Squeezing In 9 Holes

N has been mentioning that he'd love to go golfing at some point, and I had mixed feelings. I'm somewhat ambivalent about golf, maybe because my skills are deficient, but N enjoys it, and as I've mentioned, he's getting really good at it. Two other downsides to golfing are the cost and the time. The time is what really kills me, because you're looking at 3 hours minimum, and that's a huge chunk of time when you're training to be a real man.

Last week after the market, which for the record was miserably scorching hot, the weather took it's usual course and became cool and pleasant for the remainder of the week. Since A was at camp, we had the morning open to golf if we decided to do it. The only problem was that there was a storm heading our way, so we had to get started earlier than later, and on top of all that, we had to pick up A in the afternoon. Another complication is that N always wants to rent a golf cart and then wants to drive the thing, and while I think he's perfectly capable of handling it, the course gods frown on it. We've been busted and scolded a couple of times and it's really awkward.

I thought initially that we would forsake the cart and just walk, thus getting around the complications, but with the possibility of a storm, I figured a cart might be good to have in case we got caught in the middle of it. I made it clear, however, that I would be the only one driving the thing. We headed over to Larkin and were hoping it wouldn't be too crowded, but it was reasonably busy. We tend to go slowly so it's hard when people are waiting for you. This time around we had a group in front of us and a guy behind us. We offered to let him pass us by, but he said he was in no hurry, so we approached it accordingly.

It ended up being a really fun round of golf, and I have two observations. First, N is becoming quite the decent golfer, something I've noticed at the driving range and saw in action on the course. Second, golf can be fun if you've got the right mind set, and like disc golf, you just have to approach it with a little focus and patience. The more you get into the moment, you more you get out of it. We were actually able, for the first time, to finish all 9 holes, something we'd never done before for various reasons. We also benefitted from some clouds to help cool things off.

After our game, we headed home for lunch and within minutes the storm hit. Talk about good timing. We did a little school work in the afternoon and then went to get A. All in all a fun day, even if I didn't get as much of the firewood done as I had hoped, or for that matter, yard work or work on the barn. Then again, you just can't replace quality time with your kids, can you?

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to JD Hancock for the pic.