The Sand Trap Read Online Free PDF Page A

‘grip it and rip it’ lesson, a 7-iron, putter and 3 wood she
found in the wheat field one day (she had learned that golfers
sometimes lost their temper and threw their clubs) and a stack of
1970 golf magazines (she fell in love with Hale Irwin), an eight
year old Melanie set out to master the game. Seven years later she
had done it, at least by Bumstead and the Folly standards. She
could turn an iron shot into the prairie wind with a draw or a fade
that would take the ball to any spot she wanted to place it. Her
golf skill was not a secret, of course. The boys from Saskatoon
still came every year and Bert still gave her an annual lesson, but
instead of her watching them play, the highlight of their trip was
playing with Melanie. She had been beating them all since she was
ten and was a Folly scratch golfer by thirteen. Those old
elementary school bullies now tripped over themselves to not only
play golf with her but to get her out on some sort of date. But she
rejected them all just like she did the boys at the high school in
Regina. She had her Dad, their golf course and by now a full set of
second hand clubs. She went to school because she had to, but felt
her life would soon be back at the Folly.
    Bob recognized Melanie from the school and
although he had yet to teach her he knew that most in Regina
thought her a little odd. She dressed a little differently for a
start, perhaps half hippy and half farmer and rarely in feminine
clothing. She actually wore coverall Carhartts on occasion and
flannel plaid shirts were her staple. Unlike other girls she never
wore makeup or skirts and seemed to have no interest in the
pubescent class of high school boys. She was a loner. She spoke
when spoken to. She spent her time on her own. She was a competent
but not outstanding student. He knew that both students and staff
could be cruel when someone does not conform and some of them
gleefully started all sorts of rumours. There were rumours about
her sexuality, mostly from boys that she rejected. The girls she
ignored made fun of her height and lack of cosmetics. Teachers who
could not motivate her diminished her intellect. He knew she lived
with her grandmother but did not know where she came from or any
other personal details.
    He was not even sure if she recognized him
from the school; certainly the Melanie he saw that day was nothing
like the caricature he had formed from the Melanie at the high
school. A very friendly and outgoing young lady met them at the
parking lot and asked if they needed help with their clubs. The
only odd thing Helen noticed was that, despite this being 1975 she
seemed to be dressed in typical men’s golf attire from the late
sixties. Melanie told Helen that men often left things behind –
shirts, pants, clubs for sure, and even the odd pair of shoes. A
teenager, Melanie was already close to 5’10”, and she had quite a
collection of items in the barn she could choose from. Strangely
enough, other than it being men’s clothing, it all looked quite
attractive on an oddly attractive young girl.
    They exchanged small talk while they
organized their clubs and Melanie did recognize Bob. She told them
how her Dad had built the course and now takes care of the greens
while still farming, and she takes care of everything else. She
goes to school so she is only here fulltime during July and August,
but comes home most weekends in the spring and fall to operate the
course. They don’t get much business here in the spring and fall
anyhow, she suggested, so her Dad can manage on his own. Bob and
Helen also learned that like her mother, Melanie’s grandmother had
left her grandfather a long time ago, had never come back and only
reluctantly agreed to let Melanie stay with her during the school
year.
    They learned this between the parking lot
and the first tee, where Melanie explained the local course rules
and wished them a good game. She and Bob had no children of their
own and were both teachers and Helen