I had the pleasure of knowing Tom for the last 5 years from the High Bridge Hills Golf Association. I help run some of the tournaments, and got to know Tom from his unique humor and his ability to be a pain in the ass. Of course, when I told him that, he would always laugh at me and say something like, “Well, that’s what I’m here for!”
One of my fondest memories is playing the Buick Scramble in 2004 with Tom. Getting off to a rough start, our team was down early. Tom putted like a madman that day, usually going first and either sinking it or giving us a good line. We rallied strong to finish in a 3 way tie for first. On the one hole playoff, Tom is on the green waiting for the other team to putt out. Over my shoulder, I hear, “Mike, I gotta go to the bathroom”. “Can’t you hold it?” I said. “I really don’t think so,” Tom replied and took off with the cart (and my clubs). Since all the teams tied, we were going to play the next hole as a playoff, but ended up having a “chip-off” since we had to go gather Tom from the clubhouse. Since the short game was our best strength, we ended up winning that day, thanks to a strong team effort, Tom’s good putting, and most importantly, his impatient bladder!
When he was sick, he could be a pretty slow player, but he was never mean, never down on himself or others. Although I don’t think I understood it at the time, I have come to admire his drive to get out and play golf with us instead of sitting around in a hospital. I would like to think that he went out on his own terms, and that is something to be proud of.
I will miss sitting under the tent with him after tournaments and after the Friday Night Scramble. He always had a good story, always had the cards out, and was always able to get me in some kind of sucker bet. He will be missed.
