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mokenamessenger.com Sound Off
the Mokena Messenger | October 6, 2016 | 19
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From the Editor
Oh, the woes of being a golfer
Tim Carroll
tim@mokenamessenger.com
I
have a coffee mug at
home — my favorite
mug, in fact — that
reads, “If golf doesn’t make
you mad, you’re not doing
it right.”
That mug is how I know I
am playing the game right.
I do not even have to be
playing golf for the sport to
make me crazy. All I have to
do is go to cover the South-
West Suburban Conference
boys golf tournament in
Kankakee (Page 55) and see
15-, 16-, 17- and 18-year-olds
being nigh disappointed by
beating my best score ever.
They are so good that they
are not even happy posting
scores in the low 80s, even in
windy, chilly conditions.
All I have to do for golf
to make me angry is read
about the SWSC girls golf
tournament (Page 52) and
Grace Curran’s 4-under 68.
Yeah, you read that right. A
4-under 68. Under real tournament
pressure, no less.
This is not the first time I
wrote about hating the game
that I love. Not more than a
month ago, I wrote in The
Orland Park Prairie and
The Tinley Junction about
how I wished golf were
more inclusive. I still wish
that for golf.
This editorial, though, is
about how good the golfers
in the Lincoln-Way area are.
And it’s about how angry
it makes me that I cannot
seem to be as good.
E.J. Charles, who is
featured as the Athlete of
the Week in this issue (Page
49), is really good. He hits
the ball a long way. He shot
an 81 in the conference
tournament. My best round
ever is an 83, under no pressure
whatsoever, and I’m
sure I fluffed a lie or two,
as well.
Gosh, it makes me so angry
that this game is so darn
difficult. But some of these
talented young golfers in the
area make it look easy, and
that makes me even angrier.
I have played golf since
I was 7 years old, roughly.
Well, at least that is when
my dad first let me start to
drive the golf cart, when
there were no rangers
around. I started to want to
be good at golf when I was
around 12 years old.
Since then, it’s been a
struggle just to be around average,
maybe slightly better
than your weekend duffer.
Now, I play semi-regularly
with a couple of friends
who have not been playing
the game nearly as long as I
have, and they look to me for
advice. Heaven help them.
There’s a line in “Tin
Cup” that is a little vulgar,
so I’m going to paraphrase:
“Golf is one of the only
things in life you can be bad
at and still enjoy.”
Golf is truly the one thing
that I love to hate. I don’t
hate-watch television shows,
I don’t intentionally read bad
books or watch bad movies.
It is just golf for me.
As much as I hate the
sport, I’m going to miss it to
death over the winter.
And it’s going to be really
enjoyable/painful watching
the very talented young
golfers in the area ply their
craft until the end of the
season, which is not far off.
If you have the chance, I
recommend that you enjoy
their performances in these
most important tournaments,
too.
Fred Astaire Dance Studio Mokena shared
this photo on its Facebook page Sept. 23.
“Thank you David and Emily for a sneak peek
at your special dance! Congratulations!”
Like The Mokena Messenger: facebook.com/
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“I have one word for the Pep Assembly and
the spirit the LWC students displayed ---
AWESOME!!”
@LWCKnights on Sept. 30.
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NFYN
From Page 16
with a way of sharing the
costs.
Streit and the Illinois
Department of Natural Resources,
which is the controlling
body of the Illinois
State Museum, were close
to working out a deal, and in
an effort to get the museum
open in time for the Summer
Art Series Steampunk Weekend,
Streit asked if they
could finally make it happen.
“It gives people in our
area access to our state’s
culture,” Streit said. “Having
those things sit in a vault
in Springfield was a disservice.”
Reporting by Max Lapthorne,
Editor. For more, visit
LockportLegend.com.
FROM THE NEW LENOX PATRIOT
Pant for the Pantry 5K looks
to continue success in sixth
year
Paul Slade, chairman and
CEO of Old Plank Trail
Community Bank, wanted to
address feeding the hungry
— “the most basic need” —
when starting a community
fundraising event five years
ago.
“It started off something
personal with me, in that I
think if you’re a senior or
perhaps part of a young family,
and you’re not real sure
how you’re going to feed
yourself or your family, I
can’t think of a more stressful
or terrifying moment,”
Slade said.
Since the inception of the
Pant for the Pantry 5K in
2011, Old Plank Trail Community
Bank has donated
more than $50,000 and thousands
of pounds in canned
goods to New Lenox Township’s
food pantry.
On Oct. 16, Slade expects
another showing of more
than 300 runners at this
year’s race, which starts at 8
a.m. at the bank, 280 Veterans
Parkway in New Lenox.
For adults 18 and older,
early fees are $30, $35 on
race day.
For more information, visit
www.pantforpantry.com.
Reporting by James Sanchez,
Editor. For more, visit
NewLenoxPatriot.com.
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