Kicking the bucket

Seth Jones

It was this time last year when I was grabbing lunch with Tom Watson — the Friday before the Masters. Apparently, Mr. Watson didn’t need my witty lunch repartee in preparation for this year’s Masters, the last one he’ll play.

But that’s OK, I’m happy to report that even though I’m not dining with World Golf Hall of Famers this week, I’m still kicking the heck out of my bucket list.

I recently marked off three items: a trip to two states I hadn’t previously visited (Idaho and Montana), and higher up on the list, I went fly fishing in Montana.

Thanks to Lori Russell and the good folks at the Idaho GCSA, I was invited to speak at their spring meeting. Brian Horgan, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, and Bill Griffith of Walla Walla Community College were the other speakers. (I appreciate the Idaho chapter letting me dumb down their meeting a bit.)

Great meeting, fantastic people. I admit I bailed out before the golf event. That’s not something an editor of a golf magazine is supposed to do, but the drive from Boise to Billings — about 10 hours of windshield time — was beckoning. I wanted to get out on the road and see some of these two great states.

It’s a beautiful drive. Also of note, it’s an 80-mph speed limit on the interstate. But when I took a back road in Montana, a state trooper was kind enough to remind me that it’s not 80 mph everywhere. Specifically, it was 55 mph where I was driving 74. I said I was visiting on business, and when I handed over my Kansas driver’s license I said, “I’m a Jayhawk.”

Somehow that worked and he gave me a warning. Maybe he knew my Jayhawks were destined to get bounced in the Elite Eight. Or maybe he was just a nice sheriff. But feel free to try that excuse next time you’re speeding in Big Sky Country.

How’s this for luck: the EIFG’s online auction for the Golfdom Summit Golden Ticket had just ended on that Tuesday, and our winner, Dane Gamble, is a superintendent in Bozeman, Mont., which I was driving through on Wednesday.
Guess who I had the pleasure of having dinner with in Bozeman? It’s better to be lucky than good.

Back on the road, I got to Billings late Wednesday night. Clark Throssell, Ph.D., Golfdom’s research editor, was kind enough to put me up in his guest bedroom. We were all set to get out on the Big Horn River the next morning.

On the 45-minute drive from Billings to the river, Clark and I discussed the research section of the magazine. Hey, this was a business trip, after all. We came up with this million-dollar idea: While we enjoy the research section, it could be better… with your feedback. Our door is open for your suggestions. This is my plea to you to write in and tell us what you’d like to see more of and less of.

Back to the fly fishing. My intro to the whole experience was falling into the river as I got out of the boat. But I recovered and am happy to report I caught one solitary rainbow trout, avoiding the shutout. Clark and Stribs didn’t have a whole lot more luck than me. Stribs was impressed I caught one, given the way the fish were behaving.

By the end of the day I was beat up, exhausted and hungry. We found a little Chinese buffet near the highway. For $7 a plate it was all-you-can-eat General Tso’s chicken, broccoli beef and fried rice, with my friends Clark, Stribs and Randy.

There were no World Golf Hall of Famers at the dinner, but in terms of the bucket list, it was the perfect conclusion to a hall-of-fame day.