Some guys just get so serious about the game of golf that they end up wasting away a great afternoon in the outdoors.
It’s known as one of those “a good walk spoiled” moments.
Such was not the case May 28, when laughter and an ultra-fast golf swing got the better of me at the 2008 edition of the Mikey’s Tournament for Autism, held at the Brooklea Golf and Country Club.
Over the course of the past five years, this event has become one of my two or three ‘must play’ events on the golfing calendar. Mostly due to the incredible energy given off by a delightful young boy named Mikey Loiskandl.
For more reasons than I care to list, I’ve developed a fondness for Mikey and his family.
Mikey is a nine-year-old boy who simply wants to show the world what he’s capable of.
Unfortunately, autism has only let us see a part of what he can do, but he’s fighting like the dickens to show us more. With therapy, even non-medical individuals like myself have noticed the progress he has made in improving his communication skills.
On May 28, it was my pleasure to play with Mikey’s dad, Dr. Rainer Loiskandl, and his longtime friend Ted Collins and Ted’s brother-in-law Dave Silva.
Rainer readily admits he isn’t the smoothest of golfers, but his second shot on the par four, 18th hole left my jaw dropping.
A 170-yard shot to within nine feet of the cup, followed by a well-struck birdie putt. Game on!
That ignited a daylong series of enthusiastic high-fives that left a trail of laughter all over the course.
Any fans of the 1980s pop band, Culture Club (remember Boy George) would have delighted in Ted’s rendition of Karma Chameleon, which he belted out with enthusiasm.
I know I heard it so much I’ll be humming it in my sleep for weeks to come.
And from there, the one-liners and chuckling continued.
On our final hole of the day, Dave offered Ted a considerable liquid reward if he sank the 40-foot putt in front of him.
Dave will be visiting one of the government-operated establishments sometime soon because the ball hit the middle of the hole with precision.
Michael Jackson would have applauded the moonwalk Ted performed moments later.
Fortunately for the greenskeeper, Ted was wearing tennis shoes and not spiked golf shoes.
Later, as I was waiting in line for dinner and the sun began to set over Georgian Bay, I glanced over at one of the tables.
There was Barb and Mikey Loiskandl having one of those conversations only mother and son can have. Actually, Barb was listening and Mikey was jabbering a mile a minute.
Still it was a great reminder as to the true reason why we all assembled that day.
You can never go wrong when you reach out your hand to help children.
