Love has special tee time on golf course

“I want to know what love is” on the golf course. “I’m gonna take a little time, a little time to look around me.”

Those Foreigner lyrics transcend time, lending themselves to any aspect of life, but when I juxtapose the question over golf, I come up with several answers, most of which represent the beauty of venues on which we play, the swing we can’t perfect, and the love for the game.

Golfers cannot play Pebble Beach without looking around. When I was lucky enough to play the iconic course without Crosby Weather, I could not help but look at the 17th green as I walked down the modest No 2, a par-5 that really does not demand much attention. You want to know what love is? For golfers Holes 3-18 at Pebble Beach is a marriage made in heaven.

Courses do not have to be on the Monterrey Peninsula or in Augusta, GA in order for golfers to develop an adoration. Local linksters can find “Endless Love” in home courses that have never hit the television screen. A second shot hit into the Gulf of Mexico’s blue screen on Hole 4 at Great Southern mesmerizes handicaps from one to 36.

During this week’s Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Condoleezza Rice professed on national television her love for a “good shot.” When dimples collide with that sweet spot, nothing feels better. Professionals love the feedback when a golfer improves.

“I love it when golfers can fix their swings during the round,” said Hoppy Smith. “I enjoy when I see them in the 19th Hole after they’ve corrected themselves,” said the 2016 Gulf States PGA Professional of the Year.

“We just have a good time together,” said 1991 PGA Professional of the Year Steve Chaney. He wasn’t talking about his wife or kids, although knowing him I can say that he does have a good time with his family. He was referring to his students when he teaches them how to “get better, even if it’s one stroke better.”

At one time in his career the Shell Landing professional gave 1200 lessons a year. That’s a large bucket of “good times.”

“How Deep Is Your Love” is a question golfers constantly try to answer when a golf ball estranges itself from fairways and greens. When a supposedly superb swing produces a love-hate relationship, golfers lament for a few minutes, find the obstinate putt-egg and start another pre-shot routine that without question will produce that perfect shot!

Love for a good shot emanates deeper than a Bee Gees summer breeze.

This February 14th, golfers might send the game a Valentine that reads, “I Will Always Love You.”

This story was originally published February 12, 2017 at 1:10 PM with the headline "Love has special tee time on golf course."