Dave Rubright

This last weekend I played a round of golf. It was chilly in the low 50’s but it wasn’t unpleasant. My mood goes way up after playing golf.  I wonder if that was the last round of the year?

Brown Deer golf course is challenging. It is not like Saddleback in that it is unforgiving. You have to hit the ball straight off the tee. There are plenty of hazards. I had a couple blowup holes on the front. I was 20 ft from a birdie only to 4 putt. On the back I just didn’t play as well. I had trouble again with putts and I dubbed a couple chips.

Still broke 90.  I had like 42 putts. But I was hitting most fairways and quite a few greens in regulation. I had quite a few looks at birdie. But I had no birdies.

If this is the last round of the year then I think it is going out on a high note. I think the high note of the year for me was playing in a best-shot in Mt Vernon. The low point was playing in 110 heat index in the Sasso Memorial in June.

It’s been three weeks since I lasted played and I am more than ready to play again. I’ve played Saddleback Ridge Golf Course exclusively this year.  I get about 25 rounds in per year and about 75% are at Saddleback. Now the season or year is coming to an end and good weather is disappearing.

So what do I like about golf? I love being outside. I love the challenge of each shot. I enjoy making good shots. And, I like the company.

I really haven’t tired of Saddleback. It is a great course with an open layout. You can hit a wild shot and not be penalized.

Some people don’t think golf is a sport. I can tell you that if I just walked on the golf course and didn’t stretch and warm up, I will tear a muscle. And, I am amazed that at some point in the round my body memory of golf wakes up. I just have the feeling that I can hit a great shot.

I’ve played 60 holes in one day on several occasions. 18 holes is nothing. It takes me 6 to 9 holes to warm up.

Saddleback is a great course. It has excellent greens. It plays fast because there isn’t trouble and people don’t lose balls. Hence, they aren’t spending time looking for balls.

My group plays games to make it fun. There is the Worm (last person to 3 putt pays everyone else a dollar). There is bingo-bango-bongo (points for being longest in fairway, first on the green, closest to the whole, longest put–and the mystery) I am not sure I can explain the “mystery”. It is a point for bad play. All the scores on a hole are added together, multiplied by 7, and the 1st digit of the sum is cross referenced with a list of bad plays like shortest drive, most penalties, or farthest right off tee. It makes things interesting. There is also the Wolf (teams are chosen for each hole). Low ball, Low total with handicaps. And we play as teams of two. Handicaps are an interesting point. Before we determine the teams on the first tee, each player indicates what handicap is appropriate. I take the handicap of 9 which is my established handicap but some of the players take as many as 25. It can be a sore spot–just kidding. You want to have a high handicap to help your team and even out the competition. But it can get ridiculous.

Once that is settled the players flip coins to make the teams. And the game is determined. About the worse you can do is lose the Worm and maybe 5 dollars. Not real big stakes but enough to bring out the competitiveness in players.