A Golfer's Dream

My husband loves to golf.  That is one of the reasons we spend as much of the winter as possible in Arizona.  Round about 1995 my sister's husband introduced him to the game.  Twenty years later he's still swinging away, having got  many of his friends and family involved as well.

Randy and Lloyd

He loves the game - the feel of a good swing, the crack of the club head hitting the ball, the chance to be out in the sun (and sometimes cold and rain) for four or five hours at a time, and the challenge of getting the little white ball into the little hole so far away from the tee.

Lloyd trying to avoid the water and sand hazards

And he's pretty good at it.  He learned quickly and gradually improved his game, peaking at very respectable scores, shooting scores that included pars, birdies and even an eagle or two.  Gradually, as age crept up along with its companion, diminished health,  Lloyd's sons and friends began closing the gap between their scores, even beating him occasionally.  But he loves the game so much he is always pleased  to rejoice in the successes of his golfing buddies.

Some family golfers in Arizona this winter

He has organized two annual tournaments, The Coquihalla Challenge, usually held in Alberta or British Columbia, and The Desert Classic, which the guys hold in Arizona every winter, complete with a trophy for each tournament which has the names and years of each winning pair engraved on them.

He was especially excited last fall when our oldest son, Rob, got that pinnacle of golfing glory, a hole-in-one!  An occurance so rare outside of professional golfing that many long-time golfers haven't even been in the presence of a hole-in-one being sunk.  We were so proud that at last someone in the family achieved this goal.

Rob, teeing off

And then it happened.  Lloyd was out golfing in Arizona in February this year with Randy, the brother-in-law who introduced him to the game, and a couple of other golfers when, with one mighty swing of his club from the tee box, the ball flew, dropped, bounced and ended up in the hole.  The mighty Hole-In-One!  His excitement knew no bounds!!!  He could stop now and be happy.  His goal has been accomplished.  But he won't, of course.

Lloyd, with his hole-in-one ball, watched by
his mentor, Randy.

What a great golfing winter it was for a great golfer.  Ya did good Lloyd!