Tales from the first tee
Stories about my life experiences and others as I work at one of the premier golf clubs in Charleston, SC. Interviews with golfers around the world that have one thing in common...the pursuit of excellence on a golf course and everything else that happens along the way.
Tales from the first tee
Fore! Watch Out for Flying Clubs and Unleashed Tempers
Rich Easton explores volatile human behavior in recreational settings through stories of golf course meltdowns and dog park confrontations. He examines how quickly pleasant personalities can transform when faced with frustration, disappointment, or conflict in these seemingly benign environments.
• Sports experts consistently fail at NCAA tournament predictions despite their supposed expertise
• NCAA transfer portal and NIL deals have dramatically changed collegiate basketball's predictability
• Meeting a Jekyll and Hyde personality on the golf course who transforms from pleasant companion to raging club-thrower
• The psychological insight that "golf doesn't do it to us, we do it to ourselves"
• Maintaining composure under pressure is a learned behavior that many golfers struggle with
• Dog parks have unwritten protocols that many owners ignore, leading to conflict
• Incident involving parents placing toddlers in a large dog area, causing unnecessary tension
• Shocking confrontation between two dog owners that escalated to violence and legal consequences
• Practical advice about knowing when to remove your dog from potentially dangerous situations
If you have an aggressive dog that doesn't play well with others, please don't bring them to the dog park during peak hours. Know your dog, be aware of park dynamics, and don't hesitate to leave if things get tense. There's no shame in removing your dog from a bad situation.
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Welcome to another episode from Just Tales, a monthly hybrid of fictional and non-fictional stories that compel me to rant. There'll always be a golf story or two laced into my blog because, well, it's where I spend a good amount of my recreational time. So, whether you're a golfer or not, if you're a skeptic, doubter or open-minded, this is the place for you. So kick back and listen. In this episode, I'll talk about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde on the golf course, donnybrook in the dog park. But first prevaricating pundits get it wrong again and bust me bracket. For any of you devoted college basketball fans, fair weather, ncaa tournament watchers or just bracket participants who feel like this is the year, you might have noticed that just about everyone who's supposed to be a so-called expert can you see the quotes before and after that Expert on forecasting sports victories got it wrong. We depend on experts to guide us in areas where we just don't have the expertise or time. Maybe we don't have the experience, general knowledge on how things work, and that's why we have people like mechanics work on cars, electricians wire our homes, construction workers build our homes, doctors guide our health, lawyers well, don't get me started on lawyers and sports pundits help guide our decisions when it comes time to wager on sports and or just fill out a bracket. And that being said, how could so many experts basketball experts be wrong about the projected outcome of the NCAA tournament? They're watching these guys play all year long. They're watching teams come from behind, they're watching teams gel together. They're sitting there watching all the teams get seeded and they have these strong beliefs that certain teams, particularly teams that are seeded ones or twos or even threes, are going to make it to the very end. What the hell went wrong? Not only didn't a number one seed make it to the final four, but there were no twos or three seeds and only one four seed Folks. That means that 15 out of 16 of the top-seeded teams did not advance.
Speaker 1:And you've heard it? Certainly, the portal, the transfer portal in NIL, has changed the landscape to allow talent to flow through the system like no other time in history. The good news is that some of the power and wealth has shifted from the NCAA, their sponsors and coaches down to the players. The unintended consequences are that coaches and colleges could lose talent and player development as a result of those players getting less playing time or maybe even a disagreement that one of the players might have had during practice where things didn't go their way. The coaches wanted to get down on them and they're like, hey, screw this, I'll go somewhere else where I'm more appreciated and I can get more money for my NIL. This in turn makes it harder to guess which team can win six games in a row in the tournament and virtually impossible for any one team to repeat back to back Case in point Kansas. But even more evident to me is that it makes the so-called pundits, the experts, look no more knowledgeable than the person who picks teams. Just because they like the color of their jerseys, maybe they went to that college, they like body art, they like the tattoos, the hairstyle, or even some woman I talked to said man, I like that guy's butt. So what you're really hearing is spilt milk because none of my teams made it into the final four, and I'm guessing that none of yours did either, unless you're an alumni of Miami, san Diego State, fau or UConn who at this point I think could win it all. We'll see.
