(From a 2007 golf column by Tom Patri)

Part 1

This past week I had an experience that someone who does what I do for a living dreams of every day we go to the practice tee. Often you can go years without the experience I’m about to describe.

Here comes Bunny MacAlpine from New Jersey. Bunny found me via an article I wrote this past year for Golf Magazine. Bunny instantly showed me clearly that she understood her golf game and golf in general. She asked intelligent questions that were very well thought out. As the session went on, Bunny hit some awesome shots as related to her skill level (Bunny is a 17 handicap and has been as low as 5). She drove the ball some 175 yards in the air and rock solid! Great contact, right in the middle of the face of the club.

She then shocked me by asking me “Tom, can we spend at least half our time on my short game? It really needs work, and after all that’s where the score is.” Man, was I digging Bunny. Finally a student off the street who really gets it! Did I mention that Bunny had booked two hours? As we went over Bunny’s short game skills, she showed great attention to detail as I made suggestions. She showed great focus and when she didn’t totally understand she stopped and asked me. Bunny left no stone unturned, and really made me work for the money. I loved it. This woman had wonderful talent and had a real zest to improve and seemed very willing to work hard to excel.

Oh yeah, did I fail to mention that Bunny MacAlpine is 87 years old? That’s right, 87! 87 years young and still looking for ways to trim shots. I guess my point this week is this: Golf leaves no one – no one – on the bench. Every one of you cannot only play, but play better than you ever imagined. It is possible to see results sooner then later.