The Metropolitan
July 2020
Guest Columnist Skip Berkmeyer
In tough
(Note: Skip Berkmeyer, an 11-time MAGA Player of the Year, has qualified for 31 USGA ch
In some way or another, for most Americans, the Coronavirus and 2020 has been a challenge. In golf, and in my 46 seen this kind of upheaval ever. A lot of people in America are hurting but like most things, I try and keep the glass We have so many important things to consider in this country, in this fight and this struggle to get along. I encoura and see the light that it can bring. The First Tee organization has nine core values that teach kids and adults about golf. Honesty, Integrity, Sports Confidence, Responsibility, Perseverance, Courtesy and Judgement - these core values are everything golf stands fo This isn’t a tagline, it should be the living, breathing ingredients of the game, every single roun I think many of these values can be summed up with one phrase: “Golf is a game about people and rela The first time I heard this phrase was from my idol and friend, Jim Holtgrieve, at a press conference for the Walke just captained the 2011 U.S. Walker Cup team in Scotland, a team that was full of future PGA stars. It was perhaps t in history going into the competition. And as history shows, it lost 14 -12. So in 2013, Jim had a whole lot riding when he was selected to return as the U.S. captain. At that famous Q and A w Golf Links, he was asked about winning and losing the Walker Cup, and he politely suggested that golf wasn’t abou explained it was about the competition and about the relationships you develop in this game that last a lifetime. Th taking Captain Holtgrieve to task, saying he didn’t care if they won or lost, and criticizing his ability to lead young only ones who thought maybe Jim was off his rocker. I was playing lots of national amateur golf at the time. I was asked by many what Jim meant, and if he really cared The situation went on for a while, but was all quickly forgotten when Jim’s team dominated the 2013 Walker C “controversial” sentiment wasn’t lost on me. What “golf ” has meant to me, why the game is special, became in My story in golf is one that has been characterized by countless blessing and good luck. I was a “Norwood Hills cou loving and wonderful parents who introduced me to the game. I wasn’t especially aware of it while growing up, bu only giving me the knowledge to play, but giving me life lessons I could use forever. Of course, there were times I didn’t understand it, times I felt I was being forced and times I wavered with my confid bait was cast. I was swimming in the pond waiting to be caught, and it didn’t take long to for me to get hooke But mostly, I loved to play with the guys at Norwood, who ranged in age from 18 to 75. They took me in, showed trouble and pushed my game to new heights. Most important, they were my friends. I learned shots and thought processes from state champions like David Estes, Don Bliss, Scott Thomas and Bob B and others, I learned how to get it around the course with funky swings and very little talent. I also learned about th bad habits, crutches, even things that could ruin your life. I was in the Master Class of Golf, and it was exhilarating relationships just like it, all over the United States. So in 2020, the world has gone nuts. Between the pandemic, the rioting, the protests … we sometimes don’t know certain, from day to day. I say let’s look to golf, and look to our golf relationships. Make a call to an old friend you years. Call your group of guys and go on a road trip for a great social distance day outside. Or just play a round Jim Holtgrieve was right. Golf is about relationships, because without them what do you have I would say not much at all.
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