The wind was blowing with plenty of gusto Monday morning at Avondale Golf Course, making control of a ball’s flight a challenge.
Combined with a single digit temperature hovering around 8 C, but feeling much chillier each time the sun ducked behind clouds, play seemed limited to only the heartiest of golfers.
Count in among that feisty lot John Bradley of Peake Station, who turns 89 Friday.
“If it is anyway fit at all, we’ll come out,’’ said Bradley, gesturing toward his playing partner Gerard Murnaghan back in the clubhouse.
Well, Bradley found conditions decent enough to draw him out to Avondale exactly 100 times this season as of Monday. He may sneak in a couple more rounds before the flags are pulled.
Clearly, he makes strong use of a Monday to Friday membership.
In fact, Bradley has made plenty of time for golf since first taking up the game at age 25 in the early throes of what would become a 23-year career in the Air Force as a navigator.
He played plenty of sports while attending St. Dunstan’s College, including baseball, basketball and rugby. He even stepped into the boxing ring.
Golf, though, has had a 64-year (and counting) pull on Bradley.
He has played each of those 64 years – playing frequently and playing well.
He once shot a 69 in a tournament in Chatham, N.B.
He got his first hole-in-one in 1968 during a tournament in Ottawa. His second ace came at the age of 77 when he drained his tee shot on the eighth hole at Avondale.
He also came within just one stroke, at age 87, of achieving the rare feat of shooting one’s age.
After retiring from the Air Force, Bradley spent 17 years teaching at Colonel Gray High School in Charlottetown – a profession conducive to golfing with summers free – and another seven years teaching at the Provincial Correction Centre, helping inmates to read and pursue their GED.
Bradley has had notable health setbacks, but none capable of drawing golf to a close.
A dozen years ago, he had surgery to separate two vertebrae. He was golfing a few weeks later.
He is a survivor of stage 3 colon cancer.
And today, his golf attire includes a nitroglycerin patch to prevent chest pain.
Bradley is quick to count his blessings as he is counting his strokes on each hole.
“I do appreciate to feel well enough to go out and do that,’’ he says.
“I appreciate every extra month I get. I’ll take whatever comes.’’
The wind was blowing with plenty of gusto Monday morning at Avondale Golf Course, making control of a ball’s flight a challenge.
Combined with a single digit temperature hovering around 8 C, but feeling much chillier each time the sun ducked behind clouds, play seemed limited to only the heartiest of golfers.
Count in among that feisty lot John Bradley of Peake Station, who turns 89 Friday.
“If it is anyway fit at all, we’ll come out,’’ said Bradley, gesturing toward his playing partner Gerard Murnaghan back in the clubhouse.
Well, Bradley found conditions decent enough to draw him out to Avondale exactly 100 times this season as of Monday. He may sneak in a couple more rounds before the flags are pulled.
Clearly, he makes strong use of a Monday to Friday membership.
In fact, Bradley has made plenty of time for golf since first taking up the game at age 25 in the early throes of what would become a 23-year career in the Air Force as a navigator.
He played plenty of sports while attending St. Dunstan’s College, including baseball, basketball and rugby. He even stepped into the boxing ring.
Golf, though, has had a 64-year (and counting) pull on Bradley.
He has played each of those 64 years – playing frequently and playing well.
He once shot a 69 in a tournament in Chatham, N.B.
He got his first hole-in-one in 1968 during a tournament in Ottawa. His second ace came at the age of 77 when he drained his tee shot on the eighth hole at Avondale.
He also came within just one stroke, at age 87, of achieving the rare feat of shooting one’s age.
After retiring from the Air Force, Bradley spent 17 years teaching at Colonel Gray High School in Charlottetown – a profession conducive to golfing with summers free – and another seven years teaching at the Provincial Correction Centre, helping inmates to read and pursue their GED.
Bradley has had notable health setbacks, but none capable of drawing golf to a close.
A dozen years ago, he had surgery to separate two vertebrae. He was golfing a few weeks later.
He is a survivor of stage 3 colon cancer.
And today, his golf attire includes a nitroglycerin patch to prevent chest pain.
Bradley is quick to count his blessings as he is counting his strokes on each hole.
“I do appreciate to feel well enough to go out and do that,’’ he says.
“I appreciate every extra month I get. I’ll take whatever comes.’’
