Sometimes you come across something on social media—posted by a friend—that makes you feel something when it talks about the death of a stranger.
This was the situation a few weeks prior when fellow journalist Dave Hilson wrote about the untimely death of his first cousin, John Howard Aman, who passed away on June 30 while playing golf with him. He was retired at the age of just 59, just weeks away from turning 60.
Although I didn’t know John, Dave told me he liked the horse racing coverage I did for the Toronto Sun during my ten years of employment there.
Put another way, he’s a five-tool guy who can do it all, as they say in Major League Baseball.
He’s also the kind of guy you like to have a beer and chat with.
That’s the reason I was touched when he shared the information about his relative.
A few days after his cousin’s death, I asked Dave if I might write a narrative about John. The suddenness of John’s death was too vivid, so he requested respectfully if I could postpone it.
A week after writing about Noah Darling—whose father, Joel, I’ve known for a long time in the media broadcast business—I felt compelled to write this story. It was Noah’s first hole-in-one ever recorded.
When it’s your first time, is there anything more exciting in golf than recording a hole-in-one?
On the other hand, is there a sadder thing in golf than a death during a game?
Dave provided me with some background information about John’s golfing interest during our conversation this week.
“He was a hacker, but he started playing the game really late—maybe ten years ago,” Dave remarked. “He worked and didn’t play much, but a year ago he retired and moved close to where I live, which is in Owen Sound, a beautiful town three hours outside of Toronto.” We usually performed at mid-level classes, and we always performed together a few times during the summer.
However, after retiring, he felt the need to play more and began watching swing-related YouTube videos. I would make an effort to occasionally provide him advice. As a child, he had good fastball skills. Since he was a pitcher, I assumed that because of his skill, he would eventually have improved his golf game.
“It was pleasant strolling around, chatting, and enjoying a beer with him outside.” Really, it was a means of bonding.
John died while playing at Scenic City, a public golf course close to where he and Dave lived.
“I never had him out with those guys because I play with a bunch of pretty decent golfers who don’t want hackers,” Dave claimed.
I then suggested that we visit Scenic City. For me, this course is simple. When I play golf, I usually like to walk. He enjoyed operating the cart. I had been pushing him to take up walking as it’s good for you and gives you time to recover from a terrible shot by walking a hundred yards or so.