Recent Stories
My last published story on this website was nearly three months ago (August 20). I have had writer’s cramps.
I have a pretty good excuse. My baby brother has been dying…
When the word Muirfield is mentioned, most ignorant American golfers think of Jack Nicklaus’ grand course in Ohio...
“The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” (Mark 9:26).
My first trip to the golf haven of Gullane in Scotland was in 1984. Last month, Sue and I returned to Gullane...
“Who will go for us? And I said, “Lord, I’ll go! Send me.” (Isaiah 6:8 NLT).
Do you know the story of “The St. Andrews Seven”??
Surely a golf story, right?…
“I saw a door standing open in heaven… and the voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” (Rev. 4:1).
Royal Troon… the site of so many memorable Opens, starting in 1923 when Arthur Havers holed a bunker shot on the 72nd green to upset Walter Hagen by a shot. He won seventy-five Pounds…
“And there but for the grace of God…..”
This sounds like a Bible verse from Sunday School days, or maybe William Shakespeare, or at least C. S. Lewis. But no…
“The young women see her and praise her; even queens and royal concubines sing her praises: ‘Who is this, arising like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as an army with billowing banners?’” (Song of Songs 6:9-10 NLT).
I have had a mistress for forty-one years. And this one gets better with age. Let me explain…
“I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest!” (John 4:35).
I retired in January 2018 at age 67. Most lawyers never get to retire, but I was fortunate to have a generous judicial and legislative pension…
“They will walk with me in white, for they are worthy.” (Revelation 3:4, ESV).
It was 7:30 am on February 6, 2024. Blue skies and 44 degrees greeted me for my opening tee shot for my annual Second-Tee golf marathon…
“He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.” (Psalms 40:2 NLT).
Bruce Simpson was a hot-shot junior golfer when we met as teenagers in 1965. He was one year older than me and one of my juvenile heroes…
“One evening as he (Isaac) was taking a walk out in the fields, meditating, he looked up and saw the camels coming.” (Genesis 24:63 NLT).
Lettie Cowman was a saintly missionary to Japan. She is one of the ‘dead authors’ who speak to me from antiquity…
Ben Ferrell is the only person who sends me a simple thank you card every year.
“Dear Tim, Thank you for leading me to Jesus. Your friend, Ben”…
“They had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and now they were both very old.” (Luke 1:7, NLT).
In 1989, Sue and I joined a dozen other Americans on what we thought would be a typical short-term mission trip…
“Even in old age, they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green.” (Psalm 92:14 NLT).
“Old Pro”. These two words echo in so many golf tales throughout the decades…
“Now go, and do as I have told you. I will help you speak well, and I will tell you what to say.” Exodus 4:12.
On November 1, 2023, I lost a “Treasure”…
Last Friday, October 20, was not a “Good Friday” for my Church of God pastor friend Richie Nobles, who headed out for a routine golf game at Steelwood Country Club…
One of the great days of my teenage life was the day my father told us he had joined Tates Creek Country Club in Lexington, KY…
“They shoot from ambush at the innocent, attacking suddenly and fearlessly.” Psalm 64:4 (NLT).
Not every day is the same. Everyone over thirty remembers where they were on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001…
“I am writing to Timothy, my true son in the faith.” (I Timothy 1:2).
My 1950’s childhood was idyllic. I was born Timothy Neil Philpot, but everyone called me “Timmy”…
“And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27).
I learned a new word last month. CRUCIFORM. I love new thoughts and words…
“Wealth is treacherous…” *Habakkuk 2:4.
My last story (Will anyone say No to the Money?) was a rant and rave about the LIV/PGA/PIF merger. Money and greed have finally consumed my beloved game of golf. And it makes me sad…
“Wealth created by a lying tongue is a vanishing mist and a deadly trap.” (Proverbs 21:6)
Once upon a time, in a land far far away, June was my favorite month. Mostly thanks to golf…
“But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 24:16).
I get cold just thinking about it…
“Live such good lives among the pagans…..” (I Peter 2:12)
Where do you live? For most of my life, the answer was simple. Kentucky! Now, it is a little more complicated since retirement years find us in south Alabama. And we love it!…
In 2002, I spent four days in North Korea. I presume the CIA has been watching me ever since. How I got there is still a small mystery…
Today (March 18) is my 72nd Birthday. If life was a metaphorical round of golf, and if the life actuarial tables are accurate, I am now standing on the 15th Tee…
“Who has believed our message? To whom will the Lord reveal his saving power?” (Isaiah 53:1 NLT)…
“For these rules were only shadows of the real thing, which is Christ himself.” Colossians 2:17 NLT…