by James Dodson
“That’s okay,” I said. “Enjoy it. The game ends too soon, you know.”
“Right. Thanks.”
He walked on and I walked, and then I stopped. That’s when I realized I’d heard it—my father’s voice.
I smiled. Opti was back.
To A. with love.
For our fathers.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many people had a hand in creating this book. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Mike Purkey, senior editor at Golf Magazine, who first suggested I turn our trip into a book, and Jennifer Hershey at Bantam Books for guiding the project to life. Brian Tart (who really should play more golf) did a masterful job of the final editing and Ginger Barber is a writer’s dream agent (too bad she plays only tennis). I must thank others who have rendered cheerful support and enthusiasm along the way. They include Robin McMillan, David Barrett, and Jim Frank of Golf Magazine, Gary Walther, editor-in-chief of Departures Magazine, Lee Walburn at Atlanta Magazine, and the indispensable Tim Clark at Yankee Magazine. A special thanks to Bob Sommers, retired editor of Golf Journal I’m grateful to Tony Nickson of Royal Lytham, Norman Crewe of Royal Birkdale, Douglas and Colin Dagleish, and Archie Baird of Muirfield for his spirited generosity and the use of the riding cart. Also, Tony and Julie Gilbert of Carnoustie, Tom and Elizabeth Jessop, and the unsinkable Murdo MacPherson. Thanks to Ms. Randy Jones (my daughter’s god-mother) and British Airways for helping us go in style. I’m deeply grateful to Edith Hazard, a pal who had the sense to tell me what not to include in the text, and to Kathleen Bennie, my Royal and Ancient mother-in-law, whose wisdom is exceeded only by her remarkably tolerant good humor. I’m grateful to my regular pals—Pat, Terry, and Sid—for bringing me back to the game when I needed it most. Most of all, I thank Opti for giving me the game and much more than I can ever properly repay. I know I still owe him some pocket change.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James Dodson is a contributing editor and award-winning columnist for Golf Magazine. He is also the golf correspondent for Departures Magazine. His work has appeared in many national publications including Gentlemen’s Quarterly, Travel and Leisure, Outside Magazine, Reader’s Digest, and Town and Country. A former senior writer for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Sunday Magazine and Yankee Magazine, he is a past winner of the William Allen White Award for Public Affairs reporting from the University of Kansas Journalism School. He also won the Golf Writers of America Award for his columns in 1995. He is at work on his next book, Faithful Travelers, which is about his cross-country trip from Maine to Yellowstone National Park with his eight-year-old daughter, Maggie, and their dog, Amos.
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