Winter Round: Signs of Improvement

Last Monday, Seri and I had a noon tee time. I wanted to cancel since there was snow on the ground and the temps were only going to hit 40 degrees with winds in the 10-13 mph range. I had never played in weather below 42, but Seri said she really wanted to play, and I thought, “Wow, this chick’s more hardcore than me!”

It was only 32 degrees when I left the house. I wore two pairs of pants, a turtleneck, a cashmere sweater, a pink fleece pullover, and my orange fleece vest. I also wore a fluffy ivory knit cap my aunt gave me years ago. I think she got it from her former Russian art-dealer boyfriend. It’s the warmest hat I own. With four layers of clothing on and a puffy hat, I felt like a fat clown. Seri was outfitted in a few layers of high-tech cold gear, plus her rasta hat. It was sunny out, and by the third hole, we were sweating.

The ground was hard as a rock and we had a hard time getting tees in the grass. We had to work them in like wooden screws. However, the cold hard fairway sometimes yielded benefits in terms of ball bounce, and I generated three decent drives in the 160-169 range. On a par 5 on the back nine, I lost a ball in a hazard but lucked out because course rules gave a free drop. Somehow I kept my game together. Even though it was below 40, I shot under 100 for the third time in my life. I shot a 98, to be exact. A good feeling, even if I did look like a fat clown.