After we were airborne I had some time to think. I just sit back and thought about things. I should feel really good. I just won the US Open, and it is my second major of the year. I am happy but just so much on my mind. The incident at the ceremony was a bummer. Now I am not sure when I am going to play again. I want to be ready for the British Open. I got an invitation after I won the Masters. And now since I won the US open I have a chance to do something special. I just hope my Ribs are OK by then. The other thing I have on my mind is this stupid voice in my head that is getting stronger and stronger every day. Then the weird dreams. And what the hell was all that stuff Jerry Churchill was talking about last night? I just need a break. I need to get away from everything for a few days. All these bad vibes are killing me.
As we approach Orlando, I start getting good Vibes because I know that Emily will be there. All I know is when I think of her. Or when I talk to her or see her in person. I just feel at peace like I have never felt before. We land and pull up to the gate and everyone gets up. I struggle with my pain after sitting on this plane for a while. One guy even helped me get out of my seat and into the aisle. “Man, I am ready to get off this plane," I tell myself. Seems like it taking forever. Finally, we get out and I make my way to the baggage area. I wonder how it will be seeing Emily and her father. Will it be awkward? Our relationship is still sort of in the gray area, It is hard to tell where we stand. “But she did give me a kiss the last time I saw her” I say to myself happily. I made it down to the baggage area and there was Emily and her father waiting for me.
She was happy to see me but she had tears. She gave me a hug. I tried to keep my emotions together. I felt like crying but I was able to keep it together. I shook hand with her dad, “Good to see you Mr. Carlson. "Ah, just call me Harry” he said smiling. They both asked how I feel and I told them I was fine. There was only about 30 seconds of initial awkwardness. After that it felt like family. Emily has that way of just putting people at ease. Her father is a great guy and pretty much the same personality as her. I just felt like everything was going to be OK.
They got my bags since I was all beat up. They loaded them on a cart and we took them to my car which was in the parking garage. Her dad was great, he was doing everything. I wanted to help but he would have no part of it. We made a plan after we got the bags loaded. Emily insisted on driving me home in my car. Her dad said he would just meet us at my place. He had me give him my address and he would use his GPS on his smartphone and he would just meet us there. I told Emily that I could drive but she would have no part of that. "I will drive, I am bringing you home," she said smiling. That just sounded funny to me for some reason, but I liked it. It felt like I was truly coming home for the first time in a long time. I have come home in this airport a million times the last few years from all my travels as a professional golfer. But I never really felt like “I was coming home." As a single guy coming home to an empty Condo, just never seemed like home. But now I feel like I am really coming home. What a nice feeling.
As we were driving we had a nice conversation. It was really good to talk to her. I never really realized how much I missed her. I have been so wrapped up with the US Open and the disaster at the ceremony. It was good to be away from all of that. We finally arrived at my condo. As we were getting out of the car, her Dad pulled up right behind us. “This GPS is great” he said laughing. “Not sure how I ever lived without one of these things” he said shaking his head. “Yeah you cannot use the excuse of getting lost anymore when you are late coming home from the golf course," replied Emily as she was smiling and pointing her finger at him. “Yeah, I guess I will have to find another good excuse for getting in an extra nine holes in," he replied. We all laughed.
Her dad gathered the bags, and we went into my condo. Emily was checking out my place. She was looking around and shaking her head in satisfaction. “Not bad for a single guy, this place is pretty nice," she said in a complimentary tone. I told her that it It's good enough for me. It's small but I do not need a big place since I do so much traveling.
We hung out for a few minutes. Her dad asked if it is OK to talk about what happened at the ceremony. He was real interested on what that was all about. That was nice that he asked and I told him that is fine. I thought it will be good for them to know everything. I told him how I was shocked that it happened. I filled him in on the information that we found out that he is Ben Armstrong’s grandson and he seems to have some psychiatric issues. We suspect he is trying to protect his grandfather's record for the Major Golf Tournaments won in a year. They just shook their heads in disbelief. “So sad for you, but also sad for him. You will go on with your life, but It looks like that young man's life is destroyed," remarked Harry. I just shook my head in agreement. “Well maybe he will get the help he needs now” replied Emily, and we both agreed. Harry slapped his hands and started smiling. “Enough of that. Congratulations on your Victory at the US Open," he said shaking my hand. I thanked him for that. “We watched it all and were on the edge of our seats. You showed such poise out there and we were so happy for you," he told me smiling. I thanked him again, and we talked about the tournament for a few minutes. Here it is two days later, and this is the first time, anyone has talked to me about the actual golf tournament because of crazy things that transpired. And it really felt good just talk about golf again. It helped me appreciate what I had accomplished. Also it felt good to talk about something positive after all that I have been through the last few days.
