Many golfers are collectors. Some are big on pencils, others polo shirts or logoed golf balls. I tend to mark my travels in with hats - at least one or two for every trip I take. Last week's five-day whirl around Wisconsin was no different - I came away with lids from The Club at Lac La Belle and the University Club of Milwaukee, two clubs with roots in the 19th century, proudly stated on their swag.
It was a little emotional finally getting back on the road properly, for the first time since late 2019, in search of unknown-to-me corners of the golf world. That little bit of ritual commerce did me good.
But no hat could compare to my favorite purchase of the trip: a royal blue onesie at the Kohler Swing Studio, emblazoned with the 2020 (-turned-2021) Ryder Cup logo on it. The recipient: two-month-old Alice Nora Gavrich, born to my wife and I on June 2.
Like most avid-golfer dads, I hope with the earnestness of a Raymond Floyd stare-down that Alice will also eventually pick up the game. I have a few years to prepare to be her mentor, cheerleader and fun coordinator, all with the goal of helping her derive from the game the joy it has brought me since my first swings on a driving range more than a quarter century ago.
Of course, even the most ardent obsession with golf becomes trivial against the love I have for the big-eyed little drooling and just-now-starting-to-smile angel that made me a very lucky parent. To be honest, I'm infinitely happy to see her in any color onesie, but I think royal blue might look especially cute come September.
