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548 pencils: A 50-state golf journey

By Mike McGovern
Published on

READING, Pa. -- The beginning of the end of Steve Rathman's decades-long odyssey took place at a Jiffy Lube in North Platte, Neb., of all places.

Rathman, who took his van in for an oil change, was looking for another place to play golf, because the course he wanted to play, desperately -- Sand Hills Golf Club in nearby Mullen, rated No. 11 in the U.S. by Golf Digest -- couldn't accommodate him, despite his best efforts.

So after talking to "some stranger in a car shop," the 67-year-old Birdsboro resident decided to tee it up at The Prairie Club, rated a not-too-shabby No. 75 on Golf Digest's list of the top 100 public courses.

Eighteen holes and some magic later, on June 2 in Valentine, Neb., Rathman's quest was complete. He had played golf in all 50 states.

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"It probably became a goal in the late '90s," he said. "I just decided, what a great way to see the country. I always wanted to do that, see the country. So I made it a goal to play in each state. It didn't hit me that I was really going to do it until a couple of years before I retired (in 2007). I thought, well, now I just have to go after it."

So here's how the numbers stack up: 548 courses played, 532 in the U.S.; 548 pencils (we'll get to that); and one very patient, understanding and accommodating wife.

Steve Rathman's first round of golf was at the now-defunct Exeter Golf Course, when he was 19. Given his attitude going in, there was no guarantee there'd be a second.

"My dad played, and I always laughed at him: 'What a stupid game,' " he said.

There was nothing particularly memorable about his debut, except the finish: He birdied 18, and it was "like an infection."

"That must've done it," he said. "And I haven't stopped (since), and the only way I'm going to stop is when I stop walking."

Rathman, who worked in the IT department for MetEd/GPU for 34 years, traveled a fair amount, and his golf clubs were as necessary as his toothbrush. Because of those business trips, he got to play in California, Colorado, Florida, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

So he got some of the more remote destinations out of the way early.

When Rathman made it to the most remote -- Alaska in 2000 -- the clubs didn't make the trip, just golf balls and shoes. But even though the rentals weren't exactly cutting edge technology -- "My buddy (Roger Levesque) and I had a driver and 5-wood between us," he said -- and even though he was unable to fulfill his dream of playing at midnight, it remains a highlight.

"Alaska stood out; that was pretty neat," he said. "Just the fact that there was a course there. We played in Fairbanks; it was a beautiful day; and it was in pretty decent shape for being up there. We picked it because it was on an Army base. Figured they'd have to keep it nice for some general."

In South Dakota last year, Rathman was treated like a general. He filled out a foursome, and when he told the others that, one, he was from Pennsylvania, and two, he was in the midst of playing golf in all 50 states, "they looked shocked."

About the eighth or ninth hole, one of Rathman's playing partners asked him to sign his scorecard after the round.

"I told 'em, 'I don't do that for less than $100, but, sure, I'll sign it,' " he said. "When I finished, I no sooner picked the ball out of the hole, and he asks me to sign the card -- and to put 'No. 46' (out of 50) on it.

"That guy doesn't know me from Adam; he'll never see me again. What in the world is he going to do with that scorecard with my name on it?"

Use it when he tells the story about the small part he played in what was a remarkable road trip.

Given the places he's gone and the people he's met, Steve Rathman has accumulated enough memories to fill the Grand Canyon.

And with his wife, Linda, along for the ride, or most of the rides -- and they've driven almost everywhere -- she's made memories, too, few of which have anything to do with golf.

"I'd rather be home washing the kitchen floor (than playing golf)" said Linda, a retired nurse. "Whenever he golfs, I can usually find something else to do, and if worse comes to worse, there's always a casino.

"But I've gone to state capitals, libraries, museums, national parks. It's been amazing."

And the journeys may continue. Steve is thinking about taking on Canadian provinces, and there are 14 national parks they have yet to visit.

"Maybe we'll start checking those off," Steve said.

No doubt using a pencil.

About those pencils. Rathman, who got several shoe boxes full of golf pencils from a friend of his father's in the late '80s, began adding the pencils accumulated during his travels.

He's got 548 pencils from courses he's played, 510 of them with the names of the courses printed on them.

Most of those 510 are mounted in racks and displayed in a hallway in his house. The rest will be displayed when he buys more racks.

The 38 no-names don't rate the rack; they're in a shoe box.

Steve Rathman collected his last three pencils on this spring's trip to Illinois, Kansas (a no-name) and Nebraska.

Truth be told, it wasn't exactly by chance that the last 10 states he visited over the last three years were all in the Midwest.

"No offense, but why would anyone want to go to Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska or Iowa?" Rathman wondered, with just a hint of good-natured sarcasm.

But he was glad to get to The Prairie Club, where he played as a single, and played well.

Until the par-5 18th.

"I hit a really good drive; I had about 200 yards to the middle of the green," Rathman said. "There was a foursome in front of me, so while I waited, I called my buddy (Tom Clark) and told him: 'This is it, 200 yards to go, three or four more shots, and then it's done. I didn't come all this way to lay up. I've got 150 yards to clear a gorge, I'm going for it.'"

The ball found the gorge, and after a penalty stroke, his fourth shot, a 7-iron from 145 went over the green, leaving him with the prospects of a long ride home, made even longer because he made a mess of the last hole on the last course in his last state.

Rathman faced a chip of about 40 feet, and he wasn't exactly brimming with confidence.

"I'm not the worst chipper in the world, but I'm pretty damn close," said Rathman, a Heidelberg Country Club member who plays to a 10 handicap.

He used a 9-iron and by the time the ball got 3 feet from the hole, Rathman thought, "Hey, this is gonna be close."

It was better than close.

"It went in like I knew what I was doing," said Rathman, who shot 5-over 78. "I couldn't have scripted it any better well, if I had scripted it I would've made eagle. But I just looked up to the heavens."

And thought of his dad.

"My goal (when I started) was always to beat my dad," Rathman said. "It took a couple of years, and then he couldn't beat me."

Robert Rathman passed away 10 years ago.

On Father's Day.

"When that ball went in," Rathman said, "I just thought, 'Thanks, Dad.' "

Who was also along for the ride.

This article was written by Mike McGovern from Reading Eagle, Pa. and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network.