Rockville, Md.: Mr Von Drehle:
I enjoyed you article very much. I am considering taking a series of lessons from a local pro to fix old ingrained bad habits and to pick up new ones that were never instilled in me since I've never taken formal lessons. Can you tell me how you selected the golf school that you did (there are so many out there)? Also, do you think that one can gain an equivalent amount knowledge/skills improvement by taking lessons (how many?) with one of the area PGA teaching pros? Do you see any advantages in golf schools over personal instruction? Thanks for any light you can shed on this matter.

David Von Drehle: Glad you liked it.

I chose PGA National for a number of reasons. I was going to school in February, so that dictated someplace warm. And I wanted someplace sort of "moderate" in price -- I never thought I would be calling $350 a day "moderate," but compared to most of the really famous schools, it is. Anyway, I think you can get a lot out of any reputable golf school. The reality is, simply learning the basics -- grip, swing plane, stance and how to line up a putt -- can cut a bunch of strokes off your game.

That is, if you are ready to practice what you learn.

As for lessons with a club pro -- sure, these can be just as good. But pick someone you like and stick with him or her. Don't bounce from person to person.

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Orland Park, Ill.: Oh my God, you nailed it! I just watched "The Perfect Storm" on cable last night, and now I have just read THE perfect golf treatise. Trying to explain the passion for this game (which I took up eight years ago at age 42) to non-golfers (my wife, for example) has been, well, fruitless. I could put "War and Peace" in a cogent one paragragh synopsis easier than I could explain to her our lower family room's etched ceiling and dimple cratered walls. She keeps the doors to the family room constantly closed and refuses to acknowledge to guests that the room actually exists. Your marveleous, Pulitzer prize worthy article captures in 13 printed pages (soon to be laminated printed pages taking their rightful place on my library shelves next to Tolstoy's trite effort ) the last 8 years of my life. Now that you have given the "outside" world a glimpse into our little club, I can only forsee your next effort in this area as trying to explain the pentultimate golf question. Why?

David Von Drehle: Wow. Thanks for the good words. I wish I could get my kids' toys out of the rec room and replace it with a decent indoor practice range!

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Washington, D.C.: David, great article. I laughed and/or nodded knowingly several times. I just wanted to note that, as a black man who has been golfing since 1992, there has unquestionably been an upsurge in minority participation in the sport. I am never the only brotha at a course anymore. I know thats not what your article is really about, but that note about how 'white' your class bothered me a bit, and I just hope non-golfers who read it understand that its not the case most places.

David Von Drehle: This is a terrific point, and so true. I hope I didn't scare anyone off.

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Harrisburg, Pa.: Loved your article. The late Ian McHarg told one of my favorite golf stories of all time. He helped design a golf course near a tourist attraction where children fed alligators marshmellows while tourists took their pictures. The lesson Ian McHarg learned is: Prepare for the unexpected. On the first day the golf course opened, they discovered a problem they had never even considered: Alligators can't tell the difference between marshmallows and golf balls. So, you're right, there are all kinds of lessons to be learned at the golf course.

David Von Drehle: Ha!

Great story.

I lived in Florida for a few years in the '80s, and I vividly recall the time I shanked one into the reeds next to a water hazard. "Ah!" I thought. "It's right there next to that log!" I was about four inches short of stomping on the "log" when I realized it was a gator!

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Alexandria, Va.: Hi David-

Loved the article, every word of it, and it was perfect tonic following an absolutely disastrous 9 at a muni on Sunday a.m. I ranted and raved to my playing partner about giving up the game for a year so that I could start anew, and that maybe I should just give it up altogether. And then it occurred to me after thinking about my tirade and then reading your article that there should be a new rule in life: Never listen to anything a man has to say five minutes after a round of golf or having sex because no matter how good or bad the experience was, the reaction is not based in reality on any level. Thanks for great piece, and now I am off to the range...

David Von Drehle: A GREAT rule. Imagine the money we would save if we adhered to both!

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Vienna, Va.: As an upper quartile duffer who learned this year how to hit the ball farther than I can throw the club, found your story seriously instructive and very entertaining. Until the real thing comes along, consider it your hole-in-one!

David Von Drehle: Hey, thanks.

You know, if you have enough room to get a sidearm sling soing, you can whip a 4-iron at least 65 or 70 yards. So learning to hit 'em farther than that is nothing to sneeze at.

I speak from LOTS of experience in the club-slinging department.

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Washington, D.C.: David:

Can't be around for your online today, but wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed reading your article -- and I'm not even a golfer! I do wonder, though, if were you sitting in church yesterday listening to me preach and thinking, "Here's a man who is just a few details short of being a darn good preacher."

Jim Somerville, Pastor
First Baptist Church
Washington, D.C.

David Von Drehle: This is great -- I got credit for golf and church on the same Sunday morning.

If anyone out there wants to hear a good sermon, visit this man's church, 16th and O Street NW, 11 a.m. on the usual day.

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Washington, D.C.: David, when did you take up golf and when did you know it was a passion?

David Von Drehle: I started when I was ten, I think. Even before that, the high point of each summer was our once-a-year trip to the Putt-Putt (TM) course on East Colfax in Aurora, Colorado, and the frosty mug of root beer afterward at A & W.

The only problem with golf that I can see -- for a kid -- is how much it costs! If I could have gotten some lessons and been able to afford more range balls, I could play much better.

