The Game of a Lifetime

Avid golfer Alan Wasserstrom weighs in on the popular sport

By Sarah Robinson

For some, playing a game of golf is just a fun way to spend a Saturday morning. For Alan Wasserstrom, it’s so much more.

“I started playing competitive golf in high school, that’s when I was 16,” he says. “So, I started playing golf 64 years ago, and I won a number of club championships over the years and senior club championships, and what I find fascinating about the game is it’s forever. It’s called the game of a lifetime.”

Wasserstrom says he plays golf four to six times a week, depending on the weather. His go-to spot around town is the New Albany Country Club. Odds are, if you’re in the area, you’ll find Wasserstrom at or on his way to or from the golf course. In fact, at the time of the interview, Wasserstrom was heading home from a day on the greens.

“There’s not a better venue for sport than a golf course,” he says. “You know, it’s 150 acres, the sun’s shining, the grass is green, the wind’s blowing. What could be better, right?”

As a form of exercise, golf is easy on the joints and requires a good amount of walking. The average golfer walks about three to five miles in a given game. Golf isn’t just good for physical health, the time spent with friends is good for mental health, too.

Above: Wasserstrom’s first club championship in 1959 with his brother, Reid, who won the junior event. Right: Wasserstrom with son Eric at the Muirfield Pro Am, approximately 1984.

“An 18-hole round of golf takes the better part of four hours, as you might know,” says Wasserstrom. “So, you’re with somebody for four hours, whether you’re walking or riding together and you talk about golf, you learn about their family, their interests, their job. It becomes a wonderful way to meet people and really develop deep friendships.”

Wasserstrom has been golfing with many of his current golf partners since his high school days.

“I’m playing with young men – well, we’re not young anymore – guys that I started playing golf with when I was 15,” he says. “So, to think about it, I’ve been playing golf with these guys for 65 years.”

A graduate of Bexley High School, Wasserstrom actually played golf with Upper Arlington native Jack Nicklaus back in the day.

“I was a year behind Jack Nicklaus in school,” he says. “I just remember how magnificently he hit the golf ball and played relative to the rest of us when we were both in high school. It was remarkable to watch a player that ends up being arguably the best player that ever played the game. And he’s right here from Columbus, Ohio.”

Though he didn’t go on to play professionally, Wasserstrom’s game took him all over the world, from playing in Scotland to attending the Masters Tournament as a spectator on a number of occasions.

“My most memorable rounds have been on the Old Course at St. Andrews,” he says. “It’s called the home of golf, and I played there a number of times. It’s special. It’s so steeped in history.”

One memorable trip to Scotland for his son Eric’s 16th birthday ended in the closest game the two had shared thus far.

“He had never scored better than me on nine holes, ever,” says Wasserstrom. “We’re playing at a golf course and the wind is howling, and on the last hole (Eric) hits the ball on the green. The worst he’s going to make is three, and the best he’s going to make is a two, and he’s two shots ahead of me so he’s going to win for sure, it would seem. I hit a shot, had a big curve because of the wind, and I made a one on a par three. He made a three and we tied!”

Wasserstrom taught Eric and stepson Michael how to golf, and says the best way for parents to introduce the sport to their kids is to make it fun.

“Let them come with you to the golf course, maybe ride in the cart, maybe walk, maybe hit a few putts on the green and just enjoy the experience of being around the outdoors with a little white ball,” he says. “That’s the entry point.”

The biggest lesson Wasserstrom has learned throughout his golfing career, he says, is that golf mirrors life.

“Good luck comes after hard work,” he says. “In life, if you work hard and you stay focused, you’ll still have ups and downs. And it takes sometimes mental and sometimes physical courage to get through it, whether it’s challenges with your personal life, your health, your family. Well, golf is exactly the same way.”

Wasserstrom says if he could share a game of golf with anyone, dead, alive or fictional, it would be Winston Churchill. “To have four hours with him at the end of his career and hear him tell stories would be beyond fabulous,” he says.

With the handicap system, Wasserstrom says anyone can play with anyone, no matter what level they play. Wasserstrom says it’s you against the golf course. At the end of the day, playing golf isn’t about beating an opponent.

“I would encourage people to play and enjoy it,” he says, “not only for all the good shots you hit, but for the good recoveries, as in life.”

Sarah Robinson is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at srobinson@cityscenemediagroup.com.

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