“I had never even heard of corn dogs filled with grilled shrimp. I didn’t know that was a thing.”-Benj
I started the golf journey six years and two months ago. As I have mentioned time and time again previously, I had no idea what I was doing because I had no idea what was even possible. I figured there would be massive tradeoffs involved, but I really had no idea. It wasn’t something I had ever done before.
Soon enough, my suspicions were deemed one hundred percent accurate. There WOULD be massive tradeoffs, and there have been for the entirety of the six years and two months.
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On the very first page of the brochure to become a golf professional, the message is crystal clear: it’s going to be tons of fun and super rewarding, but it ain’t easy. If you want to be a really good one, it really ain’t gonna be easy.
They weren’t joking. As such, there were going to be tradeoffs all over my life. If I wanted to practice, I wouldn’t be with my family. If I wanted to learn the trade, I wouldn’t be practicing. If I wanted to do my formal PGA work, I wouldn’t be doing anything else. If I wanted to learn how to teach and coach, I wouldn’t be playing. If I wanted to play, I wouldn’t be making any money. If I wanted to be with my family, I wouldn’t be practicing, and so on. This doesn’t even take in to consideration any of my other interests. Travel, writing, photography, sports card collecting…if I’m doing one of those, I’m not doing something else.
My mentor told me early on that I’d have to figure it out, and boy, he was not joking either. Realistically, I would say it took me two to three years (and a brain break) to put the puzzle pieces together, but eventually that’s what I do. I figure it out. So last Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday I had a wonderful opportunity, an opportunity to eliminate as many tradeoffs as possible for three beautiful days.
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Travel. Playing golf. Family. New place. Great food. New experience. Sports cards. Competition. Sunshine. How many of my favorite things could I have in one place without having to trade one off for another?
We left as an entire family late morning last Sunday, headed towards Baton Rouge with a pit stop at The Superdome in New Orleans. There just happened to be a large sports card convention going on, and I had never been to one of those. After dropping the girls off at their favorite place aka Target, we jumped in to the world of cards, eager to see what gems might surface in New Orleans. I could barely keep track of my son he was so excited. I looked left, and he was talking to vendors. I looked right, and he was buying Jayson Tatums. I looked backwards, and he was thigh deep in Pokémon. I looked forwards and found a couple of beautiful cards for myself.
Once everyone was smitten with their experience, we headed towards Baton Rouge and the highly recommended restaurant called Ruffino’s. Christy was nervous to take the kids as it put the fine in fine dining. But after about twenty minutes when the waitress said the kids could go over to the wood oven and literally make their own pizzas, we settled in quite nicely. The food and wine were A++, and the icing on the cake was the cotton candy they served for dessert. How unique! I asked the waitress about it, and she said the owner wanted customers to come there and celebrate life.
For the morning and early afternoon of Monday and Tuesday, I was scheduled to play golf at CCofLA, the premier golf club in Louisiana. The course was beautiful, the club was beautiful, and the weather was absolutely perfect. I got to see many of my colleagues across the section and meet a few I had never met. I struggle with hard golf courses I’ve never played before, and that was indeed the case on day 1. I played much better on day 2, but nonetheless had a wonderful time. As much as I want to do well in these tournaments, if I’m outside in nature doing what I love to do, I’m good to go.
The conundrum that second evening was twofold: where to eat and does anyone have any interest going to LSU’s do or die baseball game just down the street? Our hotel had an awesome lobby, so that answer became watch the game on television, let the kids swim, and DoorDash something awesome.
I had never even heard of corn dogs filled with grilled shrimp. I didn’t know that was a thing. Instead of a hot dog inside, it was filled with shrimp. Instead of dipping it in ketchup, you dipped it in spicy mustard. It was off the charts! Add in boudin queso, pork rinds, and crab and brie with tomato basil, this young (old) man was completely smitten.
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The only thing that I traded off during these three days was that I still haven’t played well enough to make any money. But honestly, that’s not an expectation of mine. If it ever happens, great. I’ll probably just go buy some more cool sports cards. If not, I’ll just continue to celebrate doing something that I love out in nature.
I’ll also forevermore celebrate shrimp dogs. What a surprise, and what a treat.
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Have a great week.-Benj
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