Speaker 1:Have you ever met a Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde on the golf course? If not, maybe you're him. If you've happened to listen to any of my previous episodes. You might know that I often show up to the golf course as a single and pair up with anyone the starter can fit me in with. There's certainly the risk of golf performance or personality incompatibility, but more often than not it introduces me to golfers I haven't met yet, or stories worth repeating.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so here's my story. The other day I venture out to the in search of my game. Now, I held the magic in my game from December to January for a skinny minute and since then have lost it to the golf gods. Since mid-January I've virtually lost every golf bet that I've wagered on myself. I mean, I've also disappointed a few partners and if you're listening to this you know who you are and have lost the consistency of my baby draw. And all this time I've been working on golf fitness, stretching, and have developed a routine of walking on and off the golf course, particularly due to my newly adopted golden Pyrenees, which will lead me to my next story after this.
Speaker 1:But before I get there, I'll continue my story about a golfer I met the other day on the first tee, who I'll just call Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. You know the classic novella written by Robert Louis Stevenson. I don't know about you, but my entire life I confused the name Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde because I thought Jekyll just sounded more like a mysterious killer. But no, edward Hyde was the killer and also the alter ego of the good Dr Jekyll. So the story continues.
Speaker 1:I walk up to the first tee on a late spring afternoon and met a middle-aged gentleman who was eager to play with someone else instead of just going it alone. He was actually waiting on the putting green for another golfer to show up, so he wouldn't have to play alone. Now, certainly not something I would do, since when I'm in a performance transition some would call it a slump I can find some swing clues when I'm alone, sometimes throwing down a second, third or even a fourth ball to try a different swing. Thought that might translate into something worth repeating. So I meet the good doctor and we proceed to make our way to the first tee. He doesn't mind that I'm walking. On the contrary, he was very complimentary that I was working on my golf fitness. I'm like what a nice guy.
Speaker 1:So we start off in the first three holes, which I consider to be challenging, particularly if you're a slow starter or don't have your A game. So the doctor parred the first three holes with one close slip out for a birdie on three. So this guy seems like he's got his a game and he was cheerful and pleasant and even complimented my swing while I'm in still still in disrepair. So we get to the fourth hole and he gets up there. He's still pretty happy, everything looks the. So we get to the fourth hole and he gets up there. He's still pretty happy, everything looks the same as it did the last three holes. But then he duck, hooks his drive into the pond on the left. He grunted and smiled and made some comment about okay, he finally woke up.
Speaker 1:Now I happen to hear that from a lot of golfers that start off strong and then walk into a buzzsaw somewhere on the course Like a hint to all of us whose wheels fall off somewhere in the round. If we accept that our true self is just a crappy duffer and every once in a while we'll get lucky with a shot, it gives us little hope to respond with better holes in our round. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy and supports the laws of attraction what you invite into your life manifests itself. Now that doesn't mean that we have to be hopeful morons. It just means that bad shots happen to all golfers at all levels. No use beating yourself up and causing yourself more pain.
Speaker 1:So Dr Jekyll bogeys the hole despite his watery, grave tee shot and then went on to par five and six. So I'm thinking, okay, maybe he's turned it around. He didn't seem that upset with himself, but he certainly made that comment. But then he turns it around. I didn't seem that upset with himself, but he certainly made that comment. But then he turns it around. I'm like, okay, seems like a really nice guy in control of all his emotions.
Speaker 1:Now he steps up to the seventh hole, a very difficult par three, with water all the way down the right side, and he tees it up. He takes his club back and something must have gone wrong with his swing, his confidence and his happy-go-lucky disposition. When he proceeds to hit three tee shots in the water on the right and takes a nine on the hole. And after each watery ball he got more and more upset with himself and summoned his God, and not in the most spiritual way. After that he completely his face changes, his disposition changes. He stops talking to me, particularly when we get up to the eighth tee box, where now he proceeds to hit his drive into the pond on the right and after yelling and screaming at himself and driving up to his ball, he pulls a ball, puts it down where his ball went in the water, proceeds to duck, hook his next shot into the woods on the left. From that point on he started throwing whatever club misbehaved on him. Sometimes the club went farther than his shots, always followed with more spiritual references.
