Mind if I play through?

Despite my concerns, it was a pretty darn good day on the golf course.  I was able to get in early, knock out my report, get consensus in both meetings, and take care of a few tasks before I skied out around 1030 to head to the course.  Weather looked like it was going to turn bad, but we only had a lot of wind on the course and the rain stayed away until this morning.  


I used to play golf regularly back in the 80s.  I got a set of knock off clubs from a golf shop and a nice bag and even played in a regular Wednesday league with other Engineers on courses around the Dallas-Fort Worth area.  I was really into the whole golf thing back then.  I recall a few days where I would leave work early and would change into my golf clothes (at the stop lights) while driving up to the course to allow us more time on the course before it got dark.  I thought I was doing pretty good, but I never really got the knack.  I could play OK, but never broke into the lower scores (never broke par).  I kept at it for a while after my son was born, but with his activities kept me busy off the course.  Scouting pretty much killed any of the remaining free time I had, and, since I was never destined for the PGA, I kind of let it go.  I would play in the occasional tournament at work, but nothing serious.  The last few years, I was more disappointed in my play (or lack of skills) that pretty much put a stake in if for me.  Golf is one of those tricky sports.  If you are halfway coordinated or have some athletic abilities (neither of which apply to me), you can play a decent game.  I got tired of playing with other, more talented players and had pretty much retired.  Three years back when I dislocated my shoulder, I figured I wasn't going to hit the links again.  Last year, I was out on an audit and didn't have time to play (that's my excuse), even though I cajoled a number of my suppliers to play.  This year, I got my arm twisted to play, even though I knew it wouldn't end well.  

I I was teamed up with several co-workers who have played before.  They've played pretty good and have always had a good time.  Their fourth player had signed up with another team, so they asked me.  I tried to put them off several times, but they were persistent.  I figured it was going to be ugly but I was quite surprised at the outcome.  Was a pretty darned good outing.  We didn't burn up the course, but we did decent.  I muffed more than a few shots, lost more balls than I found, put several in the water/woods, and even managed to nit a ball backwards (once) but still had a few solid drives.  After missing a lot of shots you finally connect on a solid hit and drive the ball straight down the fairway for serious yardage and it gives you hope.  I really sucked on most of my drives but I was hot on my short game.  On several holes, I sunk the long putt (pure luck) to save the team score.  I wish I could say it was skill, but that would be a lie.  Still, with our combined foursome, we did well enough to come in 2nd, even with my help.  Of course, playing in south Texas, you always encounter some interesting obstacles.  Can anyone identify the object in the picture below near my ball (hint:  center left)?  Is this what they would call an "improvable lie"?  Needless to say, I did not recover that ball.     

See the water "hazard"?

The entire tournament was a huge success.  I think we cleared a lot of money, but we won't know until everything has been tallied.  There was one hole where we hired a guy who is this longest drive champion.  He plays exhibitions where he shows how to hit the ball long.  He set up on 14 and, for a donation to the Epilepsy Foundation, he would drive the tee shot for your team.  He could drive the ball over 400+ yards.  His hole alone cleared $11k for the charity.  And that doesn't include the money collected at the Jello shot and Margarita holes.  All-in-all, it was a very good day.  IMHO, way better than sitting in meetings all day.