About 4:30pm, Harry stood up. “We better go and let you get some rest." “Well gosh” I said. “No use leaving now. It is right in the middle of rush hour traffic. Let's get something to eat. Then leave after the traffic dies down," I told him. He looked at Emily, and they both agreed. “Sure sounds good," they replied. "OK," I said thinking. “I can maybe get something delivered or we can go out. There are a couple of restaurants close by," I told them. He was looking out the back sliding door on the patio. I see you have a BBQ Grill, does that work?." “Oh yeah, it works fine," I replied. “How about if I cook some burgers?," he said smiling. “Sure sounds good to me, I have not had a home cooked meal in a while," I told him. “Done deal!," he barked out in a happy tone. “You guys take it easy, I will do the rest. Is there a store around here?," he asked. I told him there was a grocery store close by and gave him directions. He went out to get some food for the BBQ.
Emily and I just hung out and talked. I felt like I could have talked to her for ever. She is so easy to talk to and I feel so comfortable with her. Her dad came back in a few minutes and we went out back and started the BBQ. It was a beautiful day. Harry and I had a couple of beers and we all just relaxed. It was really nice. We had some good food, good conversations, and I really felt like I was with family. I could just feel all that stress that I have had the last few days just going away. This was so much nicer than going to a restaurant. After dinner it was about 7:00 pm and they were ready to head out. “We better get home” said Harry. I thanked them for picking me up today. “Let me tell you. I really enjoyed seeing you guys today. The last few days have been so crazy, it is good to just sit down and be normal again," I told them. And I was almost choking up and they could tell. They laughed and said they enjoyed it as well. Harry told me that things will be fine and my life will get back to normal in no time. I looked at Emily. “I got some free times on my hands the next couple of weeks. I would love to see you again." Then I looked up at her Father. Uh, and, you too Harry," I said laughing. They both laughed. “Sure. Maybe we can see some sites around here the next few days," replied Emily. I agreed and told her I will call her tomorrow and see if we can figure out something. We all said goodbye, and she gave me a nice hug and that felt great. After they left I just sat down and started thinking. “My Gosh, I feel good now." No more stress. I feel happy now. It is amazing what a little companionship will do for you. I am alone so much in my life, it really feels good to meet someone like Emily who seems to be a great woman and a real
ly nice family. We will see where this goes the next couple of weeks. Hopefully this is about to develop into a real relationship.
Chapter 12: Recovery
The next few days I took it easy. I was able to get together with Emily and our relationship started to get stronger. One day we went to Disney world, and we had a blast. It was the first time we spent a lot of time together. I felt like I was free from all my problems that day. The next few days we got together and took some long walks and finally thing got more serious. Within a few days we developed into a real relationship. And finally the guessing was over for the dumb single guy. It felt so natural as our relationship grew. It felt like that I have known her for a long time and I felt so comfortable with her.
And her family was great. They accepted me and always made me feel comfortable. The next few days we had some good laughs. Her family always likes to have fun. Which is a change of pace for what I have been doing over the last few years. One day we all went fishing. I am a klutz at fishing. They gave me a hard time when I was trying to bait the hooks because I have not done much fishing in my life. And they got a good laugh when I got so excited that I caught a fish. But then when I tried to take it out of the water, it got away. Her Dad just laughed. “No one will believe you when try to tell the fish story about the big one that got away. You have to have proof with a good picture,"he said laughing.
Another funny thing that happened was when her cousin was in town visiting. They have a 4-year-old boy. He likes to play golf. Sometimes they would take him out to the driving range to hit balls with his dad. He knew I played golf and wanted to go to the range to hit some balls. I said “Why not?” We went to a course close by Emily’s parents house. I drove and we turned into the parking lot and drove up a slight hill to the club house. The range was by the parking lot. They told me we need to get the range balls in the club house. As they were getting their clubs ready, I told them I will go get some balls and be right back. I got a bucket of balls and came back. I sat wired steel bucket of balls down by the car for a minute to get out some clubs. It never occurred to me that a big bucket of bright and shinny yellow and white golf balls may be something of an interest to an energetic four year old little boy. Before we knew it I heard his mom yell “No’oooo!” I looked up, and he had gone over to get some balls out of the bucket. And sure enough, he tipped the bucket of balls over. We were on a slight hill in a wide open parking lot. And now dozens of yellow and white golf balls were streaming down the parking lot into the busy street of cars below. We were all running down in a panic laughing and yelling. I was not sure what to do. Should I run and hide or go grab the balls? I could just imagine the people in the cars getting upset. A few balls slammed into some cars and made loud thud, but they kept driving. By the time we made it down to the street, the cars stopped in both directions. We were laughing and telling everyone sorry. A couple of people got out of the cars. They were good natured about it and helped us pick up the balls. After we finally got it under control we all laughed. I was laughing so hard that that my sore ribs were hurting. But I did not care. I don’t think I have laughed that hard in a long time and it felt good. The next few days was basically hanging out with Emily and her family and having a lot of fun. It was nice to relax for a while.
After the first week, I could tell that my ribs were going to be OK. After about 10 days, I started slowly working on swinging the golf club. The doctor said that it is hard to tell how I would feel. But I felt pretty good. I took it easy and slowly worked on swinging the club. The first few days I was sore. But after a few days I felt pretty good. I felt like with some work that I should be ready by my next tournament at Greenbrier Classic.
