In the summer of 1997, Amy (my wife) and I were able to visit my grandparents, Hope and Jim Kobak in St. Croix. They lived on the Carambola Resort, right on the golf course at that time.
My grandfather was an avid golfer. Now, while working in New York, he always wore bermuda shorts, even in winter, and became known as “the guy who always wore shorts.” In St. Croix, as you can imagine, it is hard to get notoriety for wearing shorts all the time. So, he started playing golf barefoot. Soon he was renowned as the “the guy who golfs barefoot.”
Amy and I had played some golf, but I wouldn’t describe us as avid golfers. We got the opportunity to play a round of golf at the resort with my grandmother, Hope, aka Grumpsie. I don’t know how devoted to golf Grumpsie was. She definitely hit the ball straight, but not far, and it usually rolled along the fairway. However, This strategy was infinitely better than my style of “hit it as hard as you can and have it slice in a totally different direction than you intended.”
We were having a fun round, when dark clouds started to amass. This was not uncommon for early afternoon in the tropics. We kept playing, but by the 8th hole, a massive thunderstorm ripped through the sky. It was time to abort our golf mission!
Amy and I hopped into our cart, and tried to keep up with Grumpsie in hers. By now, sheets of rain were pelting us accompanied by raging lightning and thunder. We were streaming towards the safety of the clubhouse when Grumpsie’s cart slid sideways on the wet grass. She was driving on the edge of an embankment and the cart started to tumble down into the gully below.
Now, Grumpsie was 76 years old at the time, and I don’t think she was ever known for her athletic prowess. Yet what happened may be the most impressive athletic feat I have ever seen. As the cart started its slide down the steep hill, Grumpsie dove out of it and like a cat, landed on her feet. As the deluge continued, the cart tumbled into the abyss. Grumpsie, without missing a beat, leapt into our cart, pointed forward and exclaimed “GO!!!”
When we returned to the clubhouse, the attendant collected our bags and graciously gave us a rain check. Grumpsie gave him a sizable tip and said, “Oh, by the way, we left our other cart out there on the course, you may want to send someone to get it.”
Kobak 