Headlines from news source:
“Phil Mickelson falls out of World Golf Rankings top 100 for first time in 28
years”.
The golf great Mickelson is a
PGA five-time major champion winner and a member of the World Golf Hall of
Fame.
I created this painting a number
of years ago for a client.
About the Phil Mickelson PGA
Champion Art
Why did I create a piece of
art showing Phil Mickelson, that great PGA champion. First, he is left handed – and so am I. Second, well, as Phil is one of the great
golfers of all time it seemed appropriate that I paint him. He is bigger than life. The golf painting is 4 ft. x 8 ft, acrylic on
unstretched canvas.
My Fleeting Experience with
Golf
When I got out of the Navy I
got a job at a golf driving range picking up golf balls. The fun part of the job was watching a golf
hustler, who hung out at the driving range, hustling customers with his trick
shots. He was about 5 feet 4 inches
tall, and had to be over two hundred pounds.
He wore crazy colored golf shorts and was as hairy as a fat, brown
bear. I found a mentor.
I saw him outdrive people
with a shovel and a rake. I saw him make
a bet with a guy that he could stand on one picnic bench, tee up a golf ball on
another picnic bench (he put the tee between the crack between the two strip of
wood on the bench) and with his favorite garden rake, drive the ball off the
bench over 175 yards and hit the target out on the range. I saw him stand on one side of the golf shack
and with a garden hoe, pitch the ball blindly over the shack and come within
ten feet of the 75 yard target. I saw him pocket a lot of money. The owner said when he came around, chase him
off. But the owner was seldom there and
I was mentored and entertained. Also, as
the saying goes, "don't poke the bear."
The golf range land was
leased from the Federal Government and after about a year of working there the
government cancelled the range owner's lease,
(something to do with not paying his rent) took back the land and
eventually built a whole Federal Government Complex in Westwood - the Wilshire Federal Building. And there went my interest and success in a
golfing career.