The time off was really good for me. It gave me a chance to clear my head and relax. I did not think about what happened at the US Open or my injuries. I was focused on developing a relationship with Emily and having fun. It was nice to share time with other people. In the past when I had some time off I was always by myself. And that is always boring. But these last few days I was actually spending time with people that seem like family and that has been great. But now it is time to get back to business. “We will see how I can mix my love life with my golf career," I told myself.
That stupid voice in my head had virtually gone away the last few days since I have been away from golf. But it started to come back as I started working on my game. It’s funny, but I missed that voice. I missed it because it always motivated me. When I hit shots that voice is having so much fun, which seems to make me enjoy practicing. I just accept it now but I still wonder if I am losing my mind. To get back into golfing shape, I worked with an occupational therapist who works with players on the tour. He worked with me on managing my injury. After a couple of weeks I am swinging about 80% swing and I see no reason why I will not be ready for the Greenbrier Classic in a couple of weeks. And then the British open is right around the corner. I am excited about golf again cannot wait.
As I start to do some serious work on my game and I feel good. After a few days I have basically no restrictions. Every once in awhile I will some pain in my ribs, but nothing that I cannot live with. I contact Zack and tell him we are good for the Greenbrier Classic tournament, and he is happy about that. The next few days I hit a lot of balls and play a few rounds on my home course. That little voice is happy but seems to be more demanding of me and it is starting to bother me. I seem to have a lot of emotions as I am practicing and playing. Not bad or good emotions. Just strange emotions like I am missing something. I feel like I feel that I should be somewhere else. And the next few days my recurring dreams about being in a small town with a family and playing golf as a hacker are becoming more clear. I still do not see the faces in my dreams, but I know I have a wife and kids. I keep dreaming about playing golf. As the dreams get more clear, they get more strange. I always see myself in my dreams playing golf by myself in a thunderstorm and trying to break 80. Breaking 80 is an obsession for me in my dreams. And I see my wife at home looking out the window waiting for me to come home. I have the sense my family is worried about me. I am now having these same dreams over and over every night. I wake up the next morning wondering what is going on. During the day when I am practicing, I think about those dreams. I keep having the feeling that I need to go home. But I am home. So why is this happening? It is starting to get to me emotionally. I think there has to be something wrong with me. The only time I am not thinking about those dreams now is when I am with Emily or talking to her on the phone. I try to keep my mind clear as possible and focus on my game.
Before I know it is is time for my next tournament, The Greenbrier Classic. The plan is to play in this tournament. Then go to Scotland to play in the Scottish Open as a warmup for the British Open or “The Open” as they call it, which is the following week.
Chapter 13: Back to competition
As my plane is landing at White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia for this tournament, I am excited. I have been out for a month now. And it has been an emotional one. I have literally had the best time of my life with Emily and her family. And then I have been through my physical rehab which was no picnic. And then all these weird dreams or feeling. Now I am just ready for Golf. After I arrive I get my rental car and head out to the course. It is Monday. I want to get here early this week and prepare. I drive out to the course which is “The Old White TPC."
Zack is waiting for me in the parking lot. He greets me with a big hug. “Glad to see you back buddy” he said smiling. “Me too” I replied. We went up to the club house and ran into a lot of the players. It was weird. Normally it would be a big congratulations for winning the US Open. And sure that happened. But basically a lot of concerns about how I was doing after getting tackled and beaten up at the US Open ceremony. Everyone was really upset about that. I assured everyone that I am fine and I have put that in my past. But this was the first time I have really thought about it the last few days, and I felt a little emotional about it. But after I got back in the swing of
things preparing for the tournament, I felt like I was back to normal again. It felt good.
As we were hitting balls on the range, Zack was watching me closely. “You look good, you really do. Your distance is a little off. But I guess that can be expected coming back from an injury," he told me. “Really?, I replied. "Yeah, your irons are about 5 yards shorter than normal." And your drives are about 10 yards shorter, but besides that you look good," he told me. “Man! you really pay attention to details, I would have never noticed that small change, especially on my irons," I said smiling. “That's my job. Actually, I am really surprised and happy that you are hitting the ball as good as you are. I think your distance is fine. As you get back into shape you will get stronger and you will get your distance back," he told me. “I’m ready," I replied.
I told Zack that I want to play a practice round today, but just nine holes. We scheduled a practice round I hit the ball well. I had to shake off the rust a little, but a successful day. The next couple of days we practiced and played. By Wednesday, Zack told me that my distance is coming back and looks like I am ready to go. I felt like I was ready to play.
This was a good week of preparation for me. I feel better. However I feel strange emotionally. That voice is getting stronger and starting to get on my nerves. And the dreams at night are getting more clear and I am starting to think about them during the day. I guess the stress of getting back to work is getting to me. The last few weeks when I was off on rehab, I was at peace when I was with Emily and her family. Now as I get back to competition the same old emotions are coming back. And they are stronger than before. The only time I seem to have any emotional peace this week is when I talk to Emily on the phone.
Golf In A Parallel Universe Page 23
