Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Summer Days



This photo just came through my work email.  It's a shot of very young golfers at a local golf course & resort promoting family golf. This photo cracks me up.  These little guys are probably 3-5 years old.  I can't imagine what patience and fortitude the pro must have when he takes this group out on the course. 

My parents had me learning golf when I was 7.  I took lessons, on and off, for years.  I loved the pro at our club because he was devoted to teaching the kids even though, in those days, there wasn't any national junior golf nor even an LPGA!  The "juniors" had to be off the course by 9am on Men's Day and not back on most days til after 3pm.  It was often extremely hot in the afternoon and I would get fussy.  Southern Cal is dry but it can be wicked hot.  This course was gorgeous, lots of old tall oak trees and eucalyptus.  But I longed for the turn on the 9th hole when we stopped and had lemonade.  We usually played 9 holes.  During lessons, we played 3-4 holes.   I played in junior tournaments and those were a full 18. Although I did win a few trophies,  my heart was never in it.  By the time I was 15, I was "all done".  I didn't pick up a golf club again til in my late twenties and then, only to play with my mother or father when visiting.   

My parents' club was nice. It dated back to the 1930s or 40s.  It was constructed of a very smooth stucco painted pale pink.  Sounds awful but it was popular in those days.  We had an Olympic sized swimming pool where I was taught to swim at the age of 3.   My mother, brother and I spent many happy hours sitting around and going in and out of that big pool.  Lots of mothers took their chicks to swim.  It was a rockin' place!  Our biggest treat was to get a hot dog and Coke from the refreshment window.  Snow cones were a big treat as were popsicles.  

Summer days at the pool!  How I loved them.   Summer days on the golf course...not so much. 

16 comments:

Pat Tillett said...

Nice childhood memories...
The photo is great, I bet the kid bending over in the middle of the pic, was the most difficult one in the group! You can just tell by looking...

Oh yeah, where is some of that nice hot summer weather? It's rained the last two days coastal socal...

Brian Miller said...

nice. we grew up with a par 3 course just down the road....we would slip down there and fish the balls out of the creek untilwe were old enough to swing a club...thanks for the memories...

Susan said...

Unlike you, Miss Hoity-Toity Country Club Girl :-), I had to do my swimming in the public pool. But I probably had just as much fun. I loved the frozen Reese's Cups and Mallo Bars and Zero bars. They were hard enough to break your teeth, but so wonderful on a hot day.

David used to play golf quite a bit, but he hasn't played in the last couple of years. He said his job gives him enough stress without adding to it. I bought a set of clubs about 4 years ago, went to the driving range a few times, and they've never been on a course. Anyone need a set of barely used clubs?

California Girl said...

Hi Pat: I think we have the SoCal weather back here...at least the LA weather not the Laguna weather. It is so hot, 90s every day. Imagine. I'm in the damn mtns of New England for cryin' out loud! Bleech.

Brian: That sounds like fun. I knew lots of kids who would find all the golf balls hit over the fence by the golfers. The entire golf course was surrounded by neighborhood streets and the balls went flying everywhere. The kids would sell them on the corner, probably back to the golfers!

Susan: Well, that's real nice, calling me names. I didn't realize belonging to a golf club was a privilege. I just thought it was neat we had a pool to go to. It was always packed too. My dad never put a pool in our back yard because we belonged to the club. In fact, despite the fact I'm a California Girl, I've never had a pool. I've had a river, I've had the Chesapeake Bay. Some day I hope to live on a lake. But I don't think I'll ever have a pool...maybe a hot tub.

Kalei's Best Friend said...

Bet those kids had fun and even if they didn't finish I bet they ended up having lunch together... kinda what adults would do except adults would include some cocktails...

Nancy said...

We live on a golf course and I often wonder at the tenacity it takes to golf on a 95 degree day! I am thinking of taking lessons again, however. When in Rome.

Baino said...

Aww great shot and you're right the Pro would need the patience of Jobe. My whole family play golf. Not me. Adam used to play with his Grandpa who had specially shortened clubs for him but it's getting too expensive to be a member of a decent course these days so he traded his golf sticks for drum sticks. Oh and backyard pools are overrated.

Tanna said...

CG, that post just puts a smile on my face. I can just imagine you looking forward to lemonade at the turn! I didn't take up golf (or should I say, it took me up) until I was 36. I had always thought it to be a "stupid waste of time." LOL! I played like an addict for about five years then didn't have time to play for another decade... now, I'm back, chasing the elusive perfect round... Your childhood sounds idyllic, but I would have probably been just like you... Lemonade and hot dog with a Coke by the pool! Thanks for sharing this story of your childhood.

Deborah said...

I took up golf at the age of 19, when I lived on the edge of a municipal golf course. Gave it up at the age of 19 1/2 after hitting someone else's ball by mistake. The histrionics of the ball owner put me off the game completely.

California Girl said...

Chrissy: Thanks for visiting & commenting! I see you're on the "Bitchy Waiter" this morning. He's funny when he rants and it must work, he has a TON of followers. Sometimes I can't read his posts because he sounds so angry. I guess he's walkin' that fine line between Erma Bombeck and Lenny Bruce.

Nancy: If you're living on one, might as well take advantage. My parents retirement home is on a lovely course in Sta Barbara Co and I hope to live there some day. Perhaps I'll play again when I'm 80 which is about the age I expect to be when I can stop working.

Baino: Every kid in SoCal wants a pool. I think I'd STILL like one, especially during this gawdawful heat.

Tanna: I know you write of your love of golf. Glad you enjoyed this. I wish my parents had made me play tennis (which I adore). I might have been competitive but NOOOOO, golf. By the time the LPGA was launched, I was 18.

Deborah: I hit someone in the head with a ball that bounced off the cart path into the cart parked to the side & hit the person driving! I'll save this story for another blog post. hahahaha! (she was okay except for an egg on her forehead)

injaynesworld said...

What I've never figured out is the fascination of watching golf on TV. But what a healthy activity for kids. If more parents signed their kids up for stuff like that maybe we wouldn't have such a childhood obesity problem in the country.

Fun pool memories!

Ruth said...

Well this is all Greek to me, but I like reading about your early life and picturing you on the golf course. Quite amazing to me, actually. I can picture your club, because we lived in Pasadena 5 years (where the kids were born), and those pink stucco buildings are elegant.

I bet you have some stories to tell from that pool. Teenage stories. :)

Ruth said...

I meant to say how cool about Paul Goydos! I heard him on NPR talking about his 59.

Mike said...

The picture made me think of that movie, "The Sandlot".

I love golf but rarely play and am not very good at it. At this point in my life a day on the course would be far better than a day at the beach!

California Girl said...

Ruth, when I think of the quintessential pink stucco building, it's the Beverly Hills Hotel. Our club, growing up, was not a la de da place. It was old but nice and the course itself was beautiful because of the very old trees. As for teenage years around the pool, that really didn't happen because once kids became teenagers, they gravitated towards friends w/ backyard pools. The club pool was lively and they did throw bbqs and dinner dances at the pool but daytimes were mostly children and moms. It was so Fifties. I still remember the name of my first swim coach and my golf pro!

Otin: that's a good analogy. They do look like they are ready to make some mischief. As for your philosophy, did you not mean "a day at the beach would be far better than a day on the course!"?

tony said...

I've never thought about it before but I reckon Golf is a much better activity for young kids than ,say,soccer. You can do it as a group but it focuses on the Individual more.Which,maybe,is a good thing at that age?