February 11, 2025 • 8 mins
Ever dismissed golf as just an elitist pastime? I certainly did—until a set of clubs, gifted to me after my divorce, changed everything. Join me as I recount my unexpected journey from a skeptical beginner to a keen enthusiast boasting a 4.6 handicap. But life threw me a curveball when a golf cart accident led to a serious wrist injury and a permanent disability. Through humor and reflection, I share how this setback reshaped my understanding of resilience and deepened my admiration for those who face similar challenges daily. It's a blend of frustration and enlightenment, all wrapped up in the lessons that golf—and life—teach us.
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Here For the Memories
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Here for the memories thought-provoking audio memoir
shorts filled with stories,humor, anecdotes and commentary
on social, cultural, businessand religious issues.
Whatever Lyndon remembers andthinks will entertain, challenge
and inform is a possiblesubject.
(00:20):
The collection of memoriesabout one's life allows for the
development and refinement of asense of self, including who one
is, how one has changed andwhat one might be like in the
future.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Greetings and salutations.
This is Lyndon Wolfe, and youhave found here for the Memories
, my audio memoir, not a podcast, an audio memoir.
This was designed just to sharesome things about me, my
experiences, my opinions, sothat those that love me might
(00:55):
have something to reflect onwhen I depart this planet.
Glad you stopped by.
Love visitors Love visitors whocome often, so I'm going to
encourage you to do that.
Golf was taboo when I wasgrowing up.
Part of a society we didn'thave access to, it was seen as a
country club game for the eliteand haughty.
(01:18):
It was characterized by hubris,and it wasn't even a true sport
, one that involved intenseeffort, energy and physical
gifts such as speed, strengthand agility.
In other words, it should beplayed by obese and inebriated
white men without breaking asweat, and that wasn't who we
were.
Soon after my divorce, a goodfriend named Tim Angel bought me
(01:42):
a set of ping knockoffs andtold me that I needed to take up
golf instead of going totherapy to cope with my failed
marriage and the loss of myministry career.
I didn't seek professionalcounseling for my emotional
health.
I didn't think I needed it, butafter taking up golf, I did
indeed need therapy to cope withmy complete inability to take
(02:04):
that strangely formed tool andhit a dimpled white ball.
And I'm not talking abouthitting it long or straight, I'm
talking about actually makingcontact with that inanimate
object Unbelievable.
After Tim's rudimentary lessons, I continued to find the game
most maddening.
(02:24):
I quit the sport aftervirtually every round I
completed.
In the first two years that Iplayed here I was 30 years old
and a fairly accomplishedathlete, yet I found myself
utterly thwarted by thisostensibly easy game.
Yes, I was mesmerized,undeniably hooked and I am, to
(02:46):
this very day, eventually got mygame all the way down to a 4.6
handicap.
That's statistically in the top2-3% of all golfers and golf
pretenders Regularly shooting inthe low to mid 70s on par 72
tracks.
But I was only a 6.4 handicapstill very good when I
(03:10):
discovered that golf was acontact sport, as happened
fairly frequently.
I was asked to play in a charityevent and as a teammate and I
sped from the tee box on thedownhill ninth hole upon seeing
a stray ball off in the distance.
The driver of the cart I wasriding in took a hard left,
(03:31):
unannounced turn and threw me,by his own estimates, 30 feet
before I took the full impact onmy right hand.
That right wrist snapped and Iheard multiple sickening
crunches and upon inspection, myhand was bent upward to the
point of lying backward on myforearm.
(03:52):
Reacting to the grotesque sight, I quickly pulled my hand back
into its natural position Apurely spontaneous move, but not
a smart one, by the way.
After going into shock andbeing transported to a nearby
emergency room, the doctordidn't believe my story and she
said it was probably just asprain.
But after reading the x-rays,she came back with both distal
(04:17):
and radius fractures rays.
She came back with both distaland radius fractures, multiple
bone fragments basicallyshattered and cartilage
relocated to places it was notintended to be.
Prepare, she said, for surgeryand a lifelong impairment more
than likely, and she was correct.
Since that event over 20 yearsago, I carry a 33% upper body
(04:39):
permanent disability and a 17%total body impairment.
