“… on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10b)

On January 24, 2023, I teed off in Loxley, Alabama on a frosty 44-degree morning. The goal was to play 100 holes of real golf (putt out, keep score, no cheating) in one day, all for a good cause, The Second Tee. Just for the record, I shot 82-77-79-73-74, then finished the final ten holes in semi-darkness since the sun goes down at 5:20pm and the course would not let me start until after 8:30am. That meant I had less than nine hours or 5.4 minutes per hole. No time to line up putts, plumb-bob, or radar guns. Rock and roll. Hit it and go. I love to play fast. So, for me, this was golf heaven.

My caddie, if you can call a professor from Russia who rakes no bunkers, carries no bags, and gives no advice a caddie, was my friend Sasha Tstutserov. His golf ministry in Moscow is one of the primary Second Tee projects. Sasha has planted a unique ‘church’ at the Moscow Country Club, which for many years was the ONLY golf course in Russia’s eleven time zones. Jesus said it is almost impossible for a rich man to go to heaven. Think about the truth of such a statement in an atheistic culture like Russia. Rich men in Russia would seem to be a hopeless target for evangelism, but nothing stops Sasha from sharing Jesus with these oligarchs. He is making progress by making friends, one lost soul at a time. He answers their questions. He is a shepherd to the wandering sheep of Russia.

This year, I decided to play in memory of golfers who have died and finished their course. These were not all preachers or even church goers. But they all made it through the pearly gates, thanks to golf itself and the mercy of Jesus Christ. Please do not send me letters about my shaky and simplistic theology. I am well aware that the Bible has much more to say about the plan of salvation, and nothing to say about golf, but still, the apostle Paul did mention that he had finished the course, so who knows.

Even now as my fingers type, I imagine a gathering in some heavenly realm of the people who have gone before me. I know them all. They are part of my personal Golf Hall of Faith. The summary follows.

ROUND 1:

Front Nine - I played in memory of so many martyrs in Russia during the Soviet era and in honor of my good friend Sasha. As a former KGB man and now seminary president in Russia, his main job is to replenish the 200,000 ministers of the gospel executed by the KGB. He learned to play golf at the Old Course when he went to St. Andrews, Scotland to work on a Ph.D. in Theology (his dissertation was on the Book of John). When some golfers showed him the possibilities of using golf for the sake of the Gospel, he went to Russia and joined the Moscow CC. For a decade, he worked hard to become best friends of the oligarchs and atheists. After many years, doors opened for him to answer questions about God and the universe and the Bible. He is finally seeing fruit for his labors.

Back Nine - I played in memory of the most obvious candidate, Ford Philpot, otherwise known as Dad. I wrote a whole book on this subject. Click here (website to Ford’s Wonderful World of Golf). He died in 1992, and who knows how many rounds he may have played in heaven over the last thirty years. I know one thing. He was a golf evangelist, so golf in heaven must be very frustrating for Ford. How do you lead someone to Jesus who is already in heaven? Ford probably is asking for an assignment to a planet with no evangelists yet.

ROUND 2:

Front Nine - This nine was played to honor and remember Tom Heilbron. I preached his funeral just two months ago in Lexington, Ky. Tom was the founder and developer of a wonderful golf course, Champions Golf Club, later re-named Champions Trace after former Masters champion Jackie Burke sued the club for allegedly stealing the name “Champions” from his Houston club. Tom was living proof that good men can make it to heaven, but only the same way as the worst of sinners, by trust and faith in the name and sacrificial blood of Jesus. Tom was still working on his ‘one-plane’ swing at the end.

Back Nine - I played in memory of Bob Nelson. What a story! Bob was the assistant golf pro at Tates Creek when I was a kid. He loved golf and booze way too much. In 1975, he was the pro at London CC in London Ky. The best player at his club was a car dealer and Christian businessman, Howard Jones. His swing and game reminded me of Byron Nelson. No one in Kentucky knew how great he was because he would not play on Sundays and almost all the local tournaments ended on Sunday.

On a hot summer day, when Bob was nearly dead at age 35 from alcohol (114 pounds), Howard knelt down with Bob in the parking lot at the club. Bob gave his life to Jesus- who forgave him and saved him. Two months later, my dad’s travelling crusade came to a London High School gymnasium. Bob answered the call and went to the altar to make it all public. He quit the golf business and entered college as a freshman. Eight years later, he was not only a college grad but a seminary grad and spent the last 25 years as a pastor and evangelist himself. When he died suddenly at age 69, his wife Ann called me to say Bob wanted me to preach the funeral. But not really. He had it all written out- who should be there and what I should say. All built around the theme- “Golf Helps”. He and Ford are possibly on a golf course right now exchanging clubs.

ROUND 3:

Front Nine - This nine was played for Ted DeMoss. He was one of the most important people in my life. As President of CBMC/USA, he taught me that a man could be a layman while also being a passionate evangelist. In 1996, I initiated a golf competition between USA and Northern Ireland friends. Ted allowed me to use his name. The DeMoss Cup became a golf event that steered many men to Jesus. Ted was a terrible golfer but loved it! We travelled together to Belfast in June 1997 for the DeMoss Cup. And then, suddenly, at age 70 in that same year, he was gone. Heart attack. Heaven was his home.

