Golf ⛳️ 2020 Edition

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Let me introduce the 4-some:

Pops:

The long ball hitter of the group. He spent a lot of years hitting drives that went from line-to-line. One of the original Grape Apes 🦍 he often chipped and putted with the same strength of his drives.

J.C.:

His ball would often start right and end up at the car path on the left side. His control with woods is amazing. He can tailor the swing to hit it 200 yards or 120. The king of par 3’s.

Scotty:

The best looking swing of the group and the best putter by far - he can actually read greens. But he’s often pretty beat up and has to battle through pain.

Me:

I hit it straight. Almost always. I also have Chippy and he saves me a lot of strokes per round.

In 2020, we had no idea what the season would be. We golfed with just one guy per cart a few times. Then we got in a groove.

25 rounds.

It’s time for the awards:

Most Improved:

Pops! 

He slowed everything down this year and those errant shots were a lot less common. He owned the 10th hole - a monster of a hole - and his 3-wood for the second shot in covered a ton of ground. Hammered that shot every week. He birdied the hole a couple of times and that’s truly impressive.

Best Fairway Woods:

J.C.:

 No doubt - he sometimes got into trouble with short tee shots but he’d stay calm and stroke a fairway wood. Far and straight.

Comeback Player of the Year:

Scotty. 

He struggled mightily for a few weeks. We all root for one another and when one guy is in the barrel...we all stay quiet...and hope.

There was a lot of concern...and then bam...he started hitting the ball. Turned the year around!

And he can putt it!

Strength Award:

Me! 

No idea why I started hitting the ball further this year, but it was a year of consistent, power hitting! It changes the game.

I think of soaking our gators in the ice chest and putting it on our heads before the 16th hole.

I’ll miss the chat before the round and the laughs at each tee box.

We didn’t talk politics, or family, or even much about other sports.

We golfed.

Best holes:

Pops birdie on 10.

My birdies on 2.

John’s 75-foot putt for Birdie on 5.

Scott making about 7 putts in a row one week...

...and then the round we played just 3 weeks ago (without Scotty).

23 pars!

It was bitterly cold when we teed-off yesterday. 

It took me a long while to get into some sort of a groove and I was struggling with the thought that it was the final round.

We lined up for the last hole.

John’s shot started right and ended up on the left side.

I hit a straight one...further than in previous years.

Scotty with a low liner that ended up on the short grass...

...and Pops passed all of us.

We covered up our drivers.

Finished up the hole.

Fist bumps all around.

Damn!

One more week?

Or how many weeks until May 1st?

24?

Twenty-four weeks???

I may cry now!

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