Speaker 1:I think he was 10 over par when we walk up to the ninth tee box and, noticeably, an entirely different person Angry, stern-faced, not in the mood for any more idle chatter, what started off as the jolly gentleman turns into the apoplectic ogre. Why does golf do that to us? I think the simple answer is golf doesn't do it to us, we do it to ourselves. Mr Hyde, in his fit of hysteria, wants to correct his last tee shot because his last two holes he's hitting it out to the right. He tees it up. I happen to mention to him probably my fault that if you could hit your shot left side of the fairway close to the tree, the ground is really hard and your ball will probably get another 30 or 40 yards of roll. I should have said nothing. He gets up, he duck, hooks his drive deep into the neighborhood on the left-hand side. But this time he didn't get spiritual. This time he just said fuck it. And he yells it out, gets in his cart and headed to the clubhouse. He didn't go after his ball, he said nothing to me. I never saw him again. Now if he's got a family at home, I'm sure they knew what to expect when he got home early that day, and if he doesn't have a family at home, I think I could surmise why not.
Speaker 1:Golf is hard. Maintaining composure under pressure is a learned behavior. My guess is the ugly. Mr Hyde reared his ugly head when the good Dr Jekyll could no longer contain himself. And trust me on this turning into the amazing Hulk on a golf course helps very few golfers get better, unless you're someone like Pat Perez, sergio Garcia or Aaron Oberholzer, although I'm not sure that Aaron gets better. Adrenaline and anger drove Ray Lewis to crack heads when he played for the Ravens. It's Roy Kent's secret weapon on Ted Lasso, but in all my years of playing golf it doesn't seem to be the hormone that summons greatness on a golf course. When shit goes bad, just breathe, find your ball and hit it again Drama at the dog park.
Speaker 1:For those of you that are not dog owners, or dog owners that refuse to bring your furry friends to the local dog park, let me tell you from experience. There's an unwritten protocol on how to behave and correct your dog or pull them from the park that many dog owners ignore. I'm relatively new to the dog world metaverse as a single owner. During my coupled life my spouse was fearful of dog parks because I think the vets told us that it was a breeding ground for bacteria. I don't know. When dogs meet each other they sniff each other's butts. I mean, what could be more germy than that? But as a single owner I'm more tolerant of experiencing parks and other arenas where my pooch can socialize with other canines. I'm also lucky that she really plays well with others, which I guess makes my journeys with her less angsty.
Speaker 1:The dog metaverse and I guess I could call it the dog world, but I am just so current it has similar rules to the parent metaverse, where everybody talks about their kids until other subjects come up and everybody watches their kids to make sure that you know they don't bully each other, and just like the golf world, except there you talk about other courses you've played and sometimes conversations go towards equipment if you're lucky enough to find another golf club nerd like yourself. Dog parks have general written rules. Number one rule pick up after your dog. I don't know how many times I've left the dog park, gotten in the car and think that my dog rolled in some kind of shit, until I get home and I check the bottom of my shoes. I mean, the other rules are fairly opaque, which usually leads to the drama.
Speaker 1:So I'm going to share three real life stories that happened in Mount Pleasant and Daniel Island recently, and I'm sure everyone else in the world listening to this that have taken dogs to the dog park have similar stories because, face it, people can be stupid. The first incident happened last week when I'm in Daniel Island, and if you're new to Daniel Island, if you've never been here to Daniel Island, it's a utopian, self-contained island with most creature comforts you'd want Restaurants, bars, shopping, golfing, grocery stores, a world-class tennis facility that doubles as the best outdoor music venue in Charleston and the residential properties on the island a little more expensive, particularly if your site is on the water or the golf course. So because of that and this might sound stupid and assumptive, but you'd now expect the residents of the island to kind of reflect that. But that's a shitty assumption. So I visit the dog park on a Saturday, where it tends to be more visited, lots of dogs and lots of dog owners, and there are two areas for dogs. There's a small dog area and an other area, meaning too big for small dog area. My dog, sammy, is a mix of two large breeds, so I always take her to the not small dog area. I digress. She and 10 other dogs are playing non-aggressive, non-confrontational, but certainly at a frenetic pace. And so all of a sudden, this young couple with two small medium dogs and two I would call them toddlers enter the park. Now, that's a first for me in this dog metaverse. Now, maybe because I'm at the parks midweek, kids are in school and no kids are at the park. Yeah, so let me set up the scene here.
