Playing golf with my brother Eddie was always a challenge.
He took his sweet time. After several practice swings, he would approach the ball and just stand there, perfectly still. Often, Eddie would then back away, pose behind his ball and stare at the fairway ahead. For forever. And when it came to lining up a putt on the green? Forget about it!
But slow play wasn’t his worst habit. Keeping score was.
One time, Eddie sliced his ball into the woods. I went over to help him find it, a Titleist 2. At the very moment I spotted his ball under a dead branch, 10 yards in the rough, Eddie announced his ball must have ricocheted off a tree, and there it was in the middle of the fairway.
On that day, I learned a lesson that has served me well for the rest of my life.
When someone attempts to deceive me over some trivial matter, I stick the ball in my pocket and shut up.