Golf, in real life, never took root in me. I had friends who played, and invited me along. As a young sports writer I covered a couple of exciting tournaments. In college, I enrolled in a golf class my senior year and was even partnered with N.C. State’s quarterback, a guy who later became a a club professional in Georgia. But just to get myself to the level of having a fun time socialising on the course, the time and money seemed prohibitive, and I had little of either as a newspaperman in my 20s.