OH GOLF!

[tom]

What better game is there to play than golf?
I mean not at a computer but to get out…
To be swinging a club and watching the ball sail,
To walk hole to hole in the warming sun…
I mean, what could be more fun…
Moving that little ball closer and closer to a waiting green…

And when you get as quickly as possible to that green,
A big moment in this game of golf,
You have the chance to really find the fun…
Figuring the slant and proper speed out,
Judging the deceptive shadows caused by the sun,
You finally step up to make the ball roll, not sail.

But before you take your putter, you see a boat’s sail,
And think for a moment how much fun
It would be to bask in the spray of lake, under a noon day sun,
Saving your feet from hiking the holes of golf.
Suddenly, while lining up the putt, you can’t figure out
Whether walking across country, or floating on the lake is more fun.

The answer comes easily as to which is more fun…
As you see how bored are those under the sail,
Moving occasionally about the little space that is their “out”
And your focus turns to your current task on this green,
To roll that little white ball delicately to gain a victory in golf,
And you take a breath as sweat builds from the afternoon sun.

The perspiration forms on your palms, caused by the heat of the sun
And you step back again, trying to remember that this is fun,
This is what makes a victory so wonderful in golf,
Not just getting maximum distance when you make the ball sail,
But holing the ball, regardless of weather, on the treacherous green,
Reaching into the cup after your first stroke and pulling the ball out.

And so, wiping your hands, you take the stance you figured out,
And still feeling the heat from the staring sun,
Drawing an imaginary line on the green,
While in the back of your mind you are wondering “Is this really fun?”
Your putter goes back and forward; the ball rolls to the cup…in and out…
Standing alone now, you stare at the hole and ball, sighing “oh well, that’s golf”

Now I need to ask about this game of golf under a summer sun.
I am trying to figure out, where is the fun?
Isn’t if better to lay back under a wind blown sail, than reaching and being beaten by a green?

[malcolm]

Oh I used to play golf!

You cant beat the sight of that little ball flying miles down the fairway when youve hit it just right - and on a nice sunny day in beautiful surroundings! Wonderful!

[rocha]

I've not read many sports poems Tom , and i dont think writing them is an easy job...but you managed to capture the feel of the game here. Good write.

[jim]

Good work Tom,
I think it might have been WC Fields (though I could be wrong)who said that Golf was a good walk spoiled.
And I must admit to agreeing with that statement. But a fine write none the less.

Jim

[alaskanrambler]

Great experlence and write. Jlm

[tom]

Thanks Malcolm...never played myself, though often thought about it, until that youngster with my name took the limelight

Rocha, for this sestina, the same friend who gave me the base words for Oh Chocolate, gave me these base words...which made it fun to write.

Funny Jim!  Though if I were to walk that long and far, I think I would rather have something to occupy my mind and keep it off the sore feet...hehehe

Thanks all for your kind comments.

Tom