You know, there is just so much you can plan and organize, and then in the case of doing anything that involves weather, Mother Nature and Murphy will
play a part, welcome or not.One of the benefits of being retired, or so I was told, was that I could go and do things at various times of the year that I never got to do when I was working. I usually had enough vacation time saved up to do things, but it always had to be in the summer or when school was not in session. So when the thought of a spring golf trip came up, I thought why not. Dave, my Army buddie from Troy, and Chuck, my brother-in-law, said they were "in" so I checked out possible package locations and we picked North Carolina. I found a package there in the Winston-Salem area that featured some challenging courses and looked real nice. I usually don't mind getting my brains beat in by the course if the scenery is nice.
The drive was only a little over 8 hours, so that is very doable with a
couple of stretch breaks. When we got to the hotel, it was sunny and hanging in there at about 65 degrees. However, the weather chart had been showing for about the last 10 days that the two days we would be there might be better spent on computer golf. The temps were suppposed to be in the low 50s at best and there was about a 50% chance of rain (or worse) both days. But you know me, I'm the eternal optimist. BRING IT ON -- WE'RE NOT ASKEERED OF NO STINKING RAIN (OR WORSE)!!
The first course we played was The Oak Valley Golf Course, an Arnold Palmer course. Lots of rolling hills, water and deep bunkers. Another thing we noticed right away was that the fairway grass was still dormant. It was strange playing brown fairways and green rough, but it's a testament to the ability of the three of us -- we weren't in the green grass much!! Right!! Oh, and a note to my sister -- I only lost two golf balls -- one in a lake on the 18th on the first day, and one in the lake you see above on the second day. Not too bad. I had a 91 on the Palmer course. My goal was to break 90. (OK ..... my real goal was to break 100, still have all my clubs, and not have to buy golf balls to finish the round, but those things are always subject to revision.)The second day was supposed to be the toughest course. It was. It is called Tanglewood,
The Championship Course. This is listed by Golf Digest as one of the top 25 courses in the country. they play tour events there (regular, senior and Nike Tour). BRING IT ON!! Weatherwise, this was definitely the worst of the two days. It was raining when we got up and all the way to the course. It stopped as we were getting out of the truck, but the thermometer showed 45 degrees and it was a bit windy. The wind died down, but the temps died too -- we finished 18 in some spitting snow and 36 degrees. I shot a 97 on this course and thought that wasn't too bad, considering. This picture shows the green at 17. I think there were at least 17 traps in front of and around the green. The message is you either hit the green from 75 yards out and make it stay there, or go home and don't come back until you can. There is no home course bump and run here. Oh, and by the way, the greens are hard and lightning fast, even for this early.
There are some advantages to playing for the first time of the year on the road. You get the "dumb" things out of the way, or at least remember to keep them locked up somewhere -- like my driver!! Another thing I learned, this dormant grass is really slick and doesn't have that "grab" that green grass does. So if a shot is going badly off the tee, it is going to go really, really badly as it goes
down the line. I also learned the value of those little pocket hand warmers you can buy at Dick's Sporting Goods. They sell them there for $0.99 per pack as opposed to the counter at the golf shop where they go for $2.00 each ($4.00 for the package of two). And, last but not least, don't forget to pack some handi- wipes or hand sanitizer for those "gotta go"moments that we seniors tend to have more frequently these days.The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. (Phyllis Diller)
Hooah
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