Speaker 1:The parents bring in the kids, their dogs start running around with the 10 other dogs and this area is very sandy it's almost beach-like sandy and so the parents walk in, maybe 20 yards from the front, plop their kids down in the sand, and the kids are sitting in the sand playing with each other. Their parents are probably 5 to 10 yards away. And as these other dogs are playing with each other and running, this one dog, whose parent and I were talking to each other at the time, and I think the dog was some kind of doodle leaves the pack of the other dogs and runs over to the small kids and starts sniffing them and running around and kind of aggressively. But the parents weren't doing anything, the dog was being playful. And then I think one of the parents tried to shoo this doodle away, but the doodle was interested in the kids. And then all of a sudden these other group of parents that are there start yelling whose dog is that? Leash that dog, get that dog. And they're yelling. Meanwhile the parents of the kids are not getting upset. But these other couples are apoplectic they're getting upset, they're yelling.
Speaker 1:And so this lady that I'm speaking to very nice lady, actually works as an executive coach, so she knows how to talk to people Gets up and starts walking over to where the kids are, probably 30, 40 yards away. Meanwhile these other parents are going apeshit, hurry up, hurry up, get that leash on that. And like they're freaking out. And she, as she walks over the, the, the uh frequency, the level of yelling gets louder and louder from these other parents. So I decide, if not now, when do you interrupt a situation to bring it down? So I walk over to them and they're still yelling. I go, looks like she's handling it is what I said. And they're like, yeah, but their dog. We yelled. You know, she's got a leash your dog. You got a leash, your dog. And I'm like, hey, we're in a dog park. And they're like, yeah, but those, you know, they start yelling.
Speaker 1:And I just look at the guy, one of the guys, and I think I'm looking up to him and I say, hey, take it down a level. And he does, he starts talking but he's still yelling. I'm like, keep taking it down a level. And he was reasonable, he brought it down. And then all of a sudden he goes into this argument. He goes if that dog does something to the kids, who do you think's liable? She is? I'm like this guy's pulling like an F Lee Bailey, a Johnny Cochran, and I'm like, hey, are you worried about the kids or are you worried about the lawsuit? Because I don't think the parents are worried.
Speaker 1:And then both sets of couples leash their dogs and immediately walk. He said something under his breath like don't talk down to me. I wasn't talking down to him, I was looking up, but I was trying to be reasonable. So they walk and they're kind of grunting to this woman with her dog and she kind of gets her dog and pulls it out of the way. But then she's talking to the parents and the parents are very chill about it.
Speaker 1:And so I walk over and I'm talking to the parents and I'm like, hey, do you always bring your kids to the dog park? And they go, yes, all the time. And I go, what about? You know, have you ever thought about, like in the small dog area, because small dogs will probably be smaller than your kids?
Speaker 1:Now I said something like that, but I said it in an easy, conversational manner, just trying to have dialogue. And they said, yeah, our kids can handle bigger dogs, because our dogs like to play with bigger dogs. And I'm like, okay, I hear you. And there was nothing more to be said at that point in time, because these people have made their minds up that they are not only going to socialize their dogs with big dogs, they're going to socialize their kids. Now, do I think that's trouble looking for a home. You bet I do. Big dogs in dog parks can play rough and could accidentally knock one of those kids on their asses while they're in chase. The litigious couples should have confronted the parents of the children if they wanted to fight and deal with them, not this other dog and this other dog's mom. You know, I don't think the parents should let their kids play in the sand in the middle of a big dog park, particularly when it's packed with dogs and balls. But, like I said, some smart people could still do stupid things.
