The Club at Morningside

I believe there’s no other game like Golf for serving up truly magical moments. First of all for context I love playing golf with my father. Unlike many father, some relationship relationships. I was the first one to get into the game of golf at the age of 13 and then I introduced my father to the game of golf. We’ve had so many fun times together on the course or in and around Golf. Back in 2019 You was in his early 70s. I was in my 40s on a Sunday January day with perfect weather in Arizona. We made our way out together to play as a twosome at Ak- Chin Southern Dunes.

The top five course in Arizona that is owned by the Ak Chin Indian community and managed by Troon. It’s a great Schmidt Curley design with influences from player consultant Fred couples Inspired  by Australian Sanddune. It has a feel of a Royal Melbourne type of feel with Eucalyptus in the place of traditional AZ Saguaros. It’s desert golf.. but in a different way. It often hosts the US open qualifying high-level college events and is a true test. It has a ton of bunkers which sometimes make it hard for my 20+ handicap dad but it’s one that he really loves. Also, the staff there just takes great care of us so we truly enjoy being treated well. This particular day was a Sunday afternoon with football running and in a pre-Covid era she was light and we got out by ourselves. The golf course is walking friendly, so we opted to take push carts, a nice reprieve from the normal cart requirements of traditional Arizona golf. The weather was perfect. The pairing was perfect. Just he and I I put on Pandora and selected his favorite music and chose a Rolling Stones channel that would play Rolling Stones every fifth song we got off to a fun start. I just remember walking down the third fairway totally in the moment we approached the fourth hole which is a short part three with a lot of bunkers in front. I hit my shot from the blue tee and some random spot around the green (where frankly I don’t even really remember) and then I pulled out my phone cause I could see my dad’s key and the green pretty well and took a picture of him striking his shot from his white tee. The pin was in the front and Dad’s tea shot landed. Just shorter the green rolled up onto the Green and dropped into the hole. I shouted “Dad that Just went in!” He replied “no, it didn’t. It’s probably in that sprinkler head right in front of the green.” I replied with “let’s go up and take a walk”

We walked up to the Green and he checked the sprinkler head in front and sure enough there is no golf ball on it. I’m like “go look at that golf hole!” and he pulled out of the hole his Callaway, tears coming down his face…hed got his first hole in one in his 70s playing with his son on a magical day. We hugged and  both cried. It was a magical moment.

Sidebar… Probably four years later, we were playing the same golf course together this time I invited a friend of mine named Mike Bauer. Bauer is a local member of the media and on many radio shows, is the in game host at the Arizona Diamondbacks host the local GolfRadio show is someone on network with from a media standpoint but is also truly a friend. Mike would say that Ak Chin Southern Dunes is his favorite course as well too (he’s had some rounds there with his dad too,  I also take a little bit of credit in that. I was one that introduced Mike to the game of golf. At the time he was doing a radio show and we did a fun challenge with him and other host where we tried to improve their games and see who could knock the most strokes off their games (Like that old Charles Barkley show). Mike didn’t play prior to that but ultimately got hooked on golf. This particular day, I believe it was just the three of us playing, Mike, my father and myself. As we approach that same fourth hole, I told Mike the story of my dads HIO there and how it was just a magical moment (Mike hadn’t at that point gotten a HIO). as he got up to hit his tea shot, I noticed the beverage cart girl was on the hill behind the green. She stopped to watch our shots before she drove down to ask us if we needed a refreshment. Mike struck the perfect shot to the flag, that was in the middle of the green and guess what. It went in he and I jumped up and down and started yelling and screaming the beverage cart. girl was even clapping and there was a ranger across the way that saw all the action unfold …crazy fun and magical moment.

Yes golf is truly a magical game. Now go play more golf..w dad…w your friend …at places that are special