“One of the most fascinating things about golf is how it reflects the cycle of life. No matter what you shoot - the next day you have to go back to the first tee and begin all over again and make yourself into something.”- Peter Jacobsen
I've debated about writing this article for years. Would it be too sensitive or would it be viewed as a negative article? Could it be appreciated or would it be for nothing? I've finally decided to tell my story and how the lessons of life were brought to me by three simple things; a golf ball, a set of clubs, and a great man who I miss dearly.
Rewinding back to my 5th grade year when I entered my first junior golf tournament. I stood on the first tee box with two other kids; Brandon and Kyle - you'll hear a lot about them in this article. I took my practice swings and addressed the ball. This was it. I swung. And I missed. I did it several times that day on the way to a staggering score of 86....for 9 holes. By the time the tournament was over, I wanted nothing to do with golf anymore. The tournament director stopped me and told me "you've got a beautiful golf swing young man, don't give up, you'll get better!". I didn't believe him but he insisted that I go to the next tournament. "You can be paired with Brandon and Kyle again!". Reluctantly I told him I'd give it one more shot. "Great, see you next week. Come early and I can help you!". This was the first time I talked to Mel, (Melvin J Schremmer) who was the golf coach at Phillipsburg. I was from Plainville (a rival school 38 miles south).I had officially been added to "coach"'s summer golf team. And I was hooked.
Fast forward a week and the next tournament. My score didn't improve much, but as promised, Mel had paired me with Brandon and Kyle again. Both of them kept encouraging me and gave me tips on how to get better. The rest of the summer, Brandon, Kyle, and I were in the same group and Mel ("coach") always was there to help. I didn't know much about Mel at the time, but here was a guy who took a kid from a rival town and helped me, and I was getting better.
Flash forward now to my senior year of high school in 2005-2006. I am competing for Plainville High School and my own high school golf coach. As my high school team would go to meets, I would find myself paired up with, yup, Brandon and Kyle. Eight years solid and seven years of summer golf and here we were playing together still. The three of us were good friends and always looked forward to summer golf. We had become three of the better golfers in the west half of the state and represented the West team at the summer championship tournament. Our summer team was special. We didn't have practices or uniforms, we didn't travel as a team, or even play as a team, but each one of us was directed by Mel. "Coach" had always made sure to keep on Brandon, Kyle, and I and made sure we always played together. Summers were no different. By my senior year, I'd be at meets and at the conclusion, would find myself in the Phillipsburg group talking to "coach". I'd always get the same question from Mel, "did you play the fairways today?". Coach always wanted us to "play the fairways" because our scores "would be better if not playing from the woods". Every single tournament I'd get asked "did you play the fairways?", it was something I always looked forward to hearing from coach. Mel was a man who treated me like a son. I was always welcome to talk to him, he would take us to lunch at tournaments, and he always ALWAYS made sure to tell us how proud of us we was. Mel was the "coach" that my town didn't have until I was in high school.
Because of Mel, my golf game was pretty solid in high school and most of it was owed to coach, Brandon, and Kyle. By my senior year, Brandon and Kyle were two of my best friends and "coach" was almost like a summer parent to me. Then it all changed. We had just finished the championship tournament that summer of 2006 and Mel called Brandon, Kyle, and I together after the tournament. The little kids were gone and the course was emptying fast. "Guys I'm not sure how to even break this, but um, I've been diagnosed with cancer.". You could feel the air deflate out of all three of us. "Don't worry, if I play the fairways right, I can play this too" Mel stated with a smile. I never saw the man upset. Our summer tournaments ended and the school year drew towards a close. Brandon, Kyle, and I all three graduated and went our separate ways to college. I continued to play golf frequently while in college as I had time between work and school. Brandon and Kyle did their thing while I did mine.