Speaker 1:This last story is true and it's a doozy. That is an old-timey term and I hope it never happens to any undeserving dog lovers. I frequent Palmetto Island Park for their picturesque trails through woods and adjacent to the tidal marsh, as well as the large double dog park. I think when we start frequenting most any place, I think we start running into familiar faces. It's a comfort for those that like other people or at least are tolerant of others. I happen to appreciate the mix of millennials, gen Xers and baby boomers, all with a common interest Wear our dogs out so they can chill out when we get them back home. It's also healthy to socialize dogs that are sociable, and the same would apply to people. And this is the story as I heard it from others.
Speaker 1:Last year, over a long weekend, the same crew was in the park with their dogs and in walks this larger than life man with an overly aggressive terrier mix. Within minutes, his dog was bullying other dogs, accompanied by a growl that only could be interpreted as an attack, and I think you all know what that sounds like. It's not just a quick bark, it sounds like a dog's going to bury his teeth into another dog. The handler of the smaller attack dog was also small himself in stature, but not small in fierceness. He called out the big man and told him to pull his dog back, but this larger-than-life human let's call him Bluto ignored him until the smaller man got in his face and exchanged pretty harsh words. The next thing, the smaller guy pushes Bluto. That was the first mistake.
Speaker 1:This enraged Bluto picks up the smaller guy, picks him up in the air, throws him down on the ground and starts knocking the wind out of him, until other adults break it up and try and pull these people apart and also break their dogs up, which also is not easy. So you think it's over and you know the two apologize, but that's not what happens. Think it's over and you know the two apologize, but that's not what happens. The little guy's embarrassed and he's not gonna let it go. So, as bluto is walking out of the dog park with his dog, the little guy is coming up and is like hey, don't ignore me, don't ignore me. And he's yelling at him. He's bleeding, he just got the shit kicked out of him and he started the fight physically. And so he goes up and then he smacks Bluto from behind. Bluto turns around and just knocks this guy down to the ground and again other adults are coming up. They're pulling him apart.
Speaker 1:Bluto goes out, takes his dog, leashes him and starts walking him towards his car. This guy, when he gets up off the ground, gets out of the park, runs to his truck. Next thing, you know, he pulls out a shotgun, he cocks it and he pulls the trigger. Something is jammed, it's locked and he's trying and he pulls the trigger. Something is jammed, it's locked and he's trying and he's trying. Meanwhile, people are running up and going no, no. Pluto races, dives in his car with his dog, he pulls out of there, leaves a puff of smoke behind him and hightails it out. So I don't know what happened, whether the smaller guy got in his car and chased him, but what I do know is months later there is a trial and both these two there were so many witnesses and I guess they put it together they got license plate numbers and both men go on trial. The guy with the gun gets jail time, the other guy pays a tremendous fine and both get banned from the county parks for life.
Speaker 1:Look, I've gone to a multiple of dog parks over the last several months and I've just witnessed a lot of either oblivious or selfish human behavior. Number one if you're unlucky enough to have an aggressive dog that doesn't know how to play well with others, you might not want to bring him or her to the dog park, certainly not during peak hours. It's selfish and it reflects on how you treat others in the world. Hey, look, there's's no one size fits all answer or one size fits all situation. Again, it becomes down, comes down to human behavior. You got to know your dog and you got to be aware of what's happening in the dog park. And if you don't have an aggressive dog, but that dog's getting caught up with others and you think it's going to turn out bad.
Speaker 1:Caught up with others and you think it's going to turn out bad, just get your dog out of the park. There's no shame or cowardice in pulling your dog out of the park. Choosing to stay in a dog park with your dog when shit gets out of control just to stake your claim of hey look, I was here first and I'm not leaving, puts your dog in jeopardy and continues to keep you in the asshole status in your life. There's a time to stay and fight a good fight for something that you strongly believe in. The dog park is not that fight. You've been listening to another episode of just tales. I'm your host, rich easton, telling tales from beautiful charleston, south carolina. Talk to you soon, thank you.