SUMMER
PLEASURES

GOLF'S MAGICAL
MOMENTS

offers like to tell stories. Some of the
greatest golfers seem to remember
what happened at each hole on
every golf course they've ever
played. Asking them, "How was your golf
game?" means getting a blow-by-blow de-
scription of each shot of their round.
But whatever their handicap, every golfer
has a favorite story or two about the day they
chipped in for an eagle, whiffed four times in
a row or aced a par-three toughie. Here are
some of the more memorable tales from metro
Detroit's "swing set."
Leslie Sternberg of Bloomfield Hills
took up golf in the late 1980s and still
considers herself a novice. For her first
year, she took lessons on a somewhat
regular basis and never stepped on a golf
course. The golf professional with whom
she worked suggested that she stay away
from actually playing until she was better
able to perform the fundamentals.
"We have a place Up North and we had
recently joined Boyne. Country Club, so we
had access to those beautiful courses around
the Bay," says Sternberg.
"I had found a wonderful golf teaching pro-
fessional Up North and was working with him
during the summers and making progress. I was
anxious to play and -told my husband, Mervyn,
that I wanted to get on the course.
"So we made arrangements with another
couple. Happily, I hit my very first drive
about 100 yards. We walked down the
fairway and it was my turn to hit
the ball. So I teed it up. The oth-
er couple didn't say a word but
Mervyn was doubled over in
laughter.
"I didn't know you couldn't use a tee
through to the green because I had never
been on a real course," continues Sternberg.
"So for the rest of the 18 holes I hit my ball
off the ground and had the most frustrating,
wonderful time with my husband and friends."
When Barry Auster, MD of Farmington Hills,
was doing an internship in 1974 he was talking
about golf with some of the staff on a hospital ward

THE DETRO IT JEWISH NEWS

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MAGICAL MOMENTS page 20

RuthanBrodsky is an avid golfer with a single-digit

Personal tales become

legend for many

metro-area links lovers.

RUTHAN BRODSKY

SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

Ti HOWARD RAISER