Every club has a guy like this right?

My most valuable golfing lesson was playing with Bill Reid, the local club champion. I had never seen him play, all I knew was he played off a 5 and his name was on almost every trophy and plaque in the clubhouse.

Bill was in his late 50's and was an imposing looking guy, around 6ft 4, with a huge beer belly and the hands of a giant. He turned up every Saturday in a pair of baggy brown pants with his pockets jangling full of coins. He wore the same white club polo un tucked with his belt end hanging down. He never wore a hat and his jet black hair always seemed to be in his eyes. He carried a weathered black golf bag with a white towel draped over it. In his bag he carried a wooden Ping 3 wood with green electrical tape wrapped around the feral, an old set of blades with Bob Charles engraved on them and a putter that looked like he had spent way too many nights in the back shed tinkering with it.

I had never ever seen Bill practice, normally before the round most of the guys would at least pitch a few balls on the practice fairway or hit woods into the practice net. Instead Bill would take his regular position on the corner of the practice green and hit 3 footers with his hand made putter.

I remember walking down the first fairway after we had all teed off, wondering how on earth this guy was the club champion. Bill had pulled out his 3 wood and violently sliced a low ball 190 yards off the heal down the fairway. And that was that, shot after shot, exactly the same with no practice swings, like he was chopping down a tree. For the rest of the round all I heard were the coins jangling around in his pocket with every sway, reverse pivot and early extension. Every few holes he would hold a pocket radio up to his ear while he strolled down the fairway checking his harness racing betting slips.

18 holes later I signed Bills card for a 73.