Watch out WPGA here I come! After years of nothing but putt-putt golf I felt it was finally time to graduate to the real thing. No windmills, no florescent colored balls, and no twisted labyrinth of pipes and tubes that the ball must be shot directly into so it can wind it's way down into an awaiting cup for an instant hole in one. This was nothing but wide open fairways complete with divots and sand traps and water hazards.
I enlisted the company of a couple of friends (yeah for Anna and Ryan) who's golfing proficiency was similar to mine. We went to the River View Golf course right here in Santa Ana. Before moving into our house Sarah and I lived in an apartment with a view of the green on the second hole, so we saw plenty of golfers tackle the peaks and valleys of this fine course, some with a much greater degree of skill than others. The three of us checked in, payed our fees, got the keys to our carts and we were set. After a quick reprimand over the loud speaker for starting from the wrong tee box we were off and running. It took me a few swings to warm up, but once I did boy did that ball fly...about 50 feet right into a palm tree that it bounced off of and came rolling half way back. It was just another 8 or so quick strokes and a couple balls later and that baby was in the hole!
We didn't exactly play by traditional standard rules, in fact, as the game progressed I developed a couple of new rules that the PGA may want to consider adopting. First, if you yell mulligan (a golfing term that simply means a do-over) loud enough and quick enough, you can use it as many times as you need to, or want to. Second, when necessary you can pick up the ball and throw it and count it as a stroke. This one is a good rule because it combines multiple sports, thus broadening the demographic of golf enthusiasts. Finally, if you get to the ball before it stops moving you can still count it as the same stroke. This rule is particularly handy when putting.
Okay, so Tiger Woods I'm not, but I had fun doing it and that's all that really matters. We only had time to play the front nine. Par for those nine holes was 34. My score was a mere 81, give or take a couple dozen strokes. So with my amateur status firmly in place I would definitely love to go back for the back nine or even a full 18. I can certainly see why so many people love the game. It's a nice way to get out and enjoy a beautiful day. And let's face it, cruising around in a golf cart is just plain fun!
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