Rymer: Reuniting with a Lifelong Friend in 2023

He stayed in the public eye in 2022, but through his recent battles with cancer Charlie Rymer hasn’t been able to go full tilt in quite some time with respect to actually playing the game he’s loved and played all his life. He’s missed it – and looking forward to a reunion with his old friend in 2023.

By Charlie Rymer

Lots of folks out there try golf and decide it’s not their thing because it’s too hard or they don’t have enough time. And while we have record numbers of new golfers coming to the game, we also have plenty who’ve been at it awhile and for whatever reason just fade away from playing.

Other sports have the same issues. Take fly fishing, for example. I became interested in slinging a fly by watching fly fishing shows on television. There’s nothing more soothing than watching Flip Pallot work a school of redfish in the Florida Keys on a well shot TV show. It drove me to buy a fly rod and the cool associated accessories, get lessons, and struck up a lifelong love affair with the endeavor.

With fly fishing, I’m like most people are with golf: I wish I could do it more. It takes time and practice. It can be very difficult and frustrating. Sometimes I break 80. But most of the time I shoot 90. If fly fishing had handicaps I’d be a solid 15, maybe 10 with a little work. But it’s hard to find the time to put in the work. I go when I can, and it leaves me wanting for more. So I can relate to the experience that so many have with golf.

But golf, for me, is different. I started when I was 4. I was winning tournaments soon after. I didn’t play because I was pushed; I played because I loved it. I couldn’t get enough. It was the center of my life. And I was good at it. I won the USGA Junior Championship at age 17. I earned a full scholarship to Georgia Tech and was a two-time All-America there. I turned professional and won at every level along my way to the PGA TOUR, and I nearly won there.

When my game left me, golf still provided. It brought a career in broadcasting, writing, speaking, and managing golf operations. The game of golf opened doors for me unimaginable to a kid growing up in a small town in South Carolina. Sure, I’ve been mad and frustrated at the game because of poor performance. I’ve soaked wedges in a bucket of water overnight to drown out the evil. I’ve placed putters on the TV while faith healer Ernest Angley was doing his thing to drive off the devil. I even tied a driver to my bumper and dragged it down the street behind the car.

Even when I was mad at golf, the truth is golf has always been there for me.

Until it wasn’t.

I‘ve been dealing with cancer this past year or so. I played a few times during the periods between surgeries and chemo. Those days were half speed at best. I’ve basically been away from the game longer than at any period in the past 50 years. And the truth is, I miss it.

I’m cleared to play now after recovering from what will be my last surgery. I’m cancer free and gonna stay that way. Believe me, there are lots of things I won’t be taking for granted ever again. Among them is a day on a golf course with people I love.

It took getting sick for me to realize this. I hope that’s not the case for you.