We all have that moment at some point in our lives. What moment, you might ask? I’m referring to that moment in our lives when something happens that ultimately paves the way into our future.
Mine happened on Christmas morning in 1979.
Waking up that Christmas morning, I was a typical hysterically-happy eight-year-old boy eagerly anticipating the opening of the presents under our tree.
I was the youngest of three children, and I learned the importance of being patient on Christmas morning. Dad had to get his coffee going, mom had to primp herself in case any pictures were taken, and I had to wait until everybody had been handed a present to open my first gift.
Any present was a welcome gift in my hands, but there was one that captured my attention that morning. It was a rather large box that just happened to have my name on it.
Eventually, that box came to me and I remember standing to unwrap what was inside. Seconds later, my jaw dropped at the sight of my very own set of golf clubs inside of that box.
Thirty-seven years later, I can still recall the golf clubs in that box. They were a 1979 set of Wilson 1200 LT’s, and they were the most perfect golf clubs I had ever seen.
Prior to that day, I had already been introduced to the game of golf by my dad. He would take me to the course with him and let me beat around the little ball with random clubs he would come across.
But now, I had my own set.
I was unaware of it at the time, but my future was discovered the moment I unwrapped that box.
The rest of my Christmas morning, and the days and weeks to follow, was spent either at the golf course, or in my front yard whacking plastic whiffle balls into an old coffee can. The game fascinated me, and I went to bed every night eager to wake up the next morning to play some more golf.
Christmas morning of 1979 sent me on a journey in golf that has never left me to this day. The excitement and enthusiasm I remember from that day is the same feeling I try to create in every junior golfer I work with today.
If a junior golfer can learn to be enthusiastic and excited at the idea of going to the golf course, then I feel that I have done my job as a PGA Professional.
I recently researched a 1979 set of Wilson 1200 LT’s, and I found a complete set listed for sale at $59.99. I am tempted to purchase this set for myself, wrap them in some fancy Christmas paper, and stick them back under our Christmas tree.
If that magic box can bring me the same excitement it brought me thirty-seven year ago, it will be one of the greatest investments I have ever made.
