Earlier this month, a friend of mine referred me to an article by Gary D’Amato, golf writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
It didn’t connect at first, but Dr. John Pesch, Jr. of Brownsville, Wisconsin, is a guy I remember hearing about from my brother’s father-in-law, who is one of his good friends. He was also my sister-in-law’s dentist growing up. That being said, Karen (my sister-in-law/brother’s wife) turns out to know two of the state’s biggest golf addicts. That also being said, I am obviously not the biggest.
I was wondering for a while if my 23-month streak of playing golf in Wisconsin was nearing some sort of a record. It’s not… Not even close, in fact. Dr. Pesch’s current streak is at 144 months and counting – that’s 12 years without missing a month!
144 consecutive months makes my streak seem quite paltry, and also made me think about it. I have made that streak a priority, but I am not very interested in playing on a course covered in snow, which makes me come to the realization that if my 23-month streak ends this month, so be it. Of course, if a 55-degree sunny day comes about in the next 11 days and there is an open, dry course around, you can bet I’m on it.
If that’s the case, all bets are off as I’m sure March will be playable, as well as the rest of the season until at least November. Close to three years would be a heck of a feat, so I’m sure I’d reconsider my ambitions then.
I haven’t met John, but I’d like to. “He’s a little crazy,” Karen told me, and her dad’s stories indicate the same. Wanting to golf a lot is a good kind of crazy to a guy like me, though, so I’m hoping to reach out to him to play with me during my first round at Camelot sometime this season.
“Tell John I’m coming after his streak,” I initially told Karen. That would take ten more years of unrealistic Wisconsin winter weather, and probably drastic global warming. Would it be worth it? I’ll have to ask John if and when I have the opportunity to play with him.
This HAS to be some kind of a record, by the way. Just nuts.
Yeah, that's pretty crazy isn't it? I guess Camelot keeps their clubhouse open all year and doesn't remove the flags, so once a month he makes sure to get out and play, regardless of the weather, snow, etc.
My eyes already went wide when I read that you have a 23-month golfing streak, but after seeing the number 144, I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. Wisconsin weather seems to be perfect for golf that there would be a course open even during winter months.