STOKE AND DISTANCE

"Stroke and Distance" is the headlining caption for Mark Forsythe's review of The Defiant Mind which is the cover story in the new issue of BC BOOKLOOK (the on-line edition of BC BookWorld).

To read the review just click on the permanent link: http://bcbooklook.com/2016/11/27/stroke-and-distance/#more-29565

This headline is a particularly apt description of Ron and his book as he was, for most of his adult life, an avid golfer. Indeed, in my youth, I once penned a little story about a mythical golfer named "Don" and the life lessons I learned in The Golf Widow's Revenge.

For those of you who do not golf and are not familiar with the game, the term stroke and distance refers to Rule 27 - 1 a, which permits a golfer, when faced with an unplayable lie, to pick up his (or her, as the case may be) ball and return it to its previous resting place. If the golfer decides to invoke this rule s/he will suffer a one stroke penalty and the loss of the distance the ball travelled before landing in the unplayable lie.

NB This rule does not apply if the golfer's ball is lost or out of bounds. And it certainly cannot be invoked by the stroke survivor who initially is faced with a seemingly unplayable lie. Unfortunately, in real life, unlike golf, there is no  possibility of a "do-over." A single stroke is penalty enough. However, given enough time and distance and continuing recovery, Ron is planning his return to the links.