By Deems Tsutakawa
For The North American Post
Although I am physically small in stature, my favorite pastime growing up was always basketball. We had the standard ten-foot steel hoop with the white nylon net hanging in my parent’s driveway, used daily for decades. All the neighborhood kids would come and play pickup games all year long even in inclement weather.
I also played basketball in church leagues, Nisei Vets League and intramural hoops. When we were young, we could never get enough round ball in.
Eventually, age and the threat of injuries caught up with me, and I switched to tennis. Tennis became an obsession for quite some time and I actually played several tournaments over the years though never got any trophies.
At some point in time a few years ago, my wife started up golfing with her co-workers. It seemed to be the perfect setup as I had my tennis pals, and she had her golf buddies.
I personally had no interest whatsoever in playing eighteen holes of that pretentious game. So, one day Jean wanted to practice and did not have a playing partner, so I said I would join her for a short round on the executive course at Jefferson Park on Beacon Hill.
It was a beautiful sunny day in the mid 70’s, and we had hit a few at the driving range before going to the first tee.
Well, it turns out that a funny thing happened to me that day. The game was surprisingly enjoyable, and I actually shot par on most of the holes. The following week I shot a 27 on a par 27 course and was totally hooked. In reality, the coolest thing about the game of golf is that on the amateur level it is, for the most part, a social outing wherein you are hanging out with your friends. That, to me, is the truest meaning of the sport.
[Editor’s Note]
Deems Tsutakawa is a local Sansei musician. He can be reached at deemst@deemsmusic.com.
