With Charlie Epps and his trip diary from 1967.
Houston was a pivotal city for the ‘Journey to Olympic Golf’ in several ways. Many times on the trip to Rio I would be amazed on the connections made at the most opportune but very limited time. My same friend back home who connected me with the Olympian Dennis Berkholtz in Atlanta gave me the contact information for Charlie Epps, the coach for two-time Major Champion Angel Cabrera. I called Charlie thinking he could help me when I got to Argentina but when I told him what I was doing he recommended that I come to Houston because there was something called The Spirit International taking place.
More on that later including how attending the Opening Ceremony at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott seven days later set up my travels throughout Mexico and Central America. The amazing thing about Charlie Epps that I learned once I met him in person at Redstone GC, now the Golf Club of Houston, is that he did nearly the exact same trip I was on as a young kid out of school in 1967! And he had a typed diary to prove it which he graciously let me make a copy of to guide me on my travels. It’s a small world but not that crazy small to connect with someone who did what you are doing 36 years ago. Maybe there are more people driving from the United States to Argentina and Brazil than one would guess?
I stayed in the Houston area for a total of seven nights, the most in anyone place since the start of the trip by far and only surpassed by Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. It was a mixture of seeing old friends and making new ones, playing some golf, and enjoying a 3-night stay at the newly refurbished Woodlands Resort . Stay tuned as it will be quite a week in the Houston area!
Some more stories in the pictures below…
I am looking for 100 new friends in the next 100 days to make a $100 donation (or any amount that you are able to make) to The First Tee. Each day I will be reliving the original “Journey to Olympic Golf” and hope to find a new friend in golf. Is that you? Please join me in giving back to the game we all love.
CLICK here to make a donation to The First Tee.
Please select ‘Andy Reistetter’s Journey to Olympic Golf’ on the drop-down menu for the question ‘What inspired you to make a gift today? This is for tracking purposes only, Andy does not receive any part of your donation or anything financially from The First Tee organization.
There are interesting incentives for making your donation to the First Tee…
PLEASE click here to make a donation to The First Tee.
Thank You!
Torch, my 1992 Infiniti M30 has gone Go Pro on me, one pointing outside, one pointing inside at me… very interesting videos especially going through borders in Central America…
Charlie Epps (L) with Uruguay’s Alvaro Canessa (R) and young protege Franco Martinelli. Alvaro would later host me in Punte del Estes for New Year’s Eve!
Making a copy of Charlie’s 1967 diary. Even though it was in Spanish and was 36 years old it helped me find my way to Rio!
