View From a Par

It's been a tough couple of months on the family front. My brother is going through a rough divorce. Another of my beloved aunts has passed away. Issues from the past resurface and worries about the future nag. But golf is where the present lies, at least for me. Yesterday was an unseasonably warm day, the kind that had me wishing for more summer. But here it is, the fall, with the golden hues of autumn offered up as early compensation for the cold weather to come. I love fall golf. Fewer bugs, less sweating and lovely colors all around. It's even lovelier when you've just made a par and look back from the tee ground on the next hole and see, in the background, the colorful trees reflected on the reservoir, and, in the foreground, the tiniest flicker of a yellow flag waving at you, as if to say, "Till next time."