Raymond Lee Hart (a.k.a Ray, Stick, Stickman, Carl Spackler)

Ray is the narrator and protagonist of the story. He is thirty years old, and as he says the only real friends he has are those associated with Ponky. Ray went from being a professional golfer to playing at what some consider the worst golf course in the country.

Ray's childhood with his alcoholic and abusive father was unpleasant. He was always pushed to succeed and criticized for anything less than perfection. While the abuse in Ray's home was mostly verbal, his father was capable of violent physical abuse. In addition to being slapped at a basketball game, Ray witnessed his father break his mother's nose, and Ray blames his father for his brother's death.

Ray's father introduced him to golf but can take none of the credit for any of Ray's success at the sport. In hindsight...