Ah, the first rounds of spring bring the joys of sights not lately seen. In the pond by the 3rd hole, I spotted the giant koi fish usually obscured by overgrown thrushes and the turtles sunning themselves on the rocks. It was a sunny day, and in the blue sky, there were clouds that looked like angel wings.
Signs of the long, wet winter lingered: Soggy patches of muddy grass. A raccoon tail with a weathered skeleton attached (probably eaten by a fox).
Hubby and I played as a twosome, stuck between 2 foursomes. It was a slow round, but we always feel grateful when we can play just the two of us. It’s like a four-hour date night during the day. We incorporated some of the new rules, such as leaving the flag in when putting and dropping from knee height when taking a drop. Leaving the flagstick in came in handy during one rare instance when the stick's shadow created a perfect line from my ball to the hole. I made that putt.
I've been golfing for over 10 years now, so starting up my swing in the spring is not like reinventing the wheel anymore. But the problem with the swing thoughts turning into pure muscle memory is that it leaves too much space in my brain for other thoughts to creep in. Thoughts from the stresses of life off the course. Demons from the past rising when I thought they were long dead. I look to the sky but the angel clouds are powerless against these demons, the ones deep inside. So all I can do is swing, swing them away.
