My Dad was a real character. There will be many more stories about him!
He lived the high life more than he could afford and loved golf. I’ve mentioned before that he had a mean slice but aimed very far left to compensate – and it usually wound up in the fairway, but not always. Around the green he was deadly. He could always chip it close and could 2 putt from Mars. His putting stroke was so sweet they called him “Shug”.
Shug is the reason my brothers and I play this nutty game. When he died in 1994 the 3 of us played a round in his honor at his home course – Salisbury Country Club in Salisbury, NC. I mentioned he didn’t always control his slice. Along the right side of #1 is a large creek. In its bowels are many of Dad’s golf balls. As a tribute we each tossed a ball into the hazard as we walked by.
In his honor, and when the stars align, the 3 of us play for “The Shug”. It’ a small brass trophy with its namesake engraved. Each round is straight medal play with a double bogey limit to keep the scores sane. For some reason every Shug round usually comes down to the last putt – just like Dad would have wanted.
Fairway Follies, Joe Hinson 