Work/Golf Balance

I hope everyone is doing well!  The golf season is well underway and I have not lined up any historic golf courses to play this year…why…I’ve been busy traveling for work and playing golf, just not historic golf courses.  Let me explain.

England for a cup of tea.

In late February my Daughter and I descended onto England, more specifically, Wincanton, which is about 100 miles South West of London. I was helping her settle into her place for an extended work opportunity at Henshaw Inflatables.  She will be working at the small production plant helping them improve their processing efficiencies, and while she was starting to influence the work culture I was checking off items on her "to-do" list for her flat, or as Americans say, apartment. 

She will be in England for at least 6 months and my stay only amounted to no more than a long weekend, and, no there was no golf for me this time around.  However while running one of my thousand errands I did drive right past Yeovil Golf Course, and yeah, I stopped in for a little visit, and no I did not see Mr. President, perhaps he was at the Medicine Hole 🙂

Bakersfield and then Vegas Baby

Not more than a week after I got back from England I was on my way riding shotgun to Las Vegas. I was helping my friend Jason who you might remember from our golfing adventure with The Wise and Mysterious Links Guide. We were going out to Vegas to capture video and photos of the Northern California Karting Club in action, and unlike England, this time we planned for golf. 

Thursday 3.5 hours into the drive: First stop was Bakerfield, which is kind of, sort of, half way to Las Vegas.  We took on North Korn Golf Course, or should I say it took us on.  As we were hitting some balls on the range the wind picked up. 

By the time we were had hit about our 30th golf ball we were fighting 30 mph winds.  If you have never been to Bakerfield, well first thing there is great BBQ there, and also there is a lot of flat.  Farms and desert landscapes dominate the area, which means no protection from the wind.  By the time we got to the 6th hole we had winds that were pushing our golf balls off the greens before we could do it ourselves.  We hopped off, more like blown the course after 9, packed up,  and headed over the mountain to start the 4 hour(ish) drive through the Mojave Desert to Las Vegas.

Friday morning round before we drop by the track: Man, what a difference a day and 285 miles make. Jason and I were stepping up to the first tee at Angels Park Golf Club with zero wind, 60 degree tempertures, and bright sun.

The conditions, both the weather and the course, showed itself in our scores.  I shot a 39 on the front nine, and yeah, I’m stressing about that as I write. Like any good round, I got some breaks, thank you members bounces, but I also was hitting greens in regulation. To be honest it felt a little weird.  But all good things have to come to the end...right. Around the 12th hole I took a peak at the "leaderboard", which shook me a little, and of course, I finished 16,17, and 18 with two doubles and a triple bogey.

Only to learn while walking bloody and bruised off the 18th green, Jason took me by one stroke.  That hurt a little.  Luckily we had a full day of video production on Saturday to wipe my memory of that blow up.

All day Saturday: Here’s what we did.

Sunday morning coffee and heading home: We woke Sunday morning with an 8 hour drive home ahead of us Sore from shooting video and stills all day on a huge track we got coffee, packed our bags-when I say bags I mean golf bags, and off we went...to. Desert Willow Golf Course to play 18.  Well at least that was our intention.  This course is an executive course, I think it might have one par 4 on it, but today it might as well have been a standard course with 5 par 5's. 

The winds were up, making this course at least twice the length it's supposed to play. For example; we were on the 7th hole we were against the wind and debating if the 140 yard shot off the tee was 2 or 3 clubs up from my 140 yard club an 8 iron. Yup, I hit 5 iron, which is my 170 club well short.  The next hole was with the wind so we clubbed down 3 clubs on a 146 par 3, and I flew the green with a pitching wedge.  It was windy, and kind of fun to try and negotiate the elements, but in the end we jumped off after nine and headed back to calmer conditions back home.

Side note: I did have the longest drive of my life.  At North Korn I hit a 30 mph wind aided, hard and steep fairway roll out 287 yard drive. Sometime the wind is very helpful.

Palm Springs

My Son and I finally went on a way overdue 30th birthday golf trip.  Like almost 2 years overdue.  I had first planned a Baseball Hall of Fame, golf, and Saratoga Springs long weekend, but he changed jobs and moved across the country just about two months before we were supposed to go so that forced our hand to reschedule.  Now that he is on the West Coast we thought it might be better to plan something on the west side of the country.  I waited until he felt like he was settled into his new job and new surroundings before a new plan was hatched.  

Eric-who you may remember from the St. Louis and New York adventures- has never been to Palm Springs so I decided to spoil ourselves a little and the experience did not disappoint.  We played Indian Wells-Celebrity Course and the pictures on-line do not do it justice.  Every hole was a post card and in perfect condition. What a round.

Even the twosome we got matched up with were great.  It was a husband and wife celebrating their anniversary, all four of us we comforable from the first hole to the last, and conversations went on for the entire round.  It was one of those special rounds where we became fast friends, built a bond, and at 18 we were all a little sad that we had to move on with our day. A note to our new friends, I hope to see you on Mackinac Island in 2026!

The next day we took on Indian Canyon-South Course. We teed off at 7:50 and when we arrived at the driving range for a quick bucket it was kind of cold.  The sun had technically risen, but due to the giant mountains that surround you the sun had a way to go before we could feel the Sun’s effects. Both Eric and I started out well, and man when he connects, the ball flies. 

I was never a long hitter so when he is 60 to 70 yards in front of me I don’t feel too bad, at least, I’ll never let on that it kills me a little inside.  As I was tiring of being out driven by my Son I realized the Sun was making its way over the mountain.  This was a really cool experience. 

The sun was mostly behind us as it rose over the mountain so as we were playing you could see more and more of the landscape in front of us become flooded with the sunlight.  We were in the shadow of the mountain and the shadow was slowly receding. I feel like I was seeing a sun rise from the sun's perspective.  It wasn’t until the fourth hole that we hit from the shadow into the sunlight, and as we moved down the fairway the finally got out of the shadows and into the warm light. 

It was quite a treat to have undivided time with Eric especially where he is in his life.  It’s a very busy time for him, so to be “trapped” in the desert for a few days was special.  We are hoping to do this same trip next year, his suggestion by the way, maybe it’s a new family tradition.

Last but (not even close to) least!!

My Caddie, uhm I mean my Wife has been traveling a lot.  She's taken on a lot of responsibilities recently and because the companies she manages are sprinkled around the country and in England she is on the road for weeks at a time.  The good news is that she’s starting to find solutions that should reduce the need to visit all the locations as often as she does now.  And if I can be honest for a moment her being away all the time has taken a toll on my golf game. I have no one lining up my putts for me from 55 feet away, making sure I don’t leave any clubs on the greens, and most importantly sighting my golf ball as it tumbles into the left and right rough after a drive.  Btdubbs; there is no one better at following a golf ball!  Luckily, I have a few golf trips planned for this season that she wants to come along and join me.  Finally, Laura has her priorities in line.

See you on the course!