My playing “at” golf goes back to the summer of 1966. One hot summer afternoon in the Bronx, a friend and 8th grade classmate, Jimmy Paturas, asked if I wanted to try it out. We walked to a small course not too far from his house, Mosholu a 9 hole course that I found out much later over a century ago, had opened as one of the first public golf courses in the United States. I played terribly (had never held a club before) but I was hooked…I started to play more frequently and when I got my car and license expanded my horizons and went to many of the NYC and surrounding area courses. There was one summer in college in the early 70’s where I played 6 days a week and actually improved to a respectable level. It’s funny that the fewer shots you hit, the more enjoyable the game becomes.

Adulthood, kids, life and lots of other things took precedence and for many years golf either was pushed to the side or went away completely. During the late 70’s in grad school, at Colgate, I met and played some golf with John, someone who, unbeknownst at that moment, I would end up teaching with for many years at both Greenwich and Weston. Summers, at the beginning of my time in Greenwich, were spent teaching summer school, also with John and at least twice a week we’d head to the course after the morning classes and play.

As I got older and gained more and more and more weight, and my hips were getting worse and worse, I pretty much stopped playing….then in 2015 I had my sleeve surgery after my hip replacements, and was invited to play in a fund raising tournament at the little catholic middle school I had landed at after retiring from full time teaching in 2012 and was again hooked…

John and I started playing the occasional round together again, and made it a point to take a trip up to Seven Oaks at Colgate each summer to play two or three rounds over a day or two. Then, he invited me along on a trip to Pinehurst to play 4 rounds over 3 days in the summer of 2018. It was John, myself and his friend Brian. I played terribly but had a great time with the two of them and began to take my game more seriously. Upon returning I consulted a club fitter, bought some new clubs and started to play at least a couple of times a week during the relatively short CT golf season. One of the things I am looking forward to now in SC is the ability to play year round. I managed to get my game to the point where I was consistently scoring in the mid-low 90’s with the occasional high 80 thrown in.

So…when John contacted me late winter and said they had a major trip coming up to Pinehurst I jumped on it and signed on for the 9 rounds in 7 days component. I had not played much since moving but was still excited about the courses and the opportunity.

Off I went a week ago with my car packed to the hilt as if I was headed on a round the world trip. My play was to be kind “inconsistent”….some actually embarrassingly terrible…not one round came in under 104 and as it turned out I only ended up playing 4 of the 9 rounds…

Why only 4 you ask?? Well here’s why…during the round on Tuesday (the third round we played) going from the first green to the second tee, my spikeless golf shoes had collected some sand and when I put my left foot into the cart it slid across causing my right leg to slam into the cart just a above my inside right ankle. It hurt but I thought nothing of it. Then about 3 holes later I noticed I had quite the bruise and it was starting to swell. I did manage to get some ice from the 1/2 way house but by then the damage had been done. I finished the round but was kinda hurting a lot. That night I woke up at 12:30 am and was unable to get back to sleep…I opted to not play the two rounds back to back on Wednesday with the hope that taking the one day off would help. Thursday morning it felt a bit better but not great, still swollen (and my foot swelling as well), but I did play as the course for that day, Tobacco Road, was THE main reason I wanted to go on the trip. Again, inconsistent, but also a lot of fun, the course is very much like Bethpage Black, visually intimidating but a stunning lay out. I actually had two very solid pars on two par 3 holes and hit my last shot from the fairway onto the green at 18 over some blind mounds and had a shot at a closing par (nope missed the 25 foot putt). However, the amount of walking that day really had undermined all the rest from the day before and I made the decision to to leave for home the following morning.

Some things I learned while on the trip: First…I really like to play golf, but I really don’t like to play in an intensely competitive “tournament” style trip…and let me tell you it was totally intense. Second: I like my own living space…I guess I’m just too long in the tooth to engage in sharing accommodations four other folks, they were very easy to live with, but just the lack of space is something I’d rather not do. Third: I also like to finish the day with a very good meal in great setting….that was not the case here with 11 other folks.

Did I have fun?…overall yes, did I play well??….nope, would I do it again??? not for that long….and only on a couple of those courses…

Glad I tried it, happy to be home!!