It Makes Me Happy

When it comes to golf, my style of play is more Happy Gilmore than Tiger Woods. There's no grace to admire, no skill to strive for. It's just me, a ball, and a club that makes it go very, very far the harder I hit it. My sport has always been softball, and if I had to pick an ideal position to play, it'd be designated hitter (which, of course, doesn't exist in softball). So maybe that explains why my return to the course this summer has been, shall we say, less than successful.

For the past five months, three coworkers and I have ventured each week to Stone Meadow, a local executive golf course — which means that in addition to a driving range, there's a short, 9-hole course where everything's a par-3. The simple point is this: it's not a course for distance hitters. In fact, other than at the driving range, there's no need for a driver. The pitching wedge and putter get more use than any other clubs, and I'm not a very good putterer.

Anyway, even though I'd taken some lessons a few years back, my coworkers and I are all at the beginner level. (Two other guys joined us from time to time, and they knew what they were doing, but mostly it's been us four amateurs.) Perhaps it shows how good we are if I tell you that I don't believe any of the four of us ever got anything better than a 36 (do the math — "par" would be 27). One week we had to institute a seven-stroke limit on each hole. And my last time out, I shot a 47.5. Yes, a forty-seven and a half. That's because on one hole, I couldn't remember if I had shot a 5 or a 6, so I called it a 5.5. Suffice it to say, we weren't taking the game that seriously.

And that's the whole point. Repeated play definitely made us all better — collectively, at least — but mostly, it was a lot of fun getting out every week and playing. Some good laughs were had, and even if we didn't do that well, we enjoyed ourselves. So today, when the six of us close out the season by hitting a real course after work to play nine real holes of golf (or as much as we can fit in before it gets too dark or cold out there), it should be much more rewarding. Especially for a player like me, who can't wait to grab his driver and just swing away as hard as he can.