‘That’s golf to me’

Editor's note: Raised on a farm in northeast Iowa, Pech retired seven years ago after a 45-year career in retail management. He has lived in Iowa City since 1972 and has played in many amateur golf events. He was the Iowa City Super Senior Champion in 2011 and '12. He once owned a 3.2 handicap, which has risen to 9.2. He still walks while playing.

By Ed Pech, community contributor

My affair with golf started in 1968.

After two years in the army, having started a new job, I had two days off in the middle of the week. Golf filled the gap.

The golf swing was somewhat natural to me. I had played a lot of sports in the past, but golf was different. It seemed to be frustrating in its possibilities, but rewarding in ways beyond the game itself.

What I learned that year - and in many, many years since - the real reason I play golf is because it has so much to offer, to teach and to learn. It is never perfected, but never fails to raise the senses.

Of course, you try and learn the proper way to swing the club, to be most effective. You learn how to keep score, to respect and maintain the golf course. You learn to associate with others, to be courteous, follow the rules and, most important, police yourself. It's maybe the only game where you do that.

In the spring, you dress a little warmer if it's cold. If it rains, you use an umbrella. In the sunshine, you wear shorts.

Best of all, you have the freedom to enjoy the outdoors.

Imagine an early morning and you're leaving the nervousness of the first tee behind. You walk down first fairway into a lush green wonderland, the dew glistening everywhere as the early sun starts to warm things up. The deep blue sky above is the perfect backdrop. Your fellow golfers are eager to get to it, the good and the not so good that fills every round.

That's golf to me.

Over time, my game got better. The ball flew straighter and longer, and the scores came down. I became a fairly good golfer.

My appreciation for the game grew deeper and eventually my respect for everything else the game offered became more important than the score. Not that I didn't enjoy a good score. But what I really remembered was the experience - practicing to get better, fellow golfers, the beauty of the course, the moments of despair and the glow of fleeting triumph.

As I now approach 70, I have played dozens of courses all over the country. They all offer the joy of golf - and another story when you get home.

Because the game can be played a long time, into our senior years, I find my scores are going up, not down. This is normal, but not important, because the rest of the game is there. I still have that and that is more than enough.

During a recent visit to the driving range, working on my swing under a hot sun, I wondered what I was doing there. Could this game give me more? On the next swing, the ball jumped sweetly off the club and went straight and true.

And inside I smiled.