Pasture pool is a derogatory term for the noble sport of
golf, but anyone unable to see the humor is possibly also
under-appreciating some of the best things about golf.
Being outdoors, walking on smooth green grass, and
concentrating on perfecting a physical skill.  These are a
few of my favorite things, and they began for me eons ago
when I was a teenager with the best summer job in the world
- assistant greenskeeper at the municipal golf course in my
small Midwestern town.

Each morning, the head greenskeeper lined his crew out
with any special instructions for the day - plugging the
greens, moving the holes, fertilizing the fairways - and by
6:00 a.m. we were at work, beginning with the daily job of
mowing the greens. I adored those cool mornings before the
heat of the day descended. The smell of fresh-cut grass
takes me straight back to that summer when I was young and
the physical effort of a morning's hard work was just a
warm-up to golfing a round at the end of the job.

By 10:00 we were expected to be done working and off the
course. One of the many perks of the job was that we could
golf a round if the course wasn't crowded, and it rarely
was.  The greenskeeper's son Billy was too young to be on
the staff, but had a good business selling lost balls that
he recovered in and around the water hazards. He would quit
hunting balls and join me to golf if the day wasn't already
too hot to bear. Billy was only in grade school, but was
already a terrific golfer. That summer he taught me what he
knew, and I've been golfing with enjoyment if not expertise
ever since.

Being coached by a 10 year old was the extent of my formal
training, so I've never taken my game too seriously.  It
has always been purely a pleasure - except when my sister
comes to town on a visit. She always wants to play a few
rounds of golf, in part because outdoor recreation options
are somewhat limited in the corn belt, and in part because
she knows I enjoy golf. Judy thinks she's sharing my
interest in the sport. But here's the thing, if you only
golf once a year, you're always going to be a hack. That's
a simple fact.  Golfing with Judy was extremely painful
until I learned about the game of 'best ball.' You've
probably heard of it, and even played it.  It saved my
sanity.

Used to be, when Judy and I went golfing together, I spent
the bulk of the time standing around watching her swing and
miss and swing and walk 40 feet to where the ball landed,
leaving a divot in the ground behind her large enough for
planting a tree. I politely told her once that she didn't
need to keep score after the 12th stroke on any given hole,
in fact what the heck, let's not even keep score! Mind you,
I don't like to complain, and I generally do my best not to
hurt people's feelings. That's why it took so long for the
subject to come up among some friends so that one of them
was finally given the opportunity to share some information
that would change the course of events.  He explained the
basics of 'best ball.'

From two to four people can play. Everyone involved tees
off. Then the 'worst balls' get picked up on the way to
where the 'best ball' landed. The owner of the 'best ball'
takes the stroke, and marks the spot. In turn, the owners
of the 'worst balls' drop them on the spot and take their
swing.  The 'best ball' among those gets played next, again
picking up the 'worst balls' along the way. The owner of
the 'best ball' always goes first.  The process is repeated
on down the fairway - hopefully not too many times - until
a ball or balls land on the green. Putting doesn't use
'best ball' rules, except as a starting point for anyone
who didn't have theirs land on the green.

The game is still rather slow, zigzagging all the way down
the fairway picking up 'worst balls.' And even in a good
'best ball' game, you wouldn't want to include your score
in any handicapping calculations.  But it is definitely
more fun for both you and your guest. Besides, every once
in a while, Judy's is the 'best ball.' She hits a good
stroke and I love to see the radiant smile on her face. I
am familiar with the pleasure she's experiencing - feeling
and hearing that perfect "thwock," and seeing the little
white orb sail straight and far over an incredible length
of brilliant green grass.

Sandy Coppendale has made a study of topics related to
golf.  She is contributing writer of articles for <a
href="http://rggolf.com">The News about Golf</a> , your
premier resource on-line for information on golf. Find the
archive of articles at: http://www.rggolf.com/

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