Charlie and Henry

“To get an elementary grasp of the game of golf, a human must learn, by endless practice, a continuous and subtle series of highly unnatural movements, involving about sixty-four muscles, that result in a seemingly natural swing, taking two seconds to begin and end.”

Alistair Cooke

Charlie and Henry were friends, having played golf together a long time. Both belonged to the same club and played regularly with their group of WWII-era pals.

Henry was a retired physician and a great storyteller. He and I were in another, larger golf group, and he always gave me a kind hello when he saw me. Henry had joy in the camaraderie of being with his friends.

He was such a gifted storyteller that, when it came time for jokes after dinner and the announcement of that day’s golf results, the crowd would spontaneously and, gradually, more loudly cheer, “Hen-ry, Hen-ry, Hen-ry!” He would slowly rise and tell one of his always-engaging, uniquely entertaining stories.

As legend has it, Charlie and Henry were out playing golf as a twosome one afternoon, and Henry was having a rough time of it. Charlie, known as a man of few words, didn’t say much, as Henry grumbled his way through the first few holes.

On the fifth hole, Henry hit such a poor shot that he bellowed in frustration. It was at this point that Charlie turned to Henry and said, “You know what your problem is? You haven’t learned to enjoy playing sh**ty golf.”

Well, that made Henry laugh, and it changed his whole day. And when I heard that story, it changed my outlook on golf altogether, because it really isn’t about the score.

It’s about enjoying being with the friends we love.

"Charlie and Henry," from The Saturday Morning Post, at hankfrazee.com.