Acknowledgments

This is my third novel. Like the first two, it is inspired by my lifelong love for the game of golf.

I am deeply grateful to God for blessing me with stories to tell and the ability to give them life on paper. It’s something I did not come to until later in life, after spending over twenty years as an active trial lawyer. Although I have enjoyed far more success in the courtroom than I probably ever deserved, I have derived as much pleasure in sharing my stories about this wonderful game as from anything I have ever done.

There are many people responsible for whatever joy and satisfaction you may find in these pages.

First was my late father, Earl Veron. He introduced me to the game, and some of our best times together came on the golf course. His life was marked by many accomplishments as a husband and father as well as by a distinguished career as a state and federal judge. Such was his reputation that the news of his death in 1990 was reported in virtually every major newspaper in the country, including The New York Times. That’s a long way from a tiny village along the Mississippi River called Smoke Bend, Louisiana, where his life began in 1922 in relative poverty. (As a measure of his lack of advantage, when my father left a grocery business to begin college as a freshman in his early thirties, he was the first from his family to be educated beyond high school.)

Second to receive credit is Gray Little, who was the golf professional at the Lake Charles Country Club from 1939 until 1981. Mr. Little (as I always called him) put on clinics each summer for the children of the members, and it always concluded with a small tournament, which for me was the highlight of the summer. It may not have seemed like much to him, but it really whet my appetite for the game. In addition, Mr. Little gave me many valuable lessons over the years, both in words and in actions. Among other things, I will always remember the courtly way he conducted himself at all times. It was a great example that I have probably honored more in the breach over the years, but he still was a very positive influence on all those of us who came under his tutelage.

Next is the collection of characters who have hung out in the locker room at the Lake Charles Country Club over the years. They are too numerous to mention by name here. Besides, until I get clearance from my publisher’s lawyers, it’s probably better to save my stories about them for some other time. (Lord knows, there’s enough material there for a whole other book.) In any event, they’ve made the club a special place that has been the source for much of what I write.

Over the last fifteen years or so, I’ve also had the privilege of giving something back to the game by serving in various capacities with the Louisiana Golf Association and the U.S. Golf Association. The personal rewards of working with these two great organizations have far outweighed whatever meager contributions I may have made in the process. The sterling individuals who have befriended me in both associations have given me a wonderful education about golf, its rules and traditions, and the purity of its spirit.

The best summation of this aspect of golf that I ever heard came from former USGA President Reg Murphy, who praised the game for the way it “civilized” those who came to it. Bobby Reeves, the central character of this book, clearly excels at the physical side of playing the game but struggles with the part of the game that Reg described. And that’s really what the story is all about. In the end, golf is more of a spiritual game than anything else, and its mastery involves maturity and emotional growth.

On various levels, all of us can no doubt identify with the conflict within Bobby. While we may not have received the benefit of divine intervention, we have all had conversations with our mentors in the game that were not unlike those that Bobby has with Stewart. Mine were with my father, Gray Little, and others who cared enough to see me become better as a person as well as a golfer.

This book is for them. When you read about Bobby and Stewart, I hope it makes you think about your own benefactors and how they made you better. If they’re still around, call them and say thanks. If they’re not, say a prayer of gratitude for them.

Next, as I have done before, I am compelled to acknowledge close friends who have been so important to this project. First is Bo Links. An accomplished author in his own right, Bo got me started down this path by convincing me to share these stories. He was and is my first source of advice and criticism. He knows how much he has meant to my efforts, and I want to make certain that others know it, too. I also am indebted to my favorite Tour player, Mike Heinen (winner of the 1994 Shell Houston Open), a hometown buddy who answered all of my questions about life on Tour. In so doing, Mike helped me authenticate important details about Bobby and Stewart’s experiences on the pro golf circuit.

I am also grateful for the expert advice and assistance of my agent, Jacques de Spoelberch, and my editor, Pete Wolverton. They definitely made this a better book.

Of course, I cannot close without offering my deeply felt thanks to my terrific family, who again gave up backyard basketball and other fun pursuits so that I could have time to write. They know that they are a big part of each book.