The very first TD post: IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED "DUFFERS"
TD is not really sure how this all started, he believes that Traveling Duffer had its GENESIS in trips to the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, shortly after it opened in the early 1990's. The Wedgeheads was a St. Charles based group to which TD belonged for a short period. But then, a few lucky members of that group were accepted into the venerable organization known as The Duffers. These gentlemen (loose term) have become lifelong friends and golfing allies.
Dick Buffington was TD's original Duffers sovereign, although there may have been a leader or two prior to my affiliation with this fine group. He held the group together with bi-weekly events during the playing months and, at some point in time, the group started taking monumentally "splendiforous" trips down south after the leaves began to fall.
The first trip south that I can recall was in Dave Hosack's motor home in the early 90's. There were way more of occupants than there were seat belts and yet somehow Mr. Hosack was able to keep the wheels on the ground as the group left St. Louis and imbibed its way through Illinois, Tennessee, Mississippi (wet and dry areas), on their way to the workingmens' golf haven of Biloxi, Mississippi.
TD recalls the first stop on this trip being The Legends Club in Franklin, Tennessee. This was also at the advent of the marketing of the Titleist Pro-V1. TD had never spent that kind of money on a golf ball, but thought he would take the plunge as he needed something to cheer myself up from a serious case of the “bottle flu”. SOOOO, TD proceeds to purchase his first box of these exorbitantly priced golf balls and put three in his pocket along, with his token for range balls, then proceeded to the practice facility. Upon his arrival at the range, he placed his token into the ball vending machine and immediately remembered that he had forgotten to put the bucket under the dispenser. The Duffers all watched with glee, then trepidation, as 70 or so golf balls escaped into the parking lot in, around and under numerous cars. What a thrill! But this cake obviously needed some icing so, after retrieving about half of the wayward range balls, TD stepped up to the tee on the driving range and instinctively reached in my pocket; his first three shots were (you guessed it), brand new Pro-V1’s which were now integrated with hundreds of less fortunate driving range balls. Truly, this was an auspicious start to the day.
Later trips would lead us to Georgia, Florida and Arizona with several "overnighters" within Missouri and surrounding states. These would provide almost TOO MANY memorable events (like the time Darrell Emge and TD were looking for schnapps in the Hallmark store in Jerry Falwell County, Mississippi, which, to most, would obviate itself as a dry county) among other milestone happenings that could have ended in incarceration; but somehow did not.
Mr. Emge, Dick Buffington, Don Fuher, Don Timmerberg, Orval Weber, and other
Duffer brethren have left us for that great par three in the sky, having left today's contingent of Duffers to carry on in ensuing years. Today, Brother Gary Mieves leads services from the Duffer altar. Today's Duffers are an eclectic mix, and The Traveling Duffer felt it important to examine his "Duffing" roots.
The Traveling Duffer.