PGA Four Ball at
Fairmont Golf Course, St Andrews
I didn’t plan on attending this event but was asked to play with fellow Pro Gareth Hardy at the last minute due to his partner calling off with Covid. It’s been a while since I played the Torrance course and was interested in how the course has changed, but for me it was more about helping Gareth out so he could still play.
After a quick coffee and roll in the Clubhouse we got sorted quickly and headed for the tee. We were playing with Brian Mason (Callaway) and Mike Rae (Drumoig), which was a good group as Brian and I used to work for the Scottish National Golf Centre back in 2000 and a really nice guy who I’ve always met up with at events every few years or so.
He’s knows about my work and family situation and the first thing he asked was how the fostering was going.
After a few holes I got the chance to share with Brian that LGMS is hopeful of hosting a ProAm this year and asked if he’d like to attend as one of the Pros.
He said he’d be happy to and asked what the format would be, so this gave me a great chance to share what I’d be speaking about on the day – our journey, golf and faith.
I also shared a bit about our previous ProAms and speakers and he seemed quite impressed. As Brian works for Callaway he even offered to try and source some prizes for us so I thought that was a really nice gesture.
It was a perfect day for golf and Gareth and I started off well but a poor 6th hole from both of us set us back, and it was always going to be hard to get back into it with how low the scoring goes in these better ball events. We played ok from there but holed absolutely nothing despite giving ourselves quite a number of chances within 10 feet.
Both Gareth and I don’t have much free time and we discussed the workings of family life and how our wives link in with this. It’s so important to have a good balance with work and family and we manage it quite well, with both our wives still getting the opportunity to work part time which is important for their own well being. Gareth’s wife is due to have another child soon so she’ll be taking time off for a while and working twice as hard at home no doubt
We had a good crack at the final holes with decent birdie chances from 14 to 18 but only converted one of them. Anything over 6 feet just wouldn’t go in and when it’s not your day you get that feeling that the hole just gets smaller and smaller.
A decent day though and on another day it really could have been a low round with the opportunities we gave ourselves.
Mike had to leave right away but Gareth, Brian and I went in for a quick bite before going home and we had a really good chat about golf, equipment, and the individuals involved in the sport of the years.
Bernhard Langer’s name came up and Brian mentioned how Langers life changed when he became a Christian, to which he nodded to me in the process. (see a video from Bernhard on this page)
It’s interesting how so many people seem to think that becoming a Christian means that you then don’t do this, that or the next thing.
I commented I’m a firm believer in having a healthy balance in life and this is God giving because there are things that you will not want to do anymore if it’s felt there is a problem there, but nothing wrong enjoying your life.
The bottom line is that you don’t want to do anything that’s not good for you and this means physically and mentally. God just wants you to look after yourself and those around you.
Really good to spend some time with good friends and have some meaningful conversations which set things up for the next time. Looking forward to a prosperous year ahead with the Sun showing itself more often!
Yours In Christ,
Vincent Brown, PGA Professional, Logos Golf Ministries, Scotland