The only problem for a grown-up is how long it takes.

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Passion for the game....: For me, it's because when I hit a 230 yard fairway wood, or anything for that matter, to within 6 inches of the pin, I know for that moment I caught lightening in a bottle and I was, for the splittest of seconds, Tiger Woods equal. That's true of no other sport. Football, baseball, basketball, hockey...none of 'em.

Bowling doesn't count.

David Von Drehle: This is exactly right. It is the only game in which a hacker can match a champion, if only for one play.

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Arlington, Va.: Any thoughts of making a move to the sports desk?

David Von Drehle: I started out in sports years ago, with a promising young writer named Rick Reilly. I wonder what ever became of him ...

And I'm hoping someday I will get to go back.

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Alexandria, Va.: I really enjoyed reading your article and had only wished that it was longer. Have you written any books on the subject? If so, I would like to purchase one. If not, please make sure you do.

David Von Drehle: Thanks for the encouragement. I have a book coming out in September on a subject about as far removed from golf as you can imagine -- the Triangle Waist Co. Fire of 1911. Since it's done, my agent is on my back to propose my next book. Maybe you've nailed it!

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Silver Spring, Md.: Great story. Last fall I took a half-dozen lessons and have played about 27 holes of golf. I didn't have a bad experience with the teacher, but nor was it an Annie Sullivan/Helen Keller moment. I think I was a great disappointment to him. I thought your comparison to learning to swim was interesting. Another analogy is skiing: Ski resorts have figured out how to make skiing fun for the rankest beginner, something the golfing world hasn't done.

David Von Drehle: Thanks -- and I love the Annie Sullivan/Helen Keller line.

My man Charlie King is extremely intense on this point--that much of what passes for golf instruction is downright crummy. When he set his sights on winning The Masters, he went in search of a great teacher and instead found one bad one after another. That's when he decided to become a teacher himself.

As far as I'm concerned, any teacher who is not leaving you feeling inspired and excited is not worth the money you are spending. Every golfer -- from duffer to champ -- starts out with awkward swings and stubby little shots. The key is to get you to a point where you can enjoy the game. It really is something that people can continue to do for an entire life -- so hang in there and keep looking for a better teacher.

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Washington, D.C.: So what are the lessons from golf that you've applied to your life in general?

David Von Drehle: Wow.

Patience. Humility.

And here's a good one: Bearing down doesn't always make things better. Often, it makes things much worse.

And nothing worth having comes easy.

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Reston, Va.: No question just my compliments on an outstanding article.
Don MacDougall

David Von Drehle: Thank you, sir. Thanks for reading -- I know it takes a lot of time.

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Burke, Va.: Some years ago, while watching the Golf channel, a pro instructor was discussing his golf school. This school was in Florida. What has stuck with me was his method of teaching beginners the proper golf swing. This was not the traditional swing. He contended that the human body is not constructed to allow perform the traditional swing, and often leads to back and hip problems. He claimed to teach a method that was much more natural, while still maintaining, if not improving, accuracy. There were several places in your article that reminded me of that (looking down, don't think of hitting the ball, and others).

Did your instructors ever mention an alternate to the long taught "proper" swing?
P.S. I truly enjoyed your article. Regards.

David Von Drehle: I didn't hear anything about this at the Academy of Golf -- they taught us a pretty conventional grip and swing. But I HAVE heard it said that the real key to a decent golf game is not so much how you swing as whether you can repeat the same swing over and over with absolute precision. In other words, where most of us get into trouble is by swinging a little bit different every time.

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Silver Spring, Md.: So tell me about your nasty slice...

David Von Drehle: Back in my big-driving days I sometimes sliced it not into the adjacent fairway, but TWO fairways over. I had more lateral distance than forward distance.I could hit the ball 250 yards and wind up farther from the hole that when I started.

Nasty enough for you?

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David Von Drehle: Thanks for the questions and the comments and the tall tales. See you back at the clubhouse!

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Germantown, Md.: Dear David: Your article "The Game of Life" was outstanding. As an avid golfer, 18 handicap, age 78, I've been there/done that!

My one hole-in-one at Raccoon Creek in Denver was exactly as you dream about!

I recently wrote a mystery novel:"Murder At Raccoon Creek," a fictitious story about my work at the golf course for eight years. My daughters feel it is good enough to be published. I would greatly appreciate hearing from you... even meeting with you re: this matter. Many thanks!
Bud Wollin

David Von Drehle: Here's one more -- gotta put it up here because the man has an ace in his bag. Congratulations!

If you want to send me a first chapter I will take a look. The Post address is on our website.

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Baltimore, Md.: I hope it's all not as bleak for us high handicappers as you make out. My dad started me young but, alas, I did not devote myself seriously to the game until many years later. I'm hoping that even those aborted formative years coupled with some good instruction and hard range work will allow me to get where I want to be. So much of it is mental once you step on to the course, however. Do the golf schools devote any time to the psychology of the game, e.g., taking it one shot at a time, leaving swing thoughts on the range and just trusting it after you tee
it up. To me lately that seems half the battle.

David Von Drehle: Here's another good one ...

The game between the ears is AT LEAST half of it, I think. And yes, the school I attended had a terrific session on sports psychology.

If you get good instruction and put in the time on the range, you WILL get better. The problem for most of us is that we don't put in the practice hours.

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