A Round of Golf

  Well, I finally got out to play some golf Monday. Is there s better way to celebrate Columbus Day? I was looking on line for a place to play and found a course in Hardeeville, SC which is about 30 miles from where we are. There is nothing around here and most of the courses near Beaufort are private. I use Golfnow and Ezlinks to look for bargains and I found one. It is a Tommy Fazio design called Hilton Head Lakes. And for a $20 greens fee with cart I couldn't go wrong.

  It is the prototypical golf course community that is unfinished with a house here and a house there. The course was nice and wide open which suited me fine this day. I played my usual up and down round: par, bogey, quad bogey, triple bogey, etc. Five pars; eight bogie's; five "others" for a 94. I was paired up with Al for the first 9. Al was 81 years old and lives in Sun City right down the road towards Hilton Head. Al could really hit the ball plus he was a nice guy. Retired Air Force and has been here for about ten years. Al said this course was taken over by new owners a few years ago and were trying to make a go of it. It was formerly Tradition National Golf Course.

Al was only playing nine so I hooked up with a twosome in front of me for the second nine. Scott and Brandon were on vacation from Greensboro, NC. Nice enough fellas but Brandon was one of those guys who hits a second ball every tee box because he sliced or shanked his first one.
  All in all it was a nice day even though the sun never emerged. The wind started to kick up the second nine and I thought it might actually rain but it didn't. I would definitely go back again for $20.

  There was a lot of water of course and I found it right off the first tee. My driver veered right and caught the edge of the lake. Needless to say I only used my driver two more times the rest of the round. I didn't find any more water until the last hole; a long par 4 with a creek fronting the green. The wind was really blowing and I had about 200 to the green for my second so I laid up about 30 yards short of the creek. I duffed my third right into the creek but when I got closer I was actually on the edge of the bank. So with one foot almost in the water and the ball about an inch or two back of my right foot I knocked a sand wedge on the green and two putted for a double.