A friend sent this on the other day and I thought I’d share it with you.
It’s a simple little slideshow/video thing someone put together apparently to explain golf’s growing popularity, majestic beauty and finally why golf has 18 holes.
Not sure yet that I believe it all yet, but it’s peeked my interest enough to investigate. I’ll let you know what I find. Let me know what you think, better yet, let the author know.
I’ve been very fortunate to have been around a golf course most of my life. The origin of the term “Dewsweeper” comes from the long stick used at many courses to clean and refresh a putting surface. To many, it also refers to the hearty souls that tee off first each morning, leaving a trail of footprints for others to follow. Putting on dew laden greens lets you see the journey your ball takes to the hole, good or bad. The feedback is immediate, often humbling revealing to everyone just how incompetent you are at this game you love so very much.
To me it’s more than just being off the tee first in the morning, there’s a spirit in every dewsweeper. Dewsweepers cherish the friendships, both new and old. We realize that golf is one of the few games where you may start off as strangers, and compete fiercely for hours but inevitably finish as friends. Respectfully you’ve both battled the course and endured. We cherish the the time spent without disruption from the world around us. Walking the same 4 mile track of land over and over, becomes as comfortable as your favorite slippers, and yet always seems different. We cherish the history and lore of the game first played by merchants and farmers as a simple distraction to pass the time while walking to and from the shore. We cherish the honesty and integrity the game requires, but most importantly we understand the real battle is with ourselves.
“Competitive golf is played mainly on a five-and-a-half inch course, the space between your ears”
- famously, Bobby Jones
The problem for new or non-golfers is that this can’t be truly understood. Not until you stand over a 4 foot putt that breaks left, while the rest of your Dewsweepers anticpate the miss. The putt may be for 50 cents, for $500 or even $50,000, but it’s always for the respect of your friends, tucked away on the course, leaving only footprints behind to tell the tale of the day. It truly is a magical game.
For the not so magical check out this video of an actual “dewsweeper” in action!
