Golf shoes: hard golf shoes to fill
Golfshoes of today come in many different brands and styles. In this brief article regarding golf shoes I will revert to my favoritegolf subject. My grandfather. I have had a few emails from people saying they enjoy my golf articles that detail my experience growingup and learning golf from my grandfather. Golf shoes are no exceptionto the subjects I have covered in the past in that I recall atime and place.
I remember when I was 12 years old (without golf shoes) hitting balls in my grandfather's back yard. (the little plastic practice balls of course) I would be up early swinging away in the morning dew. I would swing as hard as I could pretending I was Lee Trevinon the 18th hole at the Royal St. Andrews Golf Course. My feet would slip and slide from under me and sometimes I would even flip myself on to the ground. I would swing and slip until my knees were green and my hands were sore.
I was so wrapped up in my golf fantasy that I never noticed my Grandfather watching me through the kitchen window as he drank his morning coffee and smoked his first pipe. One beautiful Saturday morning I was up again at dawn anticipating the golf day coming. I was of course beside myself because my Grandfather had arranged for a 10:00 tee time. He walked in to the kitchen with his morning pipe and said,
"Well Bub....I think we better stop by the proshop before we tee off this morning".
My heart raced as I anticipated my grandfather and I browsing throughthe new golf equipment. I was by then a golf equipment junkie. As we walked in to the proshop I remember the amazing smell. It smelled like heaven to me. He took me over to the back wall to wear the golf shoes were displayed and said,
"Ok Bub.....lets try some on."
I said, "Are you getting new golf shoes Grandpa!"
He said, "No....but you are".
I almost died right there on the spot. My very first pair of golfshoes. No more slipping and sliding around and I would look likea REAL golfer. I don't recall the brand names they had but I remember they had Wilson golf shoes, Dunlop golf shoes and Arnold Palmer edition golf shoes. I tried on a few pair until I found a pair that seemed to fit. I was surprised to realize that they were a little awkward to walk in but they looked great. Next thing I know my grandfather appears around the corner with a bucket of golf balls in his hand. He said,
"Well we better go try them out before you make a decision on those golf shoes". Then he turned to the man behind the cash register and said,
"You don't mind if my grandson takes those golf shoes out to the range for a few swings do you Danny"
The man behind the counter gave a big smile and said, "Well I think that would be alright Wally"
I felt such a feeling of pride as my grandfather and I walked out of the proshop and up to the driving range. Two of my strides to one of his, of course. What an amazing feeling to swing through the ball and still have my feet firmly planted on the grass. These golf shoes felt great, looked great and yes.........smelled great. They were black with white trim and white laces and they were Wilson golf shoes.
We went back to the proshop and we walked upto the till. My grandfather said, "Well Danny...I think we'll take 'em"
I can't describe the feeling I had that day. (Remember this is a small town boy in working class world we are talking about here). We played 18 holes of golf that day. My confidence was high, not a cloud in the sky, and it couldn't have been a better day for golf.
As we walked off the 18th green we did our normal ritual. Grandfather meticulously cleaned out his golf clubs. Slowly cleaning each groove of each club face and scrubbing the scuffs of his golfballs. As we sat on the change room bench I pulled off my new black Wilson golf shoes my grandfather did the same. I copied him move for move as he gracefully cleaned each spike and and every inch of leather. As he cleaned his shoes I noticed two o fhis spikes mounts were completely destroyed. The leather heels were badly chafed and one of his laces was broken and tied together.I felt terribly spoiled.
When we were all done cleaning our golf equipment we started out to the car. I said, "Geez grandpa...you look like you could use new golf shoes."
He said, "Oh those are just my old Sam Sneed golf shoes...I have two new pairs back at home in the garage. They are so comfortable I just have to wear them sometimes."
I felt a wave of relief come over me as we starteddriving home. I sat back in the car with my new golf shoes still on and fell off to sleep.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next morning I woke up early and couldn't wait get in the back yard and hit some practice balls. I ran down to the garage and put on my new golf shoes and began chipping in the back yard. I soon went back in to the garage to change my club. I noticed Grandpa's car was gone and the next thing I remember was my grandma walking in to tell me breakfast was ready.I said,
"Where is Grandpa"
She said, "He had to go in to work for a little overtime"
I said, "Grandma..could you show me where Grandpa keeps his golf shoes?"
She pointed over to a work bench and said, "Right there beside his clubs".
I saw the same golf shoes he wore the day before and I asked my Grandma where his other two pairs were. The new ones.
She chuckled and said, "Good lord no....I've been telling your Grandfather for years to buy a new pair of golf shoes. Those rotten old Sam Sneed shoes are falling apart. H epromised me he would buy a new pair someday when we could afford it.............now come and ge ready for breakfast... Your Grandpawill be home soon."
Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoyed another installment of "Golfing with my Grandpa".
Visit my site at www.golf-equipment-4u.com and browse through my online proshops for the latest new golf shoes.
You can browse through men's, juniors, and women's golf shoes, featuring:Footjoy, Nike, Adidas, Etonic, Callaway, and Bite golf shoes -Golfsmith's shoes and golf apparel. Featuring: a huge selection of men's, juniors,and women's , Adidas, Arnold Palmer, Bite, Callaway, Dexter, Ecco,Etonic, Footjoy, Nike, Oakley, Snake Eyes golf shoes.
Brent Truitt is a successful writer for www.golf-equipment-4u.com
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