My hand remains atrophied andthe range of motion in my
dominant right wrist is about 20degrees much, much less than
the average person.
However, people who have knownme for years are unaware of my
limitations or my constantdiscomfort of bone on bone.
(05:00):
I, however, being stubborn andprideful, have refused the
handicap placard that would giveme preferential parking.
I was referred to a giftedorthopedic surgeon at Vanderbilt
Hospital who gave me a direprognosis.
With his drab personality onfull display, he told me the
longest speech I ever heard pourfrom his lips.
(05:23):
You will be lucky to hold apencil again, much less a golf
club.
Sell your clubs, and I did.
Mike Matone, one of my golfbuddies, bought my clubs at a
discounted rate While he and myother golf buddies happily
frustrated themselves on thecourse.
I went through three surgeriesand a year of therapy.
(05:45):
It took me over seven monthsjust to touch my index finger to
my thumb.
The prospect of me ever playingagain was unthinkable, but I
did, and eventually, once again,my official USG handicap drops
just slightly into the singledigits at 9.6.
(06:09):
What did all this teach me?
Well, one an appreciation forthose who are truly impaired.
They can't use limbs or hands.
It's amazing how difficult lifeis when you only have one hand,
for example, or, I guess, oneleg.
Just managing life with thosekinds of challenges and
(06:30):
disabilities is difficult.
Yet there are people that aremuch, much more disabled and
impaired than I was and am.
Yet they happily go about theirlife and their business, in
many cases with much betterattitudes than you and I have.
I learned to appreciate those inwheelchairs, those who struggle
(06:52):
to hold things, those who mighthave vision or hearing loss,
because they have taken adifficult situation and they've
learned not only to cope but tolive well with it.
Do you know someone who'sdisabled, handicapped?
If you will, have you evernoticed that they probably have
(07:14):
a better attitude than you dosome of the time?
Maybe that's a lesson we canlearn.
Golf is a contact sport, butthat contact allowed me to learn
something about those lessfortunate physically than I am.
I'm Lyndon Wolfe.
This is here for the Memories.
I'm so glad you stopped by.
(07:35):
Come back and visit anytime.
I'd love to have you.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Hello friends, if you appreciate the content and what
it takes to create and deliverit, please consider a small
contribution.
Just go to buymeacoffeecomSlash here for the memories.
That's buymeacoffeecom Slashhere for the memories Much
appreciated.
Here for the memories thought-provoking audio memoir
shorts filled with stories,humor, anecdotes and commentary
on social, cultural, businessand religious issues.
Whatever Lyndon remembers andthinks will entertain, challenge
and inform is a possiblesubject.
(00:20):
The collection of memoriesabout one's life allows for the
development and refinement of asense of self, including who one
is, how one has changed andwhat one might be like in the
future.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Greetings and salutations.
This is Lyndon Wolfe, and youhave found here for the Memories
, my audio memoir, not a podcast, an audio memoir.
This was designed just to sharesome things about me, my
experiences, my opinions, sothat those that love me might
(00:55):
have something to reflect onwhen I depart this planet.
Glad you stopped by.
Love visitors Love visitors whocome often, so I'm going to
encourage you to do that.
Golf was taboo when I wasgrowing up.
Part of a society we didn'thave access to, it was seen as a
country club game for the eliteand haughty.
(01:18):
It was characterized by hubris,and it wasn't even a true sport
, one that involved intenseeffort, energy and physical
gifts such as speed, strengthand agility.
In other words, it should beplayed by obese and inebriated
white men without breaking asweat, and that wasn't who we
were.
Soon after my divorce, a goodfriend named Tim Angel bought me
(01:42):
a set of ping knockoffs andtold me that I needed to take up
golf instead of going totherapy to cope with my failed
marriage and the loss of myministry career.
I didn't seek professionalcounseling for my emotional
health.
I didn't think I needed it, butafter taking up golf, I did
indeed need therapy to cope withmy complete inability to take
(02:04):
that strangely formed tool andhit a dimpled white ball.
And I'm not talking abouthitting it long or straight, I'm
talking about actually makingcontact with that inanimate
object Unbelievable.
After Tim's rudimentary lessons, I continued to find the game
most maddening.
