Green Meadow Golf Club general manager Pete Dupuis would see a familiar car drive into the parking lot a couple of times the week before last.

He’d try to run out, but the car would be gone. Who knew that Roland Delisle, 94 years young, would be tough to catch.

But that’s how anxious Delisle, a former 28-year employee of the course who hails from Lowell, Mass., was to play.

“I could never get out there quick enough,” Dupuis would chuckle.

But that’s OK, Delisle was back playing the game he loves this past Monday at the course he loves when courses around the state, including Green Meadow, were allowed to open.

“You could see the smile on his face,” Dupuis said. “He was in his glory.”

So were a lot of golfers, but Delisle especially. To some, golf is a game. To others, it’s a sport. To Delisle, it’s a religion.

And Green Meadow is his church.

He helped nuture the course for nearly three decades, helping superintendent Andy McHugh keep it green and gorgeous. What that earned him was something a lot of us golfers would die for – a lifetime of free golf.

You don’t want to waste that. The problem was, Delisle couldn’t squeeze in a couple of rounds in late March before the pandemic hit because in February he had to have, well, heart surgery. His wait wasn’t seven weeks, it was six months.

“I had a valve put into my heart in February,” he said. “And then they had the virus. Before that I was short-winded, I couldn’t play golf. November was the last time I played. I normally play on Mondays and Wednesdays.”

So Monday was like a holiday for someone who doesn’t look close to 94. Even so, men his age right now are normally kept in bubble wrap due to this horrible virus. But the game of golf is a strong, strong pull, and Delisle doesn’t strike you as the type to stay put.

“You bet,” he said after his putt just missed the cup on the 7th green. “Anything to get out.”

Delisle isn’t bad, either. As Dupuis said, he can shoot his age. Unfortunately his longtime playing partner, Nashua’s Norm Ouellette, who is about six years younger, who also used to work at Green Meadow, isn’t able to get out any more. But Dupuis remembered playing with both Ouellette and Delisle when Green Meadow hosted the Friel Empire’s employee tourney, the Friel Cup.

“We came pretty close (to winning),” Dupuis said with a chuckle. “Here I am with an 86-year-old man, and a 91-year old man. And it was gross score. They hit their greens. He (Delisle) can hit it pretty good.”

Delisle is also a veteran. And he has a vision issue, according to Dupuis. He was a little out of practice the other day so he shot a 56 on the front nine. But you can bet that score will improve as the weeks go on.

“He’s like a Timex watch, he keeps on ticking,” Dupuis said. “He’s just a really, really super guy. He’d be the first to tell you he’s lived a good life.”

Dupuis knows the dangers a 94-year-old man especially has to go up against in this pandemic world. You have to, as he said, “respect the virus. Be careful, diligent. That’s the key with this game.”

Golfers all around the area did just that this week. A lot were probably like Delisle, counting the days, but he took it a step further, driving in and out of the parking lot. He was counting the hours.

“You know, that’s what it’s all about,” Dupuis said. “The game of golf is a game for a lifetime.”

And that’s why Roland Delisle is always playing on the front nine. Good for him.

Tom King may be reached at 594-1251 or tking@nashuatelegraph.com. Also, follow King on Twitter (@Telegraph_TomK).