JEFFERSON — Golf is a very unique sport. It has the ability to bring together people from various ages and skill levels together all trying to defeat the same opponent – the course.

Such was the case on Tuesday afternoon when myself, Don McCormack, Bob Ettinger and Connor Cleveland descended on Hickory Grove Golf Course for 18 holes.

What ensued was approximately five hours of endless entertainment, mostly at the expense of those hitting poor shots, of which there were many.

This is probably the one arena of sports where I can confidently say I am better than Cleveland, the 2011 Star Beacon Ashtabula County Football Player of the Year. As it turns out, McCormack can share in that as well.

But, that is what makes golf special, Cleveland, McCormack, Ettinger and I weren’t truly playing each other, we were playing the course.

And we all lost.

But, for the record, I actually beat all three of them.

The official scorecard read – Peluso 83, McCormack 101, Cleveland 111, Ettinger 128.

Needles to say, we all have a little bit of work to do before turning to careers in golf.

McCormack, clad in a blue tie-dye shirt which I determined he stole from Jeff Bridges after Bridges completed filming “The Big Lebowski,” probably summed up the round best before stepping up to an approach shot, “Maybe I should just aim for the tree so I don’t hit it.”

Believe it or not, that approach actually worked.

But while that one tree may have been spared, it was one of the few that was. Cleveland and Ettinger each hit several shots that not only hit trees, but preceded to either bounce back farther from where they originally started or parallel.

Ironically, McCormack shots smacked into four trees and four times kicked out into the middle of the fairway. Golf’s a funny game.

On the par-5 15th hole, Cleveland, perhaps in an attempt to get back at me for an endless amount of taunting about his game or lack thereof, nearly took out McCormack and I when he fired a shot that collided with a tree and landed about two feet from where we were standing.

After Hickory Grove had thoroughly defeated us for 17 holes, there were two final moments that will stick out when I think back, or try to forget, this round.

With his ball straddling the pond located down the right side of the fairway, Cleveland deemed it necessary to try and play the ball from the water rather than take the one-stroke penalty for a drop, after all he was battling to stay under 110 so every stroke mattered.

After a big swing and miss, Cleveland fired away again and advanced the ball, this came at the expense of his wardrobe as he was covered in mud. Jean van de Velde, who epically collapsed at the 1999 British Open, would’ve been proud, Connor.

Finally, after everyone else had holed out and completed their rounds, McCormack struck a six-footer that would’ve saved bogey. It came up about six inches short. “Short. The story of my life,” the vertically-challenged sports editor said to the ball.

Moments are what make golf one of the greatest amateur sports to play.

Most will never be able to dunk a basketball like LeBron James, throw a football like Tom Brady or hit a 500-foot home run like Barry Bonds.

But, occasionally on the golf course, when some of the worst players, will hit a putt like Tiger Woods or strike a golf ball like Bubba Watson, the 2012 Master’s champion.

One of Watson’s favorite things to say on his Twitter account is #golfishard. Which is true. That was proven on Tuesday in Jefferson.

Professionals even have some of the struggles that the common amateur have.

Golf is a sport for everyone and one of the reasons Hickory Grove has the success that it has is because they welcome everyone.

“I think we have a diverse amount of players here,” Hickory Grove co-owner Greg DelPrince said. “We make everyone feel welcome whether it’s scratch golfer or a high handicapper. We have open scrambles anyone can play. So I think we do a good job of making everyone feel welcome to come here and play.”

Courses like Hickory Grove are important parts of the golfing culture in the country.

DelPrince said his course, of which he’s been a part of for 29 years, offers a little bit to everybody.

“The course is pretty flat so if you’re here for exercise it’s a good course to walk,” he said. “We have elevated greens with a lot of undulations that can appeal to some players, as well.”

The greens at Hickory Grove, which were in impressively good shape given the recent drought-like conditions in Northeast Ohio, are plenty large and do offer lots of big, breaking putts. The multitude of putts our foursome collected are a testament to that. That, or our collective lack of ability to make putts.

DelPrince credited his head groundskeeper, Larry Carlson, for keeping the course in such great condition this season.

It was well-kept, Larry. We would know. We saw virtually every inch of it after spraying a collective 423 shots across it.

Peluso is a sports writer for the Star Beacon. Reach him at vpeluso@starbeacon.com.

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