Back Nine - This nine was played in memory of a young golf prodigy named Cullan Brown. The first time I watched him play, he shot 29. His death in 2020 at age 20 from cancer was a tragedy that will never be forgotten by the University of Kentucky golf community. We met in 2018 and we all thought that Cullan was headed to the PGA Tour. Instead, God decided that it was time for Cullan to graduate to heaven. For more on Cullan, check this link to a Links Players devotional from August 2020. https://linksplayers.com/2020/08/19/this-world-just-isnt-fair.

ROUND 4:

Front Nine - This nine was played for Vince Hamilton. His son Allen was a star golfer at both St. Xavier High School and UK. When Allen was a freshman at UK in 2017, his dad (who also played at UK) got the news of a deadly cancer. The rest of the season was an MVP season. “Make Vince Proud”. Allen is still making his dad proud.

Back Nine - This is perhaps my favorite story. Alton “Mac” McPherson. In fact, after I preached his funeral, I turned it into a booklet called Mac’s Mulligan. He was one of my childhood golfing heroes because he was good enough to win the Lexington City tournament and get his name in the sports page. I wanted to do the same someday. Mac had not been to church for over sixty years when he went with me on a ‘mission trip’ with Wally Armstrong to Venezuela and Honduras, not knowing that he was the mission field. I had told his church-going wife Jenna that if she would pray for Mac, I would play with Mac. And together we would get him across the finish line of heaven. It all worked! Mac loved the mulligan that God gave him in the last years of his life.

ROUND 5:

Front Nine - This nine was played with two of Mac’s best friends in mind. Buddy Mahan and Wally Rose. Buddy Mahan was such a good golfer that when Arnold Palmer came to Winchester, Kentucky in about 1960, Buddy was chosen as the logical person to play with Arnie. His sons became good golfers and friendly rivals. He had a small dental equipment sales company. He seemed to be the nicest guy in the world, but somehow, he divorced his wife and was estranged from his two sons for many years. When he was over eighty years old, he asked me out for a lunch. His best friend Mac had told him about this Mulligan that God offers us all. He asked me to be in charge of his funeral. That naturally led to a few good conversations about what is needed to be ready for the next world. I gladly accepted the role of preacher at his funeral on the condition that I wouldn’t have to lie about him.

Only at his funeral did I begin to get a little of the story. His real name was Carle. And his second wife and her family only called him Carle. They never called him Buddy. His two sons said they would not say anything at the funeral, but son Bart called an audible during the funeral service, and whispered to me that he did in fact wish to speak. It was quite emotional since all in attendance knew that the father and son had been estranged for many years. He told the story of how his father had changed over the last few years. He said, “I could never get along with Buddy. But I sure did love Carle,” giving a nod to his new wife’s love but also his new faith which was hard to explain.

Buddy’s good friend Wally Rose was well over 90 when I also assisted with his funeral. He was a simple mailman who was so good that he played in the 1960 U.S. Open. Like Mac and Buddy, Wally was not a church-goer, and by some estimates, perhaps wasted his life playing games and thinking way too much about golf. But just like Mac and Buddy, when Wally asked me to help with his funeral, I got the chance to let him know it was about Jesus and his sacrifice, not about his failures.

Back Nine - This nine was the rather sad tale of Billy Simpson and his daughter Alex. There were many reasons to want Billy Simpson to be a golf friend. He flew his jet every Tuesday to his old home course, the famous Oak Hill in Rochester, NY. He flew his helicopter every day to his oil business from his mansion on the golf course. His wealth was intimidating. He seemed so lost (spiritually) that it took me several years to get the courage to ask him to come with me on a golf trip to Pinehurst. That trip opened the door to a Bible study where Billy learned that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” I still remember the look on his face. The gospel was GOOD NEWS, and he got it. I recall that he was genuinely surprised to hear that King David, who may have been a bigger sinner than Billy, was also a man with a heart for God! Cancer killed Billy in 2008. I wore a pair of golf shoes to the funeral and explained how a man like Billy gets to heaven. Love. Mercy. Grace.

His sweet little daughter Alex was eight when Billy died. And now, at age 22, she has also passed to heaven with a tragic cancer just last summer. Sadness pervades this story, but it does make smile to think that Billy is with Alex and Jesus.

ROUND 6:

Front Nine - Tom Flory was a co-founder of the Links Letter with Jim Hiskey and Wally Armstrong. He was one of the best Senior golfers in America. Tom and his wife Priscilla have always been models of disciples, caring for the poor and loving golf at the same time. His death in about 2018 was sad for us all. I would have included Jim and Wally in this memorial, but they haven’t died yet!!! They are hanging on!

100th HOLE:

So…. in darkness, I made it to the final hole, played for Jeff Hopper. The COO and Editor for Links Players devotionals died in September 2021 at age 57. His hole-in-one on the 13th hole at Brora in August 2019, accompanied by a rainbow from heaven as we stood on the 18th tee, was a gift from God. The Lord Himself seemed to be saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

So, heaven is rejoicing today, and many of my best friends are there joining in the party. Ford Philpot. Tom Heilbron. Bob Nelson. Ted DeMoss. Cullan Brown. Vince Hamilton. Alton McPherson. Buddy Mahan and Wally Rose. Billy and Alex Simpson. Tom Flory. Jeff Hopper.

Jesus taught us how to pray in the Sermon on the Mount. And for one day, I experienced that reality. “…Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Jesus taught us to PRAY but He also is teaching me how to PLAY. On January 24, 2023, I prayed and I played. It was 100 holes of HEAVEN ON EARTH!! AMEN… Let it be so every day!