Dad’s Last Dance
Dad has only one more tournament left.
His 84-year-old mind and body is wearing out fast.
Now residing in a senior’s care facility, the rapid onset of dementia and lingering effects from a recent fall make it difficult for my father to swing a golf club. Nevertheless, he works daily on his grip and putting stroke, hoping he and his great grandson can capture a 6th consecutive M.G.A. Tour title later this summer. In years past, the wider public, friends and family were invited to take part in his family legacy tournament, but not this time around. Dad had great difficulty playing just three holes the other day, so this year’s event will be a private affair.
One last opportunity to honour the only former pro golfer in the history of the world to have competed in a four-generational foursome, five years in a row.
Dad will never read this post, but I would want him to know he has helped his only son realize that legacy is greater than currency. Not the dollars in your bank account. Not big homes, flashy sports cars, lavish trinkets, baubles or being surrounded by the so-called ‘beautiful’ people. A former pro from St. Andrews, Scotland, Dad never cared for those eager to flaunt wealth, possessions or fame. His greatest love was the inner beauty of a centuries-old game and what it demands. Endless practice and fine-tuning required to compete at a high level in the most biomechanically difficult and mentally challenging of all sports. However, nothing has meant more to him than being the founder of the M.G.A. Golf Tour. What started in the summer of 2019 came to represent something much bigger. How life came full circle as he battled back from soul-destroying personal struggles to achieve something no one else can lay claim to. Thanks to YouTube, his story has touched people all over the world. It vividly illustrates how legacy can leave an incredibly long and impactful shadow.
The documentary, shot in an “ESPN 30-for30” style and the music video that tells his life story are permanent reminders that Jim Maxwell left a mark like no other. Hope you enjoy the full story behind Dad’s Last Dance on Leaders & Legends.
Memories of Jimmy & Moe
Moe Norman was always Dad’s favorite golfer.
The two crossed paths in 1957 after Dad left his Scottish homeland and took on his first pro job at Lambton Golf Club in Toronto. Moe was from nearby Kitchener and before long, the two struck up a friendship that centered on their mutual love of the game and the fact they both believed you could finish 18 holes in less than 2 hours. Without a cart.
Both Dad and Moe liked to play fast.
No fidgeting. No fussing over a practice swing.
Step up and hit it.
For several years Dad, Moe and a few others including future Hall-of-Famer Gary Cowan would head to Florida to play a little winter golf. Cowan would go on to make 8 appearances at the Masters while the colorful Norman was often described by folks like Tiger Woods as the greatest ball striker who ever lived .
In his prime, my father ran with the biggest dogs in his sport and along the way carved out a reputation of his own as one of the finest to ever tee it up in all of Maritime Canada. Making his home in Moncton, N.B. Back then, however, there was no real money to speak of in golf and Dad felt forced to turn his back on the game he loved to try and earn a more decent, respectable living. In effect, he traded his passion for a paycheck to put food on the table for three kids.
For the better part of 15 years, he never picked up a club. And nearly destroyed himself in the process.
As he approaches his final walk on life’s fairway, Dad’s memory isn’t what it used to be. He has trouble remembering what day it is and what he had for breakfast.
But he has instant recall of playing alongside some of the greatest ever like Moe Norman. Especially that time in Montreal when the two of them were featured on a nationwide CBC telecast in 1964 and the frustration they both felt with cameramen who kept asking them to slow down their fast pace so they could get a better angle.
“When a defining moment comes along, you define the moment—or the moment
defines you.” ROY McAVOY
“There is a universal longing in all of us to serve a greater purpose: We hope our legacy leaves a lasting imprint on the hearts and souls of those we love.”
Three years ago, Josh Parlee of Defiant Astronaut Media was able to keep up with Dad and capture the story of a boy who grew up learning the game at the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland. Narrated by Ken Reid of Sportsnet, my father’s unlikely, uncommon comeback story is a real-life look at what it means to play the long game, both on and off the course.
“First thing you must learn is this game ain’t about hitting a ball in a hole. It’s about inner demons, self-doubt, human frailty, and overcoming that crap”
ROY McAVOY
A Caddy's Farewell and Her Father's Legacy
My sister Karen was always the one who would step up and caddy for Dad in a number of provincial and national tournaments. As a flight attendant, she would work her schedule around Dad’s competitions, including an appearance at the British Amateur in 1985 at Royal Dornoch & Golspie in the Scottish Highlands near Inverness. Since the launch of the M.G.A. Tour five years ago, Karen has always pitched in to help out with the arrangements in her role as Official Concierge. This summer, however, she will do a different job as her father’s caddy for one last round.
Besides golf, Dad’s other passion was jive dancing. Many weekends he would be cutting a rug at the Air Force vets club and enjoying the musical stylings of noted lounge acts like Ti-Blanc Morin. When you watch the music video, performed by HAULER , the final scene of him dancing with his daughter at St. Andrews, New Brunswick reflects a precious moment that speaks to something words cannot.
“This is everything, ain’t it? This is the choice it comes down to; this is our immortality.” ROY McAVOY
Tin Cup: Celebrating Golf, Grit, and Going for Broke
As it turns 28 this summer, Tin Cup is considered one of the greatest golf movies ever made. The biggest box office smash for any golf movie, the romantic comedy that starred Kevin Costner and Rene Russo was released in August of 1996 with a robust lineup of cameos that includes PGA Tour golfers and commentators, from Phil Mickelson to Jim Nantz.
It’s a film that juxtaposes the intricacies of golf, life, and what it means to grip it and rip it.
After taking a 12 on the 18th hole, holing out from the fairway with the last ball in his bag, Roy McAvoy’s final-round in the fictional U.S. Open was a moment that lives forever in the hearts of those who celebrate the relentless spirit of the underdog. The inner Rocky, Rudy and Braveheart inside all of us. When we watch uplifting movies like Tin Cup, we know who we want to be. We watch people react in crisis situations and know what we wish we would have said or done to react in a way that will allow us to feel good about ourselves.
Hollywood or Netflix provide those moments each time we settle in and watch, but so can real-life stories like the one about 84-year old Jim Maxwell. The Scottish golfing prodigy who started strong and lost his way before finally experiencing a victory dance for the ages.
For Dad, the M.G.A. Tour serves as his legacy. An enduring oak tree that will provide comforting shade for future generations of Maxwells and young golfers everywhere. It’s about getting bad breaks from good shots; good breaks from bad shots, but still playing the ball where it lies. Always staying true to yourself and following the dreams that still live in your go-for-broke heart.
If you’re playing the long game, history and heritage still matters. To know where you are going, it helps to know where you came from. As the proud son of a former pro golfer who hung in there many decades after many would have given up, it’s about living in the moment.
And never looking back.
“We stand our best chance of leaving a legacy to those who want to learn, our
children, by standing firm. In matters of style, hey, swing with the stream. But in
matters of principle, you need to stand like a rock”
KEVIN COSTNER
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