Buttercuts- #4

27 at The Club with May and A-Hole

Election Day 

March 4, 2024

Cloudy and mostly calm 

Election Day, 2024, provided us the rare opportunity for a midweek morning round. May and I arrived a little early and hit the range. May has some ailing virus running through his body and at my age, I just need to get loose before embarking on 6+ hours of golf.  

A-Hole showed up 10 minutes before our 9:10 tee time and just like a Bamer- he spends 2 minutes on the range and then he strips one down Broadway on the 1st tee. 

May is coming off a basketball season that will get sweeter with time but he’s still stinging from the last loss. He took a 7-10 team at mid-season and had them on the cusp of a state tourney berth. I watched them play throughout the year and they continued to get better, continued to work hard, and continued to gain confidence, much like May’s golf game over the last few years. He has almost graduated from the Nerds Tour and entered the world of real golf and keeping score and following all the rules but I think he likes the company on the B team. He’s like the junior that averages 20 ppg on the JV team. 

May is the picture of consistency, he never gets too high, never gets too low but he is a competitor and the way this season ended will eat at him for a while. He’s got a great temperament for coaching. He’s detail oriented and organized, remains calm under pressure, and enjoys analyzing and game planning. 

One story that embodies what he is about is from his 2nd or 3rd year as the head coach at Farragut High School, he had a player whose father died unexpectedly one morning and it was a morning that the family was up early to go visit a college. To say the least, it was tragic and a really tough situation. I remember telling him, “I’m sorry, I know you didn’t get into coaching to deal with something like this” and without skipping a beat he responded, “this is exactly why I got into coaching.” He’s had plenty of success,  the all-time winningest coach in school history, state runner-up a couple of years ago, and countless girls playing at the next level, but it’s the opportunity to positively and eternally impact kids that calls him to coach. Love him like a brother and glad I kicked his ass today… 

I did have the honor and pleasure of hiring Jason Mayfield to coach girls basketball at Farragut High School. Honestly, it’s one of the best decisions and moves I’ve ever made in my job. His interview is legendary- we drank Miller Lites on his back porch while he shared his vision and plan for building a program, chalked full of details on one of his patented spreadsheets. Sometimes it ain’t hard, he was and is the man for that job. 

But today was the perfect time to kick a man while he was down and try to steal a W in the coveted “King of the Nerds” standings. When he hit his 3rd straight drive of the day dead right, I knew I had a chance. Mission accomplished- I went 86-41. May went 88-47. A-Hole 91-47, I think. 

It was a fabulous day. The grouping is very comfortable and we all love playing but don’t take ourselves too seriously (when you shoot in the upper 880s and low 90s, no sense in taking anything you do on the course seriously) and we really enjoy each other’s company.

As we walked off the 18th green after 27 holes, we probably could have squeezed in a couple more holes but there was no need. We were thankful and ready for the next time we could get out and play together. We left the day thinking that a Tuesday morning tee time and all day golf was a pretty damn good idea. We had a blast. 

My game continues to show slight improvements and I’m gaining confidence. I hit every FW but 2 but only managed to hit 3 GIR, that’s a problem but I kept the ball in play and in front of me. 2nd shot issues continue to plague me and put a premium on my 60 yards and in shot making.  Thankfully, my short game was pretty good and I enjoyed numerous up and downs and eliminated big numbers, for the most part (maybe 3 doubles on the day). I managed to roll in a 20+ footer on the 26th hole for a birdie and walked away with $30. I’m hopeful that some much needed distance off the tee will be gained as the weather warms up and the course firms up but my biggest issue is with my approach shots- just not getting much pop on the ball.