Oct 9, 2026

 

It was a beautiful Friday morning, 8 a.m. at Grand Central. I was on my way to Rye Golf Club to play a round with my new boss before officially starting my job. Naturally, I arrived absurdly early. The NYC train system still intimidates me, and getting lost with a golf bag wasn't exactly how I wanted to start my day.

Enter John.
 

There he was, golf clubs in tow, headed to Bally's Golf Links to reunite with a few buddies he hadn't seen in years. We struck up a conversation, two golfers looking slightly out of place among the morning commuters. Although I'm starting to realize this might be perfectly normal in New York.

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John moved to NYC from Florida 15 years ago for work. Trading year-round sunshine and golf for city life wasn't easy, but he found a way to make it work. He gave me plenty of advice on navigating the city with clubs, keeping them safe on the subway and, most importantly, we bonded over our shared obsession with collecting ball markers and tees.
 

Somewhere between swapping golf stories and commuter tips, I stopped feeling quite so embarrassed about standing out with my clubs.

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Turns out, there's a whole community of golfers hiding in this concrete jungle. You just have to look for them.

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Thanks, John, for making this new NYC golfer feel a little more at home.