I caught the golf bug early in life as a 12-year-old caddie at Fairview Golf Course, a ragged muni just three blocks from my home in St. Joseph, Mo.  Like all golfers, I’ve reveled in the game and cursed it, celebrated the small victory of an all-too-infrequent perfect shot and raged against the golf gods who often flicked a birdie putt off-line just inches from the hole.  My love for the game led me to a career as a golf writer and a term as president of the Metropolitan (NY) Golf Writers Association.