Once upon a time, all clubs were made from the most natural of resources
Somewhere down the line, I was taught to measure twice and cut once ... Worked really well when you're cutting a piece of wood of course as there's no going back to add 3/16th of an inch to make the frame fit just right. Works even better when you're cutting a golf shaft to length for a client.
So, let's call that
Pillar #1 .... Do it right, and carefully, the first time.
So how did we get here? Get a coffee, here comes the background ....
I come from a varied background .... I've had a number of careers in my time ... all the way from computer guru for the Government to a Retired Stock Market player to a Real Estate Broker / Developer to a Golf Teacher / Club Maker.
The Government computer Guru ....
was well paid and was suppose to be a career. After 19 years, I just quit.
I'm kind of rough around the edges when it comes to political correctness I guess. There were just too many politically correct situations to get past my "you want what?!!! WHEN ???? " type of thinking and so I had hit a glass ceiling. Of course, it paid the bills and raised a family but still, 19 years of quicksand makes one realize later on, that you just sold a large part of your life for $25 an hour. Personally, I never really enjoyed work (my home life with the wife and kids was great) or frolicked with the guys much during that part of my life, it was a rut. It wasn't tough or hellish, but I guess what I'm saying is, it was one of those things that just had to be done.
Stock market investor ....
well, that's another world altogether. I was around for
BreX ... remember them? The darling of the gold world that went bust with guys disappearing out of helicopters etc. and a whole lot of people losing their shirts because they didn't get out in time because they thought there had to be just a bit more left in the bowl ... There was, until someone finally pulled the handle and flushed it, and then all hell happened .... Retired at 48, sitting by the river, our dream home, on the dock with a beer and the dog, for 5 years, with no friends to play with (they were all out working and doing their "lives". Retirement, so young, is no fun at all ....
Real Estate Broker ...
yup, owned my very own real estate company and did some real estate investing. Best game in town is to be a Real Estate Broker, have people work for you who don't get paid, until they complete the sale, and then you get a small chunk of their efforts. Yes, there were some ugly people (some more-so than others) who cheated both me, sellers and buyers, and the system, as well as some salespeople you'd rather run over with a vehicle (small bicycle, at night, would work best as there's no licence plates for witnesses to write down). A rough game where most people are out to eat someone else's lunch. It demands a certain type of stamina, a large backup of cash for all the training and mileage during the start and rough times. Someday, I'll write a blog on that subject alone ...
Golfer / Teacher / Club FItter ....
Now comes the truth ... I swear, with my wife as a witness, I just hit a ball on a
184.5 yard, par 3 hole at New South Wales Golf Course, to within 7 inches of the hole using a 3 wood that I made myself.
I was just downstairs demonstrating the
70 courses we have on our simulator, to a visitor from the
Calabogie Lodge (Picture left). We're located at the top left of the image. That's us at the top of the road with the grey roof and white siding. Anyway, they decided to come back this evening to do some golfing and so, I took some extra shots after they had left, and low and behold,
Closest to a hole in one I've ever had !!! and to top it off, I made the damn club myself ...
Talk about a sense of accomplishment .... Truly enjoyable .... I digress .... sorry for the interruption .... we shall continue with zest ....
When I was in High School in Ottawa, so many years ago, I was the winner of the area's high school tournament. Won a towel, no trophy, just a towel that was extra soft ...
Previous to that, I had won once before in my life ... Grade 5,
St. Michael's Choir School in Toronto (famous place, the school, not T.O.) I won a cake in a raffle. Mrs. Lalonde (Grade 5-6 teacher) insisted that I share it with the other classmates and so I ended up with the same as everyone else, 1 piece of cake for my .25, and yes that taught me how to be a lousy winner (lmao).
.... sorry I digressed again (but what the hell, it's my blog and I'm enjoying this reflection lol).
So, I guess I could say that I was a fairly decent teenage golfer back then and shooting in the high 70's to low 80's wasn't bad with the equipment we had available and no lessons. I sometimes dream of that tournament at the
Chaudiere club in Aylmer Quebec and see a particular drive sailing just oh so perfect onto the green. That, was a great tournament.
Then life got in the way ...
Job, Marriage, Kids, Mortgage ... You know, the stuff we've all been doing since our first job, while the really fun stuff took a back seat and waited patiently until we got the urge to 'get out of the rut' and go golfing on a Sunday morning just to be free spirited and a rebel. It had to be a rebellion because we were so inbred to "bring home the bacon", that enjoying ourselves was a definite luxury, rather than the norm.
I remember one of those 1 hour instances where I went to a driving range to see if I was still any good .... Slice after slice after s l i c e .... what a disappointment ... my claim to fame, as a golfer, had vanished before I knew what hit me. I was no longer good, nor even ordinary ... I just plain stunk and didn't know how to fix it and so just crawled away, and went back to ... life ....
So, after all these years, with retirement on the very near horizon, decisions had to be made as to what the third stage of my life's ambitions was going to accomplish.
- I needed something that didn't require very much physical effort (old you know),
- it didn't have to pay extremely well (so that helped),
- takes some knowledge (to keep my mind sharp) and
- gives a sense of accomplishment and self worth
In later life, eating someone's lunch is not that important .... having them share in the joy of eating it with you ... now that's priceless ..... Let's call that
Pillar #2 : Be nice, life's too damn short
With the above requirements, an interest in teaching and having a decent golf swing, we opened
Mulligans Den in January 2007. We're trying our best to be a complete learning centre, have invested a bunch in training equipment and are open all year long. So that's the long and short of how we got here .....
Episode 2 to come after supper .... or at least after the hockey game ...
