If it is true, as they say, that golf is a game for a lifetime, could it be that a golf friendship goes beyond forever?

Using Walter Clay and Brad Faxon Sr. as an example, the answer is a resounding yes. Should their story compare favorably to a friendship you share with someone through golf, you know their great fortune. Should their story resonate and leave you feeling good about the power of golf, that is marvelous. Should you need an introduction to their story, let’s unfold it:

Back in the spring of 1992, Brad Faxon Sr. traveled to Augusta, Ga., to be in attendance for his son’s first Masters. Brad Faxon in his eighth year on Tour had won the 1991 Buick Open and would be a 30-year-old Masters rookie in ’92. The man who introduced him to the game was most assuredly going to be there.

Which meant, of course, that Brad Faxon Sr. was going to find a warm and cozy place to have a good meal and a cold beverage, preferably one that he could call home for is week in Augusta. His wife, Elieen saw a small sign pointing to “Raes Café” and so they weaved their car through a tight neighborhood of homes to find a place that was understandably crowded.

Walter Clay had just opened Raes Coastal Cafe that year and remembers the night Eileen Faxon walked in. “We were busy. It was Masters week, and she was kind of sassy with her question so I gave a smart-ass answer,” said Clay.

“Then she said something sarcastic and I replied sarcastically, and we both laughed.”

Though unable to land a seat that night, Eileen had done her reconnaissance and when she returned to the car, Brad Faxon Sr. asked, “is it my kind of place?” She smiled and replied, “Oh, yeah. It’s your kind of place.”

Eileen probably didn’t realize the depths to which her comment was spot on. Ray Faxon Sr. made Raes Coastal Grill his go-to place not only the rest of that week in 1992, but in each of the subsequent 11 Masters in which his son competed.

Brad Jr., an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, had a commendable Masters career – in 12 starts, he made the cut 11 times with two top 10s and eight top 25s. No, the resume does not include a Green Jacket but there are blankets of friendships that originated because of his involvement in this tournament and the one between his father and Walter Clay makes a profound impact on him.

“They did so many things together, from golf to ice fishing and everything in between,” said Faxon. “Walter’s friendship meant everything to my dad.”

All those years when he played in the Masters – from 1992 to 2004 he only missed once – Faxon rented a house and had a chef prepare meals. These are the years his father’s friendship with Walter Clay flourished “because my dad would rent a condo in the neighborhood and walk to Raes every night,” said Brad.

“We loved the Masters, but we loved golf,” said Walter Clay. “I introduced Brad Sr. and Elieen to another couple that I was friends with and I’m not sure how it all happened, but next thing I knew, we were going to Arizona in the winter and Minnesota in July.”

In Minnesota, they would play Deacon’s Lodge Golf Club, an Arnold Palmer design that was named after his father. “It was my favorite golf course,” said Clay, but he confirmed that it was as much about the company as it was the design.

“They would play in each other’s member-guests,” said Brad Jr., who is amazed at how his playing career in the Masters came to an end while his father’s friendship with Walter Clay continued to strengthen year after year.

None of this would come as a surprise were you to find your way to Raes Coastal Café. The atmosphere inside is warmer than a July day in Georgia, the ambiance and charm of the place a perfect reflection of the owner, Walter Clay. That he opened Raes in 1992, the first year both Brad Faxons, Jr. and Sr., came to the Masters is a serious case of serendipity.

Now owning a restaurant in Augusta during Masters week automatically makes you a target for a long line of “best friends,” most of whom strut an air of importance and can boast to have influence. But Walter Clay has that uncanny ability to remain true to his roots and stay grounded to his simple ways. Raes serves Caribbean cuisine, a Jamaican Jerk Chicken and outrageous crab soup that will keep you coming back, with a commitment to a gregarious service mentality that will make you glad that you.

“This place is so great and I know why my father loved coming here,” said Brad Jr., who was in Augusta this week to do some television work. He shared a warm embrace with Walter Clay at Raes on Monday night and the conversation revolved around Brad Faxon Sr., who died Jan. 26.

That Brad Faxon Sr.’s final days were a struggle health-wise is unfortunate; that a last-minute smile may have found its way on his face and in his heart is a credit to Walter Clay.

“When I found out he was sick, I had a free weekend so I flew up (to Rhode Island),” said Clay. He did not publicize his plans until he made it up there, at which time he called Elieen. “He’s not good at all,” she said. “Don’t come up.”

“Too late,” Walter told her. “I’m here.”

He was told that Brad Sr. would be unresponsive, but people always underrate the mystical power of friendship. Brad Senior’s caregiver did not. “He’s waiting for somebody,” she told Walter Clay, and when he held his friend’s hand and spoke, Brad Faxon Sr. reacted with a smile.

Surreal. Warm. Tearful.

But Walter Clay had a surprise that even brought Brad Faxon Jr. to tears when he heard it. Weeks earlier, Walter – not knowing the seriousness of his friend’s declining health – had talked to a great friend who is a member at Augusta National and plans had been made for Walter and Brad Sr. to play a round at “the National.”

Now once Walter had discovered the level of Brad Sr.’s heath, you might think that the golf plan was no longer applicable. But perhaps you don’t have a true golf friend. Or perhaps you don’t appreciate the intrinsic power of this game.

Walter Clay does. Brad Faxon Sr. did, too. So Walter leaned in, squeezed hands, and told his great friend that he had made a tee time at Augusta National. They had a date at their favorite place. Friends connected for eternity.