When you play in Tim’s group, it’s a waste of your time to keep score; he keeps track of every shot. As you leave the green, Tim will inform you of your score for that hole as he records it on the card. The problem with playing golf with Tim is that your handicap will change considerably. Some players like to have a cushion of a few strokes saved up for tournaments. Those members avoid Tim at all cost.

The sad part of all this is that Tim’s score is almost always a double bogey or worse. And in my opinion, his accommodating ways are part of the problem. I usually have a good idea of the ball location and score of my playing partners, but I don’t spend any conscious brain time keeping track of them. I’ve got my hands full dealing with the obstacles that Mother Nature and Mr. Golf Course have put in my way.

I already knew that Tim’s major swing flaw was trying to lift the ball and his busybody stuff in between his shots were adding fifteen to twenty strokes to his score each round. So I said to him after a match, “Tim, I’ve got some free time today. If you want to go to the practice tee with me, we’ll work on your game. There’ll be no charge since you’ve done favors for almost every member including yours truly.”

His reply still haunts me, “Are you kidding? No thanks! If I took a golf lesson, I wouldn’t be able to hit a ball three feet. The pressure of knowing I knew how to do it right would drive me insane. I can shoot ninety when I have to, and since everyone expects me to shoot a hundred, I’ve got it made.”

“No human being can really understand another, and no one can arrange another’s happiness.” Graham Greene (English novelist).