I Met My True Love At The Golf Course

I saw a card that said Happy Father's Day spelled out in ties...

This blog is about love, golf, the father of my children and Iowa food!

My love affair with PGA tournies goes back even before my real love affair.  As a teenager in the Quad Cities, we had the Ed McMahon Golf Tournament.  My dad was part of the largest grocery chain, so our involvement started way back.  In those days a host like Ed McMahon brought in huge celebrities, football players, models, actors and the week of the tourney was filled with parties.  Like many tournaments, sponsorship changes over the years, and in 1985 as the Hardee's Golf Classic, I went to the tourney with my mom to watch a little golf and follow these gorgeous guys, like Payne Stewart, Greg Norman, and Jack Nicklaus, big names for a small town.  Little did I know fate was at work.  My mom and I stood at a green watching a twosome putt in, and this group of guys in plaid shorts and polos, beers in hand, stepped in front of my tiny little mom and me.  Well, she let these guys have it, I mean, how rude!  And Mr. Preppy, in his madras shorts turns around and says "Hi Mrs. Petitti".

"Um, excuse me Mom, how exactly would you know him?"  As it turns out, Mr. Preppy worked for General Foods, and his boss was friends of my parents, and they met at one of the golf parties that week.  Well, we introduce ourselves to each other, and he kept popping up that day at the course, like he was stalking  following me or something.  He ended up with my number, and he asked me out immediately, but I was doing a triathlon and couldn't go.  I know, yes, a triathlon, me.  It was the most epic excuse for not being able to go out on a date.  But hey, when I brought home that SILVER MEDAL, I was even more cool.  I know, I know, can your disbelief, I was quite the athlete!

The golf balls are my first fondant experiment...

Our first date was at the driving range.  Mr. Preppy was, and still is an amazing golfer, and I was a good student!  We then headed off to a local watering hole for Nachos and Alabama Slammers, followed by a midnight swim.  At 2 a.m. I called my best friend and my sister and told them, I just kissed the guy I'm gonna marry, goodnight.  I just knew, and he did too.  It was a whirlwind romance.  I still had a year of college left, but I got very good at that one hour drive home.  He was working and traveling as well, so sometimes I would magically appear in Peoria, IL or wherever he happened to be working.  We got engaged about 6 months later and married a year after that.  Three years later, he became a father.  And here we are 26 years later, still happy, and still wandering around PGA golf tournies.

He's played in a lot of Pro Ams, and we've been to many tournaments.  The Masters, Western Open, Doral, FedEx St. Jude and the Ryder Cup.  And we have our bucket list, British Open, Phoenix Open (16th hole please), and Pebble Beach (played it, but would like to watch the pros play it!).

This is the catch phrase at the FedEx St. Jude Tournament

And one thing is for sure, like ball parks and festivals, every tourney has its signature food.  So in honor of my golf partner for life on Father's Day, I am making classic Hardee's Golf Classic grub, and a little Southern twist on the first date food.  The food will come in the next post, but here's what we quenched our thirst with on that first date!

Alabama Slammers

1 oz vodka
1oz Southern Comfort
1 oz Sloe Gin
1 oz Amaretto
OJ
Cherries and limes to garnish
Mix well and share with your love!

Next time:
Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches
Barbeque Nachos
Okay, here is the footnote.  Nothing ever goes as planned.  We opted not to have the BBQ nachos, so I will make this Southern fun another time, it really is a meal in itself, with a beer of course.  And I made the tenderloins, but had to use the inferior pork found here.  No, really, Fairway Grocery meat department knows how to do a tenderloin, and I pack a cooler when I come home from Iowa with lots of good stuff.  So our tenderloins were like a pork chop and not blog worthy.  But stay tuned, dessert was amazing!