoyed it. I rarely played with him on a golf course when I was little because it was too expensive and I really wasn’t very good. My favorite memory was him trying to teach us to hit a high wedge. We would try to get it over the horse barn which was probably 30’ high. Most of the time it would hit the roof and come back down. He told my brother to “hit it harder” and he skulled it through a window. Pop’s response was “that will be enough of that”. 70 years later when he was in hospice dying of brain cancer we were all sitting in his room and my brother was holding his hand when he passed. Tom (brother) just whispered, ‘that will be enough of that…'”
McKenzie – 11
“One of my favorite things is when dad caddied for me for world championships when it was 100 degrees everyday and never gave up! Even though he said “I am going to literally be broken after this”. Yet he was not broken, he is still alive!”
Luke – 14
“My favorite time with my dad has to be when I hit golf balls in a little field when I was 5. I would try to hit the golf balls as hard as I could to the end of the field and my dad would stand at the end of the field and pick up the balls up so I could hit them again.”
Billy – 71
My brother Jimmy is the person I credit for getting me into golf. When I was 8, Jimmy was 14, and he started to caddie at Bethpage. Soon after, golf clubs and balls started to show up in our garage. I started to mess around with them in the back yard and became hooked. In November of 1993 we went to a wedding in North Carolina. At the front desk of our hotel was a fish bowl for a free raffle. If you were selected, you and a partner would get a free entry into a two-man golf tournament at Brandywine Bay Golf Club near New Bern in March of ‘94. Jimmy and I filled out raffle tickets and went on with our lives.
In February Jimmy calls to inform me that he won the raffle for the two-man tournament! The event was 2 days; first day 2-man best ball, second day 2-man scramble. Jimmy and I played great, ham and egged it the first day and shot 68, -4. Jimmy putted with an old Acushnet Bullseye putter. He made everything. We had the lead by 1 shot and on the 2nd day shot 69, -3 and won the whole thing. That’s when we started to refer to ourselves as the PROS FROM DOVER! I think we won 2 skins and the first prize, which totaled about $400, which we split.
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On behalf of myself and all who share a golf bond with their dad, thank you to all the Fathers out there for instilling our love for the game. Keep on spreading the good feeling that Golf is Home!
If you’re looking to buy something special for the golf dad in your life, check out Lie + Loft’s collection of course maps.
