I recently found myself opening a link to my first email account from 20 years ago. It had somehow found its way into the email account I use today – despite me not logging into it for more than 15 years! Creepy to say the least.
The age of dial-up internet when ‘email’ was still a buzzword had clearly caught me off guard back in 2002, as my chosen username was (and apparently still is) [email protected].
Without knowing whether Hotmail.com was even still around, I tried to log in for the first time in more than 15 years and to my surprise, the inbox began loading. This time without the gurgled crackling and random beeps of the good old days, but the nostalgia had only just begun.
One of my all-time favourite people is a guy … no, scrap that, a dude. He goes by name Tom Stankowski. I wrote about Tom in this column in March 2020, but would like to add the reference to the main character from The Big Lebowski in Tommy’s honour.
The reason I am bringing one of the title characters of my own Life on Tour story back into this particular tale, is because Tom said something to me on the putting green at a 2008 tournament in Montreal that I will never forget. Almost 20 years my senior, he told a 21-year-old version of myself that one day I will realise that every 10 years we are able to look back on ourselves and barely recognise the person we were.
It certainly took some time for this sentiment of Tommy’s to simmer, but the moment I started scrolling through the pictures and messages on [email protected] it became clear. He was 100% correct. On this note, if you ever received an email from that account with the subject line ‘BOOOM’, I humbly apologise on behalf of me, myself and I, from then.
Those days were filled with nothing but a blind love for the game of golf and an unwavering belief in myself, which went hand-in-hand with the magic (or delusion) of also believing I would play my way on to the PGA Tour one day. As time passes, realities often tend to sink in and my reality sadly fell into the 99% of journeyman professional golfers.
The bottom line is that you cannot pay any bills without making enough cuts.
Well, after four years of ‘working for a living’, which I say tongue-in-cheek of course, as playing professional golf for a living (outside the PGA or DP World Tours) can be one of the toughest jobs in the world, I can vouch for the fact we have some of the most talented players in the world coming through the Sunshine Tour. In fact, after a two-year hiatus, I just played a couple of events on Tour and was stunned at the level of golf. FYI, names to watch out for include Dylan Naidoo, Jayden Schaper and Tristen Strydom. These guys are the real deal and I firmly believe that each one of them is on the brink of a breakthrough this season.
I hope this story inspires you to chase down that life-changing goal, as your next 10 years is happening right now.
– This column first appeared in the March 2022 issue of Compleat Golfer magazine. Subscribe here!
