NiceBallz - Play Ballzy

I never picked up the game to make the tour, or to win a trophy, or to make business deals.  I picked it up because of guys named Sparky, Fathead and others too numerous to mention.
 
Several years ago I was starting to get consumed by my full-time, paying gig.  I worked my butt off and still do, but I had no real outside of work interests to help give me a release.
 
I’d played very recreationally in college when I worked at a local golf course (free golf, baby), but had never taken it seriously.
 
“Why don’t you play golf?,” Mrs. Ballz had said.  It was an idea, I’d enjoyed the game but it just seemed like a hassle.  Getting equipment and lessons and finding someone to play with and, and, and, and…
 
But then I went back to the midwest for an annual gathering of some old college friends at a tournament dubbed The Fathead Open. 
 
The Fathead (as it’s referred to now, sort of like how the Brits refer to The British Open, rightly as just ‘The Open’) is a four-man scramble tournament started in memory of a good friend who passed away far too early.
 
Greg ‘Fathead’ Nygaard was one of the most gregarious people I’ve ever known. Everyone knew ‘Fathead’ (again, we’re big with the nicknames where I come from and, well, Greg did have a big melon) and he seemingly knew everyone else, and always had a smile and quick hug for you.  When he passed his brother (aka ‘Sparky,’ a good friend of mine) who is a head golf professional in Omaha, Nebraska began a tournament to help raise funds for a memorial softball field – Greg’s personal sporting passion.
 
I’d played in The Fathead for a few years (we even won once) before moving to the west coast but had then missed a year or two.  So when I returned my game was in the crapper and my spirits nearly as low due to a real lack of balance between work and life.
 
I wasn’t expecting much, maybe a few good stories and some time away from ‘the job.’  What I got was so much more. I got more than my share of laughs, hit a lot of bad shots and some surprisingly good ones and most importantly I had a ridiculous amount of fun. It all added up to a desire to re-commit myself to a game that, until then, I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed.
 
Since then I’ve invested in the right equipment, and more importantly lessons. I’ve found new friends like @GolferWriterGuy and have a game that I believe will stick with me until I can no longer physically play. I have a few hours every weekend that I allow myself to disconnect from the Monday-Friday demands and more recently have something that I and Mrs. B are tackling together. 
 
How can I repay what The Fathead has given me back?  I can’t, but I try by booking my airfare back to the midwest every year to refill my golfing gas tank over many hours on the course, more than a few cocktails and good times shared with people who I may well have lost touch with were it not for this silly damn game.

-Hack

Ironically, Hack has a fat head himself. He doesn’t wear ball caps as a result. They don’t fit right. But, he still enjoys showing his style and having fun on the golf course, a respite from a busy world that he rediscovered through good friends at The Fathead Open. Why do you golf? Tell us at http://blog.niceballz.com, or follow more from Hack at http://twitter.com/NiceBallz.