Scenes from the First Round of a New Year

January is over and I only golfed once the whole month. It's been cold and snowy where I live, so the courses have been mostly closed. In early January there was a day where the temps were in the low 50s and the snow had melted enough for play. So I called up my trusty golf pal Seri and we hit the links. I walked and Seri rode, but it was cart path only so she ended up doing more walking than me.

We played winter rules, which meant unlimited mulligans, and lift, clean and place the ball pretty much anywhere you want. The ground was either hard as a rock or wet as a sponge. Bunkers were often filled with snow or melted ice. Somehow, I ended up in a lot of them, but usually had a decent enough stance to get out.

On a par 3, my attempt to chip on was stymied by blocks of snow. These are movable obstructions, but still, I bogeyed.

My shoes got plenty muddy, and so did my bright pink corduroys.

I shot a 97, not counting losing 6 balls in the water at various holes. But it was a wonderful round, a breath of fresh golfy air after weeks of being cooped up in the house, slogging away at the various things I do to make a living. It's nice to get work done in the off-season. But I can't wait for the next time the golf gods part the grey clouds and let us golf addicts get another winter fix.