Bob rules the Brattleboro C.C. Invitational:

Meet Bob. Bob is from Wyoming. Bob loves golf. Bob loves stories. Bob loves laughing and Bob loves Jack Daniels. I need to beat Bob to keep our team in the hunt for the 3rd flight of the Brattleboro Country Club Invitational Golf Tournament.

I could go into detail on how my team performed against Bob (we won). I could, but then we would not talk about Bob.

The BCC Invitational just five years ago fielded 14 teams. It was a local affair, comprised mostly of members and a handful of guests, looking for a weekend set of matches. This year, the Invitational comprised of 41 teams and took on more of a regional weekend festival feel. The drinks were heavy, the laughs were often and the occasional errant golf club pierced the air.

The cost, $550 per team. That’s $225 a head. What you get; 3 tournament rounds, 1 practice round, cart, $60 gift card to the Bella Notte restaurant, other cool trinkets and Bob.

I could recount to you each shot I hit in all of my six 9-hole matches. I will certainly be reliving those moments, but that’s for me time.

Instead, I choose to talk about Bob.

Bob, a born and raised western mountain man who ran a construction company and has a pilot daughter who above all else, loves to fly fish, enjoyed making fun of himself. Some of his jokes were crude, some were goofy and all of them were well received.

I cared about the quality of shots I hit when I played against Bob, but not nearly as much as normal. Why? Because Bob didn’t. He would top a drive, chuckle, make fun of his appendages, and then try again.

It was enlightening.

I cannot swear to you that I will change my golfing ways in honor of Bob. However, remembering Bob as the beacon of the 2025 Brattleboro Invitational experience, reassures me that there does exist joy within the confines of golf. But only if you choose to let Bob occupy space within your golfing heart.