Birthday: Peggy Kirk Bell

October 29, 2024, at home

Happy Heavenly Birthday to Peggy Kirk Bell !!! Thank you for having such a positive influence on my life.

"It doesn’t take a great athlete to be able to play golf. Conversely, great athletes aren’t always good golfers. That’s the beauty of the game."

- Peggy Kirk Bell, from "The Gift of Golf: My Life with A Wonderful Game"

I had the privilege of teaching golf to adults and children, side-by-side with the late great hall-of-famer and LPGA champion Peggy Kirk Bell, during the summer of 1981 (age 20) at Pine Needles Lodge and Golf Club in Southern Pines, North Carolina. PGA touring pro Pat McGowan, husband of Bell's daughter Bonnie (R.I.P.), also taught there at that time. That summer, I played a round of golf with him, just the two of us. I shot an 82. He shot a course record 64. He was like a machine.

I also have the distinction of throwing up on Mrs. Bell. Yeah, I threw up on a hall-of-fame golfer. I was a very young teenager, attending a Golfari (golf instruction/camp) in the 1970s. I became ill, so she decided to feed me soup while I lie in bed. Soon, I told her that I couldn't eat any more of the soup. She said, "Just one more spoonful." I ate it, and then lost it. She loved all of the kids who attended the Golfaris. I attended the Golfaris every summer from 1972 (age 11) to 1980 (age 19), and, of course, had the honor and the privilege of teaching there the following year. Thank you.