shampooed their long hair.
They followed Sandy to the Hole 19 Lounge. They had coffee and Danish and met some of the El Camino staff who were on break. Included in the group was the greens keeper, Harry Gladstone, and the caddie master, Billy McGinnis. Billy was a disciplinarian like Harry and Sandy planned to turn Matt over to Billy at some point. Matt left with Gladstone, and Scott followed Sandy to the practice range.
Scott’s first job was to fill the golf ball buckets used for lessons and run errands from the range. In general he became Sandy’s gofor . Scott watched as McNair taught golf and took in his instruction of proper setup and tempo. At times, gruff words provoked by the ache of arthritic joints in his aging body would overcome Sandy’s usually patient teaching disposition. He’d vent the anger caused by his pain by yelling at his students when their alignment was off, "Keep your damn ass behind you!"
Some players from the tour came to El Camino to have Sandy take a look at their swing. He’d introduce Scott to them, and it was a thrill for him to watch these pros hit balls while listening to their banter about the PGA tour. Between lessons, Sandy spent time with Scott, schooling him on the proper swing dynamics. From his years of experience in the game, Sandy recognized Scott’s natural ability and took on the project of nurturing it. Scott was a zealous student, eager to learn. He practiced golf for hours while making only token appearances on the tennis court.
Gladstone, the greens keeper, was tough on Matt at first and assigned the hardest jobs to him, like hours in the hot sun sifting sand for bunkers. The first week Matt was on the verge of quitting, and had a talk with Scott about doing so.
"Jeez, Scott, it’s like boot camp. Gladstone is like a frigging marine drill instructor."
"Hang in, Matt. Look how tan and shaped up you’re getting. You’ll look great on a surf board."
After three months Scott was rewarded for his work and attitude turnaround by being allowed to play the course on Monday afternoons. Because those front teeth protruded over his lower lip Matt was called, Bucky Pearl, by the caddies and wasn’t allowed to join Scott on Mondays after he’d had a fight with the caddie who’d nicknamed him that. Anyway, Matt didn’t have the fervor for golf to match Scott’s, so his punishment wasn’t a severe one.
Scott practiced and played whenever he wasn’t working or caddying, Caddying helped to teach both boys proper conduct on a golf course and instilled the discipline so lacking in their fatherless up-bringing. But it was Matt who continued to excel at caddying, and after a year, he became the most sought-after looper at El Camino Country Club. Detective Ross checked in on them from time to time and was pleased with their progress.
By the time Scott was a junior in high school, the arthritis had worsened so severely in Sandy’s hips, that he required an operation to replace both hip joints. In the morning, before school, Scott would help him get from his apartment to his wheelchair and to the range for his lessons. Sandy could still teach golf sitting in the wheelchair. He continued to observe the student’s golf swing with those clear blue eyes focused on every move, and if he detected a swing flaw he’d coach it to correction with a few words of instruction.
Meanwhile, it was golf course maintenance and pro shop duties for Scott. Matt still maintained his zest for caddying and started working some amateur tournaments around the San Diego area. On days he wasn’t caddying he could be found satisfying his other two passions…surfing on some of the best waves colliding with one of the many San Diego beaches or attending rap concerts. But for Scott it was golf and golf only, and his token tennis sessions dwindled down to none. Throughout his teenage years, Scott did well in amateur competition under Sandy’s tutoring, but his
They followed Sandy to the Hole 19 Lounge. They had coffee and Danish and met some of the El Camino staff who were on break. Included in the group was the greens keeper, Harry Gladstone, and the caddie master, Billy McGinnis. Billy was a disciplinarian like Harry and Sandy planned to turn Matt over to Billy at some point. Matt left with Gladstone, and Scott followed Sandy to the practice range.
Scott’s first job was to fill the golf ball buckets used for lessons and run errands from the range. In general he became Sandy’s gofor . Scott watched as McNair taught golf and took in his instruction of proper setup and tempo. At times, gruff words provoked by the ache of arthritic joints in his aging body would overcome Sandy’s usually patient teaching disposition. He’d vent the anger caused by his pain by yelling at his students when their alignment was off, "Keep your damn ass behind you!"
Some players from the tour came to El Camino to have Sandy take a look at their swing. He’d introduce Scott to them, and it was a thrill for him to watch these pros hit balls while listening to their banter about the PGA tour. Between lessons, Sandy spent time with Scott, schooling him on the proper swing dynamics. From his years of experience in the game, Sandy recognized Scott’s natural ability and took on the project of nurturing it. Scott was a zealous student, eager to learn. He practiced golf for hours while making only token appearances on the tennis court.
Gladstone, the greens keeper, was tough on Matt at first and assigned the hardest jobs to him, like hours in the hot sun sifting sand for bunkers. The first week Matt was on the verge of quitting, and had a talk with Scott about doing so.
"Jeez, Scott, it’s like boot camp. Gladstone is like a frigging marine drill instructor."
"Hang in, Matt. Look how tan and shaped up you’re getting. You’ll look great on a surf board."
After three months Scott was rewarded for his work and attitude turnaround by being allowed to play the course on Monday afternoons. Because those front teeth protruded over his lower lip Matt was called, Bucky Pearl, by the caddies and wasn’t allowed to join Scott on Mondays after he’d had a fight with the caddie who’d nicknamed him that. Anyway, Matt didn’t have the fervor for golf to match Scott’s, so his punishment wasn’t a severe one.
Scott practiced and played whenever he wasn’t working or caddying, Caddying helped to teach both boys proper conduct on a golf course and instilled the discipline so lacking in their fatherless up-bringing. But it was Matt who continued to excel at caddying, and after a year, he became the most sought-after looper at El Camino Country Club. Detective Ross checked in on them from time to time and was pleased with their progress.
By the time Scott was a junior in high school, the arthritis had worsened so severely in Sandy’s hips, that he required an operation to replace both hip joints. In the morning, before school, Scott would help him get from his apartment to his wheelchair and to the range for his lessons. Sandy could still teach golf sitting in the wheelchair. He continued to observe the student’s golf swing with those clear blue eyes focused on every move, and if he detected a swing flaw he’d coach it to correction with a few words of instruction.
Meanwhile, it was golf course maintenance and pro shop duties for Scott. Matt still maintained his zest for caddying and started working some amateur tournaments around the San Diego area. On days he wasn’t caddying he could be found satisfying his other two passions…surfing on some of the best waves colliding with one of the many San Diego beaches or attending rap concerts. But for Scott it was golf and golf only, and his token tennis sessions dwindled down to none. Throughout his teenage years, Scott did well in amateur competition under Sandy’s tutoring, but his
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