Dick and golf

I’m not sure when Dick took up the sport of golf. Maybe it was after he joined Akron Advertising Art and found friends there that introduced him to this game? But I do know that he owned a set of golf clubs and somewhere in the 1940s, if I was very good during the week and he didn’t have a golf partner (or maybe if I was getting totally on Mom’s nerves and she needed some time away from me), once in awhile I would go out with Dad on Saturday morning for his practice round of golf. I would walk the course with him, he would let me wash his ball after each hole and maybe, if there was no one close behind us, he might let me take a practice putt or two. I can’t remember him using a golf cart or caddy – I’m guessing that he carried his clubs. I certainly was too little at 7 or 8 (?) to carry them. He probably played only 9 holes on any given day. Although I’m not positive where he played, I think I remember going to a course on Bailey Rd between Cuyahoga Falls and Tallmadge and Akron (MapQuest says it is called Brookledge Golf Course) and maybe to a little course “down in the valley” on Peninsula or Ira roads. Maybe. Golf was one of the first things that Dad had to give up when MS destroyed his balance but he always maintained an interest in the sport and loved to watch golf matches on TV. And it puts a smile on my face to think of the pleasure he must get from watching Jim’s near-professional golf game.