I replied, “If Big Ed is Golf Professional Edward Blackburn, then I’m the 10:00 o’clock.”

“Well, just go out that door and keep walking straight and you will come to our range. He’s there hitting a few.”

Within moments I was face to face with a man who surpassed my definition of big. This guy was…expansive. As soon as he saw me, he started towards me as though I were his long lost brother who had shown up unexpectedly.

With a beautiful smile, he shook my hand and welcomed me to the practice tee.  Looking me right in the eyes, he apologized for not being in the clubhouse when I arrived and asked if his directions to the course had been easy to follow.

I’m not sure how long we did the small talk bit, but I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it. It was the first time in a very long time that anyone had made a fuss over me. I doubt if Mr. Arnold Palmer has ever received a warmer welcome. I’m not even sure what we covered during the lesson, and I don’t care. It was one of the most enjoyable times I’ve ever spent working on my game.

Studies about what goes right and what goes wrong when two people meet for the first time point out that we get about ninety seconds before the other person gives us either a bogie or a birdie. I guess a par score would be: “Aw, he’s okay.” And we all know what that means.

The subject that Big Ed chose to talk about during that golf lesson was perfect-Me! I don’t even know if Big Ed could break ninety, and again, I don’t care.

Now that I teach golf, my goal is to leave my students as Big Ed left me…feeling like my life and swing were the only two things in the world that he was concerned about.

I’ll let Mr. Zig Ziglar summarize, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”