First Round of the New Year

To celebrate the arrival of the new year, I made a tee time on January 1, 2012, at 12:12pm. The weather forecast called for sunny skies with a high of 53 degrees, so I wasn’t surprised to find the parking lot half full at the golf course. Good thing there was a football game today, or it would have been packed.

Yesterday was warm too, but I forced myself to take a day off since my neck and hip were feeling a bit achy. Today I felt just fine but resolved to swing easy and not try to kill it on driver. Hubby had the idea to play a match, and he gave me a stroke a hole. So on a par 4, for example, if I took five strokes and he took four, we’d still be even. Just before we teed off, the starter said to me, “Don’t forget the rules: You’re not allowed to beat him!” I laughed and replied, “Don’t worry, that never happens!”

For the first few holes, things went pretty well, which for me means I was staying a stroke or two above par. I landed on the green on hole 5, which was the site of my hole-in-one back in October. I haven’t repeated it since, but that never stops me from trying. This time, I ended up three-putting for a respectable bogey.

Then along came hole 6. From the red tees, it’s 405 yards to the pin, half of which is a steep uphill. I botched my drive and plugged the ball into the rough on the far right, a pitiful 80 yards or so from the tee ground. From there I tried rescuing the ball with my 7-wood, but the rough was thick and the ball was stubborn. I kept hitting fat shots that sent the ball dribbling forward, clinging to the side of the fairway like a gutterball. It took me 11 strokes to get my ball in the hole. Needless to say, hubby won that hole.

Given that I blew up so hard, we had to come up with a new golf term for my terrible score. In golf lingo, there’s bogey and double-bogey for one or two strokes above par. Three strokes over par is triple-bogey, and if par happens to be 5, then you’d get a “snowman,” which is what the 8 looks like. But what about 9, 10, and 11, which are numbers that are known to appear on my score card? Well, I thought of “lollipop” for a 9. For 10, hubby thought “bacon and egg” was a good phrase. And for 11? “Chopsticks,” he said.

On the back nine, the wind picked up and some clouds rolled in, and then raindrops started falling. At the 14^th hole, we headed for shelter. We debated stopping for the day, but my husband surveyed the sky and looked at how fast the clouds were moving in the distance. “This should be over in about 20 minutes,” he predicted. So we loitered under the driving range hood till the rain subsided to a light drizzle.

Sometimes I play better in the rain. The grayness forms a cloak around me so I don’t get distracted by pretty blue skies, chirping birds, or shadows cast by the sun. On a wet fairway, balls don’t stray too far from where you land them, and a damp green is like putting on carpet. Perhaps because of this, I birdied the 16^th hole. I hit my 6-iron on the 110-yard par 3, and made the 8-foot putt to my utter surprise. 

I shot 103 for the round. Hubby shot an 86. In terms of the match, I won 7 holes, he won 6, and we came out even on the rest. So technically, despite the starter's reminder, I did beat my husband. But we both had fun. Even though there were some dark clouds and cold rain, we weathered it. We even managed not to curse or bicker much. All in all, it was a great start to the new year.