I loved my friend.
He went away from me.
There’s nothing more to say.
The poem ends,
Soft as it began,-
I loved my friend.
Langston Hughes
It was a great run TaylorMade Burner Soft 2, for 34 holes we battled together but now it's over.
For 34 holes we laughed, we cried (out in celebration and anguish, not tears, it's golf after all) and survived our way around most of Benoni Lake Country Club, all of Reading Country Club and some of ERPM Golf Club.
You were so close to reaching that magical 36 number for two complete rounds and being retired, living out the rest of your days on a soft cushion while being admired by your contemporaries.
You made it through rounds with Mike, Kyleigh, Simon, Jason, Jaun and John when I wasn't sure I had what it took.
You didn't care that their balls were fancier than you, were hit more solidly than you and flew further than you could ever dream of with me swinging the club.
You never let me down, no matter how many slices, hooks, fats, thins, chunks and duffs I hit, you were always there, gleaming in the sun.
When you were in the rough, which was often, you seemed to stick your head out just enough for someone to find you, your four red dots there for all to see as you called me closer like a homing beacon.
You made it through various swing thoughts (none good) and various tees (wood, plastic, unbreakable - which I broke) without an issue.
You didn't complain when I hit you, quite solidly most of the time, into trees, walls, cart paths or the flag stick as you took a look at going in for a hole-in-one, what a moment that would have been for both of us ...
I did my best to keep you clean but, again, you shrugged off the scar that one of those trees gave you.
You avoided the water like you'd just watched Jaws and were scared of what lay in the depths of the ponds, lakes and rivers we had to navigate on our way to the greens, which was greatly appreciated.
You did seem to enjoy the beach, so I've played a lot more bunker shots than I'm happy with ... but who am I to deny you a chance to relax on the sand?
But where you were at your best was on the greens, not matter how fast or slow they were, no matter whether they sloped or stayed flat you rolled true, not letting that scratch to force you to deviate from the hole as you had no fear of the dark, in that way you were braver than most South Africans ... maybe it was because you were born in the time of load shedding.
We lacked a little on the communication side of things, this is true, you didn't "sit", "stay", "go", "spin" or "go in the hole" when I begged but you also didn't "mash potato" which I think is a good thing.
With you no longer part of my golf life after one last swipy swing sent you high and right into the unknown I drowned my sorrows with some beer (thankfully my friends at Gimme Golf www.https://www.gimmegolfza.com/ helped with that).
They say if you love something, set it free and that is what I did (by accident).
I have to move on, I have to find a way and the best way for me to do that is to imagine you finding a happy home, with the suffering I inflicted on you now over.
I hope that whoever picks you up takes care of you, brings you back to your shiny best (while leaving the scar, it adds character) and treats you well.
I wish you nothing but pure strikes and plenty of birdies.
I'll miss you TaylorMade Burner Soft 2.
Adieu
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