His Legacy Lives On
Leaving
the company and good times with a great bunch of guys is a sad event,
but my spirit is lifted by knowing that there is an organization where
those good guys can still gather for a friendly round of golf. Who
would have thought the No Stress Golf Group would grow to the point
where it could field six tee times and still have members who were not
playing on a given day! Thank you to Steve, Ron, and all the other guys
who have stepped up to keep the group going and growing. Thanks to
everyone for your friendship and your support of the notion that golf
can be fun without the pressure of most golf groups. Please pass my
farewell along to the other golfers. Perhaps we will run into each
other again one of these days.
-Tom Weyenberg
The message above was sent to Steve Parker from Tom as part of an email on April 4, 2016 after Tom moved back to Oregon. It is still relevant today.
Steve Parker remembers Tom:
Tom was the founder and spiritual leader of No Stress. I first met
Tom in the winter of 2013. Both of us had just moved to St. George
upon retirement and joined the Dixie Newcomers’ Club. Tom posted an
announcement in the Newcomers newsletter that asked if any newcomers
were interested in "playing golf just for fun”. I had never played golf
before, so this sounded like a good fit for me.
Approximately
a dozen people responded to the announcement. At the first outing of
the group Tom emphasized his no stress rules: no money changes hands,
and "take as many mulligans as you want" (a favorite rule of his). Tom
did all of the scheduling and organizing in the early years, and we
played twice a month various courses selected by Tom. The local courses
didn’t know Tom or this new group and insisted Tom guaranty the green
fees with his credit card for the group in advance.
But
Tom was a snowbird from Oregon and managed to persuade (not without
major difficulty) Ron Boling and me to take turns filling in for him
during his absences from Santa Clara. Tom and his wife had medical
issues, their doctors were in Oregon and Tom’s absences became longer.
In September 2015 Tom announced it was time for new leadership for NSG
and appointed Ron Boling and me as co-coordinators. Fortunately, Tom
had the group and golf course pro shops well prepared for his departure
and the handoff was accomplished without truly serious problems.
In April 2016 Tom moved permanently back to Oregon.
Tom
leaves a legacy of mostly-stress-free golfers: single handicappers who
follow USGA rules to-the-letter play beside guys who can’t break 100.
Take money, politics and religion out of the mix, and golf can be fun.
NSG
has grown to be one of the largest non-course sponsored groups in the
area, and NSG coordinators no longer have to guaranty green fees with
their personal credit card.
Anyone else who would like to remember Tom, please feel free to comment by using the "No comments" link below.
