Nate
Bertasso |
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Each year,
July marks the height of American patriotism. Proud citizens
clad in red, white and blue unfurl their flags and light their
barbeques as a precursor to a night of eye-popping fireworks
displays. For me, Independence Day was a yearly reminder that
my mom knew what she was talking about when she told me not
to play with fireworks.
Regardless of race or age, profession or trade, celebrating
America brings all different walks of life under one embodiment.
While the dreams and aspirations might differ, each American
shares a common interest. Similarly, the game of golf embodies
a loosely gathered constituent, bound by a love of the game
and fissured by unique wants and expectations.
To illustrate these observances, I offer myself as an example
— one that truly juxtaposes the members of the American
Junior Golf Association.
I first picked up a club on the No. 1 tee at Highlands Country
Club in Ft. Thomas, Ky., when I was 14. The occasion was the
high school golf team tryouts. I didn’t make the team
in large part to the fact that I didn’t even make it
to the ninth hole that day. Even still, I left the course
remarkably happy. I played golf for the first time and I played
for free.
Bertasso
at home in the weeds. He once fired a 39 at Chateau
Elan, then played the remaining five holes on the
front nine. |
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Weeks
later at my friends birthday party, I set out on my second
round of golf. Light rain and golf carts quickly turned my
second outing into a NASCAR qualifier and a nightmare for
the golf course superintendent. I left in a jovial and refreshed
mood.
A decade passed and I now work for the association that features
the nation’s top junior golfers. My clubs are as generic
as a bottle of runny ketchup with a white label and bold black
letters that spell C-A-T-S-U-P. They are crafted with metal
that is nearly as malleable as that of aluminum cans. My golf
balls are hand-me-downs that I scoop out of the water hazards
I’ve become so accustomed to visiting. I am still a pitiful
golfer, but I always leave the course content and pleased
with the time invested.
There
is no perspiration in golf for me. I never grind out a round
to see if I am truly better than the day before. My only aspiration
in golf is to relax and make memories. Whether the memory
is of one fantastic shot out of the entire round, or something
as random as loosing my grip on a tee shot and watching my
7-iron actually outdrive the ball.
I see juniors playing with the same love of the game that
keeps me surrendering to the links, but with a determination
and a goal far removed from mine. Each junior has his or her
own story, his or her own routine. The aspiration to be better
than the round before, the aspiration to earn a college scholarship
on their merits and the aspiration to be the golfer that everyone
else is chasing at the end of the day is what I admire most.
As we celebrate the diversity of America as one united throng,
let us celebrate the diversity of golf that transcends the
differences of races and beliefs, blending spectators and
participants into what the game is today.
There is a place for everyone in golf, just as there is a
place for everyone in America. I applaud the juniors that
make the American Junior Golf Association the largest and
most successful of its kind. As for myself, my interest and
love for the game is enough incentive to pursue the sport.
I can honestly say, that even if I never improve my golf game,
I will play this game until I die.
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