Golfers love to recount stories of their first day on the links.Some tagged along with their fathers for an early-morning round,while others had uncles or older brothers who bought them theirfirst sets of clubs.

But Northwestern golfer T.C. Ford learned the ways of the gamefrom a different golf guru — his grandmother.

“A lot of times (people) think I’m joking,” Ford said. “I’mlike, ‘Nope, and she could beat you, too.'”

And when Ford heads out to Columbus, Ohio, this weekend with hisNU teammates for the Kepler Intercollegiate, his first coach willbe there, watching proudly from the edge of the fairway.

“I’m very excited,” said Natalie Wheeler, 90, whom Ford calls”Granny.” “I’ve put in an order with the weatherman to have somedecent days.”

Wheeler played in an exhibition match with Robert Kepler — thetournament’s namesake — in the early 1930s.

She won the first of her four consecutive club championships atthe Columbus Country Club at age 17, developing a passion for golfat a time when few women played the sport.

On a golf trip to St. Andrews, Scotland, as a 65-year-old, shekept up with her fellow golfers — all men, most younger than she– by posting scores in the upper 80s and low 90s.

Seven years ago, at age 83, she had double knee replacementsurgery — just so she wouldn’t have to retire from the sport sheloved.

“Whenever she would swing, she couldn’t keep her balance verywell, so she had to plead and convince the doctors (to do thesurgery),” Ford said. “They said, ‘She’s (83). She can do what shewants.'”

Wheeler wasn’t about to quit the game she taught Ford to love.She first introduced her grandson to the sport during a familyvacation in Michigan when he was 11 and she was in her early80s.

She said Ford had a “natural swing.”

“I think his swing is very much today the way it was when hefirst started out,” said Wheeler, also an avid bridge player.”There wasn’t really anything to teach him except ‘Keep your eye onthe ball.'”

As Ford’s game evolved, he eventually played for his high schoolteam, and loved to give Granny a call after his rounds.

“I remember calling her and telling her about every single shotthat I hit, but she loved to hear about it,” said Ford, aCovington, La., native. “She would always say that I made her daywhen I called her.”

Today, Wheeler lives alone in an assisted-living facility inColumbus.

She looks forward to her summer rounds in Michigan with Ford andtwo of her sons, during which she rides in a golf cart and hits herfive-iron from the 100-yard marker. During most rounds, she sinksthe ball in three strokes on a couple of holes — a “par” in theirbook, Ford said.

Ford hopes his grandmother will see him rack up plenty of pars– or better yet, birdies — at the tournament this weekend.

“I’m not coming home unless we win,” Ford said.

Sounds like someone taught him well.