(02:24):
I quit the sport aftervirtually every round I
completed.
In the first two years that Iplayed here I was 30 years old
and a fairly accomplishedathlete, yet I found myself
utterly thwarted by thisostensibly easy game.
Yes, I was mesmerized,undeniably hooked and I am, to
(02:46):
this very day, eventually got mygame all the way down to a 4.6
handicap.
That's statistically in the top2-3% of all golfers and golf
pretenders Regularly shooting inthe low to mid 70s on par 72
tracks.
But I was only a 6.4 handicapstill very good when I
(03:10):
discovered that golf was acontact sport, as happened
fairly frequently.
I was asked to play in a charityevent and as a teammate and I
sped from the tee box on thedownhill ninth hole upon seeing
a stray ball off in the distance.
The driver of the cart I wasriding in took a hard left,
(03:31):
unannounced turn and threw me,by his own estimates, 30 feet
before I took the full impact onmy right hand.
That right wrist snapped and Iheard multiple sickening
crunches and upon inspection, myhand was bent upward to the
point of lying backward on myforearm.
(03:52):
Reacting to the grotesque sight, I quickly pulled my hand back
into its natural position Apurely spontaneous move, but not
a smart one, by the way.
After going into shock andbeing transported to a nearby
emergency room, the doctordidn't believe my story and she
said it was probably just asprain.
But after reading the x-rays,she came back with both distal
(04:17):
and radius fractures rays.
She came back with both distaland radius fractures, multiple
bone fragments basicallyshattered and cartilage
relocated to places it was notintended to be.
Prepare, she said, for surgeryand a lifelong impairment more
than likely, and she was correct.
Since that event over 20 yearsago, I carry a 33% upper body
(04:39):
permanent disability and a 17%total body impairment.
My hand remains atrophied andthe range of motion in my
dominant right wrist is about 20degrees much, much less than
the average person.
However, people who have knownme for years are unaware of my
limitations or my constantdiscomfort of bone on bone.
(05:00):
I, however, being stubborn andprideful, have refused the
handicap placard that would giveme preferential parking.
I was referred to a giftedorthopedic surgeon at Vanderbilt
Hospital who gave me a direprognosis.
With his drab personality onfull display, he told me the
longest speech I ever heard pourfrom his lips.
(05:23):
You will be lucky to hold apencil again, much less a golf
club.
Sell your clubs, and I did.
Mike Matone, one of my golfbuddies, bought my clubs at a
discounted rate While he and myother golf buddies happily
frustrated themselves on thecourse.
I went through three surgeriesand a year of therapy.
(05:45):
It took me over seven monthsjust to touch my index finger to
my thumb.
The prospect of me ever playingagain was unthinkable, but I
did, and eventually, once again,my official USG handicap drops
just slightly into the singledigits at 9.6.
(06:09):
What did all this teach me?
Well, one an appreciation forthose who are truly impaired.
They can't use limbs or hands.
It's amazing how difficult lifeis when you only have one hand,
for example, or, I guess, oneleg.
Just managing life with thosekinds of challenges and
(06:30):
disabilities is difficult.
Yet there are people that aremuch, much more disabled and
impaired than I was and am.
Yet they happily go about theirlife and their business, in
many cases with much betterattitudes than you and I have.
I learned to appreciate those inwheelchairs, those who struggle
(06:52):
to hold things, those who mighthave vision or hearing loss,
because they have taken adifficult situation and they've
learned not only to cope but tolive well with it.
Do you know someone who'sdisabled, handicapped?
If you will, have you evernoticed that they probably have
(07:14):
a better attitude than you dosome of the time?
Maybe that's a lesson we canlearn.
Golf is a contact sport, butthat contact allowed me to learn
something about those lessfortunate physically than I am.
I'm Lyndon Wolfe.
This is here for the Memories.
I'm so glad you stopped by.
(07:35):
Come back and visit anytime.
I'd love to have you.
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Hello friends, if you appreciate the content and what
it takes to create and deliverit, please consider a small
contribution.
Just go to buymeacoffeecomSlash here for the memories.
That's buymeacoffeecom Slashhere for the memories Much
appreciated.
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