Woody Woodpecker

Golf is usually played with friends. But when no one is available, you can always go as a single. You call for a tee time. They will either fit you in to play by yourself and team you up others to fill out a foursome. When you get teamed with others, there are two concerns. Are they going to be good golfers and make you look foolish? Or they are going to be not so good, and make you feel more confident. Recently, I got teamed up with threesome at a nine hole course. It started strangely.

The guy at the desk said I could go to the first tee and hook up with the guys. When I got there, there was already a line of players waiting to tee off. The three I was meeting already teed off and were waving me up to the tee. I drove around everyone. When I got to the tee box, one of the guys just pointed to the tee as if to say go ahead. This was counter to well practiced golf etiquette. Usually, everyone introduces themselves and shakes hands. I thought maybe they were just in a hurry because there were guys waiting. I teed off.

As we got to the first hole, I could hear them speaking in a foreign language. I thought I’m sure they speak English, doesn’t everyone? So I decided to start the introductions. As we walk off the green, I said “Hi, I’m Mike”, and reached out my hand to one of the guys. He took it and said hi and told be his name. I did the same with the other three. They were all pleasant. As is usually the case with me, their names went right out of my head. But they all sounded foreign. I did ask the tall guy were they were from. He said they were Montreal and saying at a nearby hotel. At first, I thought they were speaking some Eastern European language. But my faint memory of high school French kicked in, of course, they were French Canadian.

I could never figure out their relationship. There were two younger guys maybe in their thirties and an older guy with a grey beard with a big belly. The tall guy was good. He could really pound the ball. The other shorter, heavier guy was not. He would take a vicious swing and just top the ball. On one swing, he took a divot about six inches long. They all laughed about it. The old guy with with the beard could also hit the ball well. They all were laughing and joking in French. They never addressed me. They occasionally said, “Good shot”. I didn’t feel insulted. I just became interested in watching them interact. They were having a good time and so was I.

At one point, I suddenly heard something in English. “Woody Woodpecker” and they all laughed. They said it a second time a few minutes later. I don’t think they were referring to me, but I wasn’t sure. We finished the round and said pleasant goodbyes. There wasn’t the usual round of handshakes.

I’ve met all kinds of people on the golf course. Almost all the time, it’s a pleasant experience. It’s a few hours where you meet and interact with people you didn’t know when you woke up in the morning. You talk about where you’re from, what you do for a living, if you ever played the course before. It’s unlike other experiences. It’s a fleeting few hours that vanish when you walk off the course. You will likely never see these people again. I’m sure I’ll never see my French Canadian partners again. But, I will remember a day like no other and always wonder about the meaning of Woody Woodpecker.