Who Stole My Golf Clubs?

When I was 14 my whole life was playing golf.  Every morning either my parents or the assistant pro Ron Blevins at Sim Park Golf Course would take me to the golf course.  In the evening either my parents or Ron would take me home and we would do this all over again the next day.  My desire for playing golf and getting better was insatiable.  I had finally been able to get a complete set of golf clubs and had recently purchased a set of woods.  I was very proud of my set of clubs.  Each day I would go out and play golf or hit balls or practice chipping and putting.  Every time I came into the clubhouse, I would leave my clubs in the same place.  There was a rack just outside the building and most of the golfers would leave their clubs or carts right there.  On that particular day I dropped my clubs on the rack and went into the club house to have a sandwich.  My plan was to go back out and play another round of golf after the break.  When I went back out to get my clubs they were gone.  Someone had stolen my golf clubs.  I was never able to find them.  It was a huge loss.  I was physically sick to my stomach.  What a horrible feeling.  I never actually thought that someone would take my clubs but it happened.  I was devastated and that evening when I went home, I didn’t really know what to do.  My parents didn’t have the money to buy me another set.  Just getting the set I had was almost monumental.  I did go back to the golf course the next day.  Not sure why… I guess I didn’t really have anything else to do.  One of the guys who worked in the pro shop had apparently started a fund to replace my golf clubs…I did not know he was doing this.  It turned out that all of the guys in the men’s club and the regulars who played golf and cards at Sim Park had all contributed and they presented me with a replacement set of golf clubs and a golf bag.  I was speechless.  I didn’t know what to say.  It was an incredible gesture and totally unexpected.  I cannot remember anything that ever meant as much to me as what those guys did for me that day.  I promised all of them that I would watch my clubs like a hawk from that day forward and that I wouldn’t let anything like that happen again.  They kept tabs on me as I played golf in high school and at Wichita State.  I honestly credit those guys for my future golf success that really led to me getting a college degree.  Thank you, Sim Park Men’s Club, for your kindness and thoughtfulness