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About Patty Ellis

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So far Patty Ellis has created 65 blog entries.

Rooting for the Cubs

cubsI heard a sportscaster say he was tired of all the “fair-weather Cubs fans”.  So I had to ask myself, geeesh, is that all I am — a fair-weather Cubs fan?

If you read my Tribute To Dad blog, you know I’m a life-long Mets fan.   But I’ve been having an “affair” with the Chicago Cubs.  I’ll admit it’s partly because I went to a Chicago Gay Pride Parade where not only did The Cubs send a float, but their representative was Ernie Banks, “Mr. Cub” himself.  WOW.

But that’s not the real reason for my love affair.  In fact, it’s not really the team I’m in love with, it’s the fans.  If you know baseball, you know Cubs fans are renowned for being special.  First off, they’re good sports.  Wrigley is one of the few stadiums where opposing team fans […]

Rooting for the Cubs2019-04-28T14:55:56-04:00

I Made a Mistake

I made a mistakeI Made a Mistake

I’m not perfect.  If you know me personally you already know that!   A few months ago I made a mistake.  I apologized immediately, but I still felt bad about it.

I had a hard time letting it go.  Should I apologize again?  Have I done enough to make up for it?  Was there anything else I could do or say?  I’m pretty good at feeling guilty – thanks mom and dad for my Roman Catholic upbringing.  I’m not a practicing Catholic anymore, but Roman Catholic guilt?  That never leaves you.

And I might have stayed in this guilt abyss even longer had I not made a really bad shot while playing golf.

&!%$# – what a bad chip!  And chipping is the best part of my game (it’s all relative) so I was extra mad at myself.  But […]

I Made a Mistake2019-04-28T14:57:59-04:00

Prejudice:  Golf Once Again Proves It’s a Microcosm of Life. 

Prejudice2My friend Bill and I were paired with two strangers on The Red Course at Bethpage.  The round was excruciatingly slow.  When we got to the 8th green, we could see the group on the 11th tee box had 4 – yes, you read that right, 4 – holes open in front of them.  And the group behind them wasn’t pushing them, so we knew they were just as slow.

Joe, one of the strangers we were paired with, said, “It’s the Koreans that make golf so slow.”  I asked, “What Koreans?”  He said, “It’s always the Koreans”.   I said, pointing to the group on the 11th tee box, “But those are 4 white guys”.  Then I added, pointing to the second slow group “And those are 4 white guys.”

But he wouldn’t give up.  In fact, he got testy and shot back, […]

Prejudice:  Golf Once Again Proves It’s a Microcosm of Life. 2019-04-28T15:05:13-04:00

Marco Rubio Needs a Golf Lesson

RubioMarco Rubio lost to Donald Trump in the last set of primaries and dropped out of the Presidential race.  Why? Because he broke the Cardinal Rule of Golf.

I know this rule well.  As a shorter hitter, I’m constantly being out-driven by my competitors.   Being out-driven puts me at a disadvantage, but I can still compete if I stick with my strengths… get it close, chip and putt.  But I don’t stand a chance if I try to outdrive longer hitters.  All it does is take me out of my game – and increase my frustration every time someone outdrives me by 40 yards!  The Cardinal Rule of Golf is stay within your game.

In my analogy, Rubio is the short-hitter, Trump the long-hitter.  Trump is the best at swatting away barbs and making sure the ones he throws land.   […]

Marco Rubio Needs a Golf Lesson2019-04-28T15:15:47-04:00

War on the Bethpage Black Course

gladiatorsIf you’ve played the Black Course at Bethpage, you know it can take a long time.  When there are slow players in front of you, it can be agonizing.

Jim, Bill, Greg and I were in this agonized state when, after 5 hours, we were only on the 15th hole.  The slow foursome was two groups in front of us.  Jim had already yelled out at them on the 10th hole to play faster, but they had ignored him.

Let me make sure I’m setting up this war story clearly:  They’re the bad guys, we’re the good guys.

The 15th hole goes due north.  The 16th hole comes back due south right alongside the 15th.  Because this group was so slow, we were passing them where the two holes come very close together.

