The season ended one week too soon but in a way I’m glad it’s over. Second thought, no I’m not. With this new hip and all the extra energy I’m ready to loop right up till deer season then take a break but we fell one spot short. Everyone can look back on their year and scream, “What if!” but I don’t think I will not just yet. I’m going to enjoy the time off and not think about golf, the travel, the hotels and restaurants plus the long miles behind the windshield. There won’t be much packing and unpacking the next few weeks.
We stopped by Sandy’s, Tom Kite’s caddy, place in Austin Sunday night rested up watched a little baseball and reminisced. She lost her mother about a month after dad passed away so the stories weren’t golf related. They weren’t going to the Tour Championship either, the first time in Tom’s Champions Tour career. We shared stories about mom and dad, dropped a few tears in our wine glasses and felt blessed to have such loving family and friends.
We caught up on things Monday and decided to take off at dark-thirty Tuesday morning for the long haul north. Sandy went to a Texas fire victim benefit concert with Tom, his wife Christy and friends Monday evening featuring Lyle Lovett, George Strait, Asleep at the Wheel and other Austin musicians. It was a great end to a tough year, the best concert ever she told me as I was raiding her fridge around midnight before heading back to the couch.
The grand finale should be the longest and it was. 1200 miles, give or take, in about 19 hours. It wasn’t as relaxing as the long haul a few weeks ago. There was no October baseball, the wind and rain howled most of the way and the old Rendevous was heavily loaded. It huffed and puffed, chewed up a lot more gas but made it that one final trip, thank god. I still don’t think I can get rid of the ol’ girl, maybe “Little Earl” can tune her up one more time and she’ll be back on the road next year.
After a year on the road it’ll be nice to relax for awhile. The cabin will be a welcomed respite for the next couple months with a few family jaunts and business trips. This time last year my good friend Tom Wargo handed me my smallest check ever and I wasn’t sure if I was going to caddy any more. There was so much pain in my right hip, I was glad the season was over but wasn’t looking forward to the future. When I left Bob in San Antonio he was excited about next year and so am I.
Bob called last January offering me the job, until then it was up in the air what I was going to do. My, how things change! I’ve had more financially rewarding years, involved in many more wins and worked forty plus tournaments some years but this may have been my most emotionally satisfying year. Watching Bob enjoy one of his finest years, win a tournament after a five year drought, my dry spell was longer than that, and just being able to live and work without pain was a sheer blessing.
When he gets that knee fixed during the off season, watch out next year! It’ll be over two months before we hook up in Hawaii; I wish it was next week. Naw, not really, it’s time for family, friends and a lot of hunting in northern Wisconsin. Someone may call to work a tour qualifying school event but it better be a great offer, it’ll be tough dragging me out of the north woods.
