Hitting the links

Golf has always been one of those sports that I've had a casual interest in. I'll watch it on TV very rarely, usually just to see Tiger Woods (who doesn't, right?) and I'll play golf on the Xbox 360 but other than that, not so much any real interest but it's something I've always wanted to try.

Well, I actually played golf for the first time last Friday and ... wow. If I had the money, I would've gone and bought a set of clubs as soon as I walked off of the 18th green.

What a blast.

Of course, it helped that I went with three of the coolest people I know: Keith and Kelly Mclinden ("Her Majesty" or "Her Highness" as she liked to be called) and Johnny B ... my wife, Kelley, works with Keith and JB at the high school and Kell "Her Royal Highness" Mclinden rocks the party that rocks the house. She's very self-effacing when it comes to her game but don't let her fool you ... she knows what she's doing ... just ask Spongie.

Anyway, we played 18 holes at a public course in Westminster, MA, called The Woods of Westminster, a nice course that challenges a newbie like me but not so much that it makes one want to quit.

I was using a set of clubs I borrowed from my brother-in-law, Paul, and it turns out the clubs were my father-in-law's, so that was kind of cool.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day out ... sunny but with intermittent clouds so the sun wasn't beating down on you the whole day ... low 80s, no humidity ... perfect.

As for my game ... well, not so perfect, but then again I didn't go into this with any expectations at all given that aside from an occasional trip to a driving range or mini-golf, I've never played before.

For the day it was a steady diet of double and triple bogeys at minimum. Every once in a while I bogeyed a hole ... but for the most part, it was living in Hacksville and I was the mayor. But, regardless of how many strokes it took to get to the cup, you just had to drain it because, as Keith observed, "You just have to hear that sound."

One of my biggest problems was hitting the top of the ball when I would tee off ... man, that was annoying. But, when everything came together, I'm pleased to say I could really drive the ball ... and drive it straight. Unfortunately, when everything would come together, it was usually when I was within 100 yards of the pin and I would way overdrive the hole. Still, it was nice to see that I was capable of hitting the ball well.

Once on the green, tho, for the life of me I could not putt the ball without it veering off to the right. What my drive lacked in a slice was more than made up for in my putting game.

After a few holes I realized how much you have to know to be any good at this game. Like Kell said, "It's ridiculous how much you have to remember at the same time" and she's right.

Still, I can see really getting into this ... now, I just need to get to a Pro Shop and get a set of my own clubs ... hey, it's only money, right?

Oh and not for nothing but ... but bought a dozen golf balls for the day and came home with two ... I dunno why, but I'm very proud of that.