Too Much Fun

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The ball is really leaving my club well.

I felt very confident as I approached the tee and the ball went down the middle, more often than not.

Still, golf is golf. A really fickle, difficult game that really takes a lot of concentration on every shot.

We all had good tee shots on #11 and I was only 75 yards from the pin. I put the chip on the green and two-putted for the par.

“What an easy game.”

#12 is just a 140-yard hole.

Feeling confident and fairly cocky about life...

...I promptly stepped up and hit my tee shot about 25 yards.

“Are you freaking kidding me?”

And like life, the idea is to not linger too long over what you’ve just screwed up.

We golf together as a close group of friends and we all root for one another.

“You can still par it,” Scott said.

I’d like to say that I did, but I actually chipped on and two-putted for the bogey, which was fine, but that’s life and golf.

There are a lot of great things about golf. 

1). Being outside. 

The weather has been outstanding. Hot & sunny. The other good thing is that every single glance can fit on a post card. There are at least a half dozen times a round when I look around and think:

“Damn, that’s beautiful.”

2). I’ll never get great at it.

I’m a decent golfer because I keep the ball in the middle. Good things happen when you’re playing on the short grass. Yet, I won’t ever hit the ball a long ways. 

I’m also hit and miss as a chipper and a putter, but there are moments, and when things actually work out and I par or birdie a hole. 

Well.

It’s fun then.

3). Friends - we have a pretty consistent 4-some and I know more about the swing patterns of the other three guys than I do about my own.

Through the years I’ve had a hundred different golf partners and it’s always good to just spend some time catching up.

4). Where’s My Ball?

It’s truly the only big concern for four solid hours.

“Was my backswing fast?”

“How far out?”

“You see a break?”

“What’d you get?”

That’s about the extent of the conversations. It’s a great way to let go of the tensions of the week. As soon as the round is over I start thinking about the next round.

5). Hot dogs at the turn

Like Babe Ruth I like to snack as we play.

Two hot dogs with ketchup,

I stood at the tee on ten, still chewing the last of the first dog.

Hit it right down the middle.

“Hot dog power!”

So, there you go...why I love the game.

Oh yeah.

One more thing.

6). Ice after

I have a lot of soreness after each round.

I enjoy the ice and relaxing and trying to remember each shot of the round.

6 more days to tee again.

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