In 1962 when I was 12 and for whatever reason I started watching golf on TV and was somewhat a fan of Arnold Palmer. Growing up in St. Petersburg we had a 9 hole Par 3 downtown next to the Vinoy Hotel (big pink building by the pier). My parents would drop me off on Saturday and for $3 you could play all day, I would meet another kid there named Eddie.
About a year later i graduated to playing championship size courses and my parents joined Sunset Country Club (only $275 a year). I could play there all I wanted, golf was very cheap back then and by high school I was shooting in the low 90's.
In 1969 I joined the Army and life became busy and I never played again for forty years. In 2009 being retired and looking for something to occupy my time and to get healthy I rediscovered golf. Now I'm an addict and play as much as I can and have spent thousands on clubs, bags, etc. It was funny after not playing for 40 years it was like riding a bicycle, it all came right back. Everyday I work out, ride a bike, walk and do whatever I can to improve my strength and distance off the tee. Finally broke 80 here at Havana two weeks ago with a 78 from the blue tees. It all runs full circle.
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