Chapter 35

A/N Daddy and daughter

Ever since the day Elizabeth was born, she held a special place in Benjamin's heart. There was no better relationship than a little girl and her daddy. Joe and Suzanne were taking care of her love of horses, but Benjamin wanted to teach her to love the outdoors.

He had been taking her fishing with him since she was a year and a half old. He had also started cultivating her love of sports. He bought her a ball glove when she was 6 months old and a golf putter when she was a year old. By the time she was three she was accurately sinking the ball in the hole from a good distance away.

They had spent many Friday evenings on the driving range and she was becoming a beast off the tee. Today was Saturday and he was taking her to play 9 holes with him.

"Okay, now place your feet like I taught you. Address the ball and place your grip. Take a deep breath and let it out. Follow through with your swing and blast your hips through the shot," Benjamin reminded her.

They spent a half hour hitting balls on the driving range. Benjamin was convinced she was ready to hit the course. This would be the first time she would play a structured round. She was so smart and picked up things quickly. He had seen how Suzanne had been held back because of her gender and he was determined not to let it happen to his daughter.

He had spent a lot of time over the years on golf courses and he knew a lot of deals and business was conducted there. If teaching her how to play golf would give her a leg up on the competition, he would make sure she was good at it too.

They retrieved a cart, loaded up their clubs and headed off to the first tee.

Lizzie had checked out a book from the library on the rules of golf. She had brought it home two weeks ago and had proudly shown it to him when he picked her up from school. Some of the lingo and words were too big for her so they had spent several evenings after dinner reading it together. His chest swelled up with pride that she had taken the initiative to learn the rules and procedures of the game on her own.

The first hole was a par 4 and from the ladies tees was 345 yards. If she had a good tee shot she would have a decent shot at a birdie on the first hole. He hoped that would be the case to boost her confidence right out of the gate.

She did in fact get a birdie and when they went to the 2nd hole they were met with a man and his son. Tim Taylor and his son Brad were about to tee off when they drove up. Tim was often a rival of Benjamin's on the golf course. Benjamin knew from conversations with Lizzie, that Brad would often tease her at school.

"Well what do we have here Adams? Trying to finally figure out a way to beat me?" Tim asked.

"Not even close Tim, teaching the next generation to love the game like I do," Benjamin said. Benjamin didn't like Tim, he was cocky and often would let his mouth run too much.

Brad started to say something but his Dad stopped him. "Why don't we make it a foursome and maybe the little lady can learn something from a real golfer?"

"That is okay Tim, this is Lizzie's first time and I want her to take it slow," Benjamin said.

"I guess if you are scared then I guess we'll just leave you two on your own," Tim smirked towards them.

Benjamin started to say something back, when Lizzie walked up and put her arm on his. She motioned for him to bend down and she whispered in his ear.

Benjamin stood up with a shocked look on his face. "Are you sure?" he asked her. She nodded yes to him.

"Lizzie wants to play so I guess it is a foursome," he told Tim.

Tim slapped his son on the arm and said, "Let's get this whooping underway son."

Since Lizzie would be the only one teeing off from the red tees, she would tee off last. Brad would hit from the white tees. Benjamin and Tim from the black tees.

Tim decided to hit first and hit a shot straight down the middle. Retrieving his tee he popped off to Benjamin, "Beat that Ben," he said with sarcasm.

Benjamin teed up his ball and hit it 30 yards past Tim's ball straight down the fairway. He picked up his tee and very humbly walked back to his gold cart.

Brad teed off next and hit a slice to the left.

Lizzie retrieved her driver and walked down to her tee box. She teed up her ball and doing all the things her Dad had taught her, she hit a perfect tee shot down the middle of the fairway. She too retrieved her tee and walked back to their cart.

Everyone hit their next shots until they were on the green. Lizzie ended up about 30 yards from the hole, so she would putt first. She took her practice swings, then addressed her putt. She had been putting for a while and with Benjamin's help, read the green perfectly and dropped the putt. She earned another birdie and was really feeling good about herself.

Two hours later, the group finished their round and were making their way to the club house. Tim was fuming and hollering at Brad for missing a 2 foot putt that would have won them the round.

Benjamin and Lizzie were cleaning their clubs and putting them away, when Tim drove by nearly hitting them. He was too busy berating Brad to pay attention to where he was driving.

Benjamin shook his head as they sped by. He squatted down in front of Lizzie. "Remember even if you lose, always be a good sport. Don't rub a victory in your opponent's nose. Did you have fun today?"

"Yes, Daddy I had a wonderful time, because I got to spend it with you. Bonus was beating that sport Mr. Taylor and Brad," she said with a huge smile on her face.

Benjamin pulled her into a hug and ruffled her hair. "Let's get home and celebrate with Mom and Will.

They were still very animated when they walked into the house. Suzanne walked out of the kitchen wiping her hands with a dish towel. She walked up to Benjamin and he pulled her into him for a hug and then pulled back and gave her a kiss.

She then leaned down and hugged Lizzie. "How was the game, did you enjoy your time with Daddy?"

"Mom, it was the best day. We beat the Taylor's and Mr. Taylor was so mad at Brad for missing a putt that let us win. It was awesome," Lizzie said with a huge smile on her face. Beating Brad Taylor was probably the best thing that happened all year. He was very mean to her and now she had something to hold over him when he and his pack of mean boys picked on her

Suzanne stood and raised an eyebrow at Benjamin. "I thought it was just going to be an easy round? How did the Taylor's get involved?" She knew of Benjamin's distaste for Tim Taylor and his poor sportsmanship.

"We met up with them on the second hole and Tim challenged us to a competition. He was his usual condescending self, but got knocked down a notch or two today. Our little Jack Nicholas here was a beast on the course. She dropped a 20 yard putt to win after Brad missed a 2 foot putt," Benjamin said smiling with pride.

She laughed at them both. "Okay you two go get washed up, dinner is almost ready."

Dinner that night was a play by play of how the golf game went and Benjamin beaming with joy as he told them of how well Lizzie had played.

Benjamin and Suzanne were getting ready for bed that night, when she asked him. "Did Lizzie enjoy playing or just beating the Taylor's?"

"I think she truly enjoyed playing. She took her time to line up her shots and remembered everything she had been taught. I saw a real competitor out on the course today. She didn't let either of them get in her head or affect her game. She is the smartest 7 year old I have ever seen," Benjamin said.

Laying in bed that night, Lizzie was going over everything that happened that day. She replayed every drive, chip and putt. She was really proud of her round and knew that somewhere in her future golf would come in handy.