Jim yelled out again, “You guys are holding up the whole course, pick […]

War on the Bethpage Black Course2019-04-28T15:25:27-04:00

Imelda Marcos Ellis

ShoesforImeldaMarcosEllistapI’m a fashion statement.   Unfortunately, the statement is:  “Patty, what the heck are you wearing?”

If there’s a chromosome for loving fashion and clothes, I didn’t get it.   I have no talent or fashion sense, I have no idea how colors go together, and I’d rather put pins in my eyes than go clothes shopping.

Except for golf shoes!  I just love golf shoes.  And not just any golf shoes – golf shoes on sale.  Oooh, just saying “golf shoes” and “sale” in the same sentence gives me the warm fuzzies.

One year I bought 4 pair on vacation in Myrtle Beach, then just three weeks later bought another 4 pair on sale in Boca.  I saw one pair (only $49.99) that I couldn’t decide if I loved or hated, so I asked the store-clerk what she thought.  She said she hated […]

Imelda Marcos Ellis2025-05-29T12:33:33-04:00

Golf Is Not Perfect

TurtleIf you’ve been reading this blog, you know that I love golf as much as anyone.  And not just playing it – I love golf for its honor, traditions and sportsmanship.

But golf isn’t perfect.  The National Golf Foundation recently found two things:  1) the number of rounds played has dropped significantly from its heyday in the 90’s (some believe golf is in crisis), and 2) ninety percent of people surveyed said slow play is the biggest factor spoiling their enjoyment of the game.   While surely there are other reasons for golf’s decline, these two things must be connected.  Slow pace of play is negatively affecting the game.

When Mr. Egger took me out for my first round of golf (way back in the olden days), he was adamant that we keep up with the group in front of us.  He said […]

Golf Is Not Perfect2019-04-28T15:58:35-04:00

The Difference Between Men’s and Women’s “Games”

poison-ivy-summer-6-14-14-6Over the years, I’ve discovered that playing golf with men has some subtle, yet significant, differences from playing golf with women.   Here’s a few of my observations:

Men spit.  Almost all spitting men are courteous, but once I was walking down the fairway enjoying the scenery when… Bammo!  I was hopping over incoming projectile saliva. Keep an eye out.

If you’re a woman playing with three men and you don’t see one of them, don’t look for him.  He’s in the woods – and he’s not looking for his golf ball.  I found this out the hard way.  “Hey, where’s Bob??”  Oh.

Speaking of woods, there may come a time when even we women might need to use Nature’s Bathroom.   This is already an unpleasant experience, but I have three pieces of advice to make it bearable:

1)  Face uphill – I […]

The Difference Between Men’s and Women’s “Games”2019-04-28T16:34:28-04:00

Butch

Friends

Butch.   No, this isn’t an autobiography.

It’s a snippet about friendship and golf.  Many golfers will tell you the best thing about golf is the great friends we make. That’s true, but even better is that through golf, we make friends with people whose paths we would never have otherwise crossed.

Butch Cole is one of those people.  Lou is his real first name, but when we first met he said his friends call him Butch.  It took everything I had not to say, “ME TOO!”

Would I ever have met Butch without golf?  He takes trips on his Harley, I open the sunroof on my Subaru.  Butch takes cooking classes, I poach eggs.  Butch spent his entire career in the Military – the closest I’ve been to war is the children’s card game.

But we became friends, and now great friends, because of […]

Butch2019-04-28T16:41:04-04:00

Getting to Know You

gettingtoknowyouThere’s an age-old golf adage that says you need only play 18 holes with someone to know who they really are.  Sometimes it doesn’t even take that long.

RAY:  I didn’t know Ray from Adam when we first played, but I found out everything I needed to know on the 6th hole when his perfectly struck drive wound up in a divot.  His friend saw his awful lie and told him to roll it out of the hole (gracious, but against the rules).  Ray didn’t say “no” or “no thanks,” he said “Never!”  That one word, so adamantly expressed, told me so much about Ray:  he’s honest, he plays by the rules, and he doesn’t have a sense of entitlement when things go wrong. Needless to say, I love spending time with Ray.

KEN:  I was paired with Ken at a public course […]

Getting to Know You2019-04-28T16:43:25-04:00
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