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Despair is real and on the rise. With the current U.S. unemployment rate at 14.7 percent, the worst numbers since the height of the Great Depression, with some businesses across the country closing for good, contacts to crisis hotlines are up more than 1,000 percent. Online therapy company TalkSpace has seen a 65 percent jump in clients since February. Domestic violence reports have skyrocketed in many areas and projections from the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute estimate that an additional 4,000 people could die from suicide and 4,800 from drug overdose in the coming months.
In that context, golf is a ripple on a roiling sea.
There are bigger problems than having nowhere to tee it up. In fact, even talking about a game seems out of touch. But as a friend once reminded me, if you stub your toe on the bedpost at a Ritz Carlton, it still hurts. Looking at those who have larger problems might put your circumstance into perspective, but it rarely eliminates the pain.
As the father of a college freshman player who anticipated a full summer of amateur golf, I see the sadness and loss of vigor. ... Who knows what will be played?
The news from the USGA last week – canceling the boys’ and girls’ juniors, as well as the elimination of qualifying for the men’s and women’s opens and amateurs for the first time in history, effectively turning all remaining U.S. championships into invitationals – casts another pall over what already has been a depressing spring for many young, competitive players.
As the father of a college freshman player who anticipated a full summer of amateur golf, I see the sadness and loss of vigor. The British Women’s Amateur, the Canadian Women’s Amateur, our state amateur: Who knows what will be played?
As the coach of a high school golf team, I also get the texts: “Today would have been State,” followed by an avalanche of crying emojis. Having won three consecutive state titles, our team was invited to a national championship at Pinehurst Resort this summer, which sparked a moment of excitement. Then, with every schedule in America in flux, the date got moved back to the first week of the new school year. Another gut-punch.
Yes, it’s a small thing. A generation of young athletes put their lives on hold during World War II. Many fought. Some never returned. This isn’t that. But perspective doesn’t alleviate pain. And scars, no matter how you get them, last a lifetime.
Steve Eubanks