April 28th, 2007 at 1:14am, I got the worst call I've ever gotten. I picked up the phone without looking at it and heard sobbing. "He's gone Garrett.....he's gone". I don't remember much about that night or the next few days. I was in a daze. I holed up in my dorm room. Those next few days were spent talking to Brandon and Kyle as we tried to come to grips that "coach" had died. It didn't seem real. They say for some, death comes easy and for some it doesn't. I struggled with it.....hard. This was a man who didn't have to teach me, who didn't have to encourage me, who didn't have to treat me like a member of his family, but did because he loved life and the game of golf just as much. The man who gave me my "life" in golf was now gone. Weeks passed. I still was in a partial blur trying to cope with knowing coach was gone. Facebook was at its brand new stage and I found myself scrolling through pictures of Brandon, Kyle, and I playing golf. For the first time in my life, I wanted nothing to do with golf. Without hesitation, I moved my golf clubs to the closet where they sat for almost a year. The first time I finally decided to get them out, I cried. I knew one of the ways I might get closure was to go to the only spot I was close with coach - the golf course. I bawled the entire way to the course. Memories came flooding back as I thought back to all the times coach had done something for me. I finally arrived at Lake Shawnee Golf Course in Topeka.
“One of the most fascinating things about golf is how it reflects the cycle of life. No matter what you shoot - the next day you have to go back to the first tee and begin all over again and make yourself into something.”- Peter Jacobsen
I played golf that day. I played golf that day with coach. Every single shot I told myself to "play the fairways". I expected the worst round out of me. Coming to the 18th green I stood over a three foot birdie putt. "Back of the cup and don't gorilla it" I told myself. Coach was always telling us three guys "don't gorilla your putts, you just end up making a bad stroke". I sent the ball on the way to the hole.....and it fell in. Birdie. To shoot an even par 72. Instead of a smile and happiness, I broke down in tears. It wasn't me shooting that great score, it was the work of coach, Brandon, and Kyle, and all the lessons I had gotten along the way. Driving home that day, I had re-booted my "golf life".
Brandon, Kyle, and I would play summer tournaments each year in Phillipsburg and Plainville. We were already three pretty good sticks, but before each round in Phillipsburg, we stopped to "talk" to coach and to share a drink with him. It charged us. We didn't just win tournaments, we DOMINATED them. But we never forgot where we started, through the lessons from coach. We never missed going and "talking" to coach. 
“One of the most fascinating things about golf is how it reflects the cycle of life. No matter what you shoot - the next day you have to go back to the first tee and begin all over again and make yourself into something.”- Peter Jacobsen
“One of the most fascinating things about golf is how it reflects the cycle of life. No matter what you shoot - the next day you have to go back to the first tee and begin all over again and make yourself into something.”- Peter Jacobsen
Fast forward to 2015. I've graduated college and moved on to new jobs. I'm not the Technology Director at Sedgwick High School, three hours south of Phillipsburg. Oh yea, and I've been named the High School Golf Coach! My very first practice, as we finished up I explained "it's always easier to play from the fairway". I smiled and looked up towards the sky "Thanks coach". Here I was, teaching high schoolers the same game Mel had taught me. Now I was the coach. I can't take credit for anything my first year of coaching. I stole all of "coach"'s ideas and things he taught me. I found myself encouraging kids to not quit and that they too would get better. Life had come full circle almost. I had gone from my "birth" in golf at that first tournament to now being the grown adult later in "life" in this fabulous game of golf.
The last ten years without you coach has been difficult. There are so many times that I wish I could just go back to high school and freeze time. I stumbled upon a book this fall and fell in love with it. "Going Fore It - in golf and life" by Gil Anderson. I've read it cover to cover. When I feel like I need an answer or struggle with something, it's the first thing I pick up.
“One of the most fascinating things about golf is how it reflects the cycle of life. No matter what you shoot - the next day you have to go back to the first tee and begin all over again and make yourself into something.”- Peter Jacobsen
These last ten years have passed by without you coach. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about you. You have taught me so much and I'm still learning even ten years after you are gone. "Golf may only be a game, but what a game it really is" Golf is a game of life. Thank you for all the life lessons and humility you taught me. Thank you for introducing me to my two best friends in Brandon and Kyle, for giving me a chance when no one else would, and for making me who I am. I wouldn't be the coach or man I am today, without the lessons you and golf taught me. I'll be sure to come visit soon and catch up with you. I miss you and I love you Mel....Rest in Peace.
