Friday, July 23, 2004

Family Affair - Golf @ Wailea Emerald Course

Kate and Zach joined me today for a round at the Wailea Emerald course.  Since the course wouldn't let us put 3 people in a cart, Zach rode with one of the other members of our foursome from the ship and Kate rode with me.

Let me say this: I still love resort golf courses :)  Wide fairways that even if you miss them, you still have a chance to save par.   Sure, I'm supposed to be able to just hit it right down the middle of the fairway each time but it sure makes the game more enjoyable when I can miss it by a bit (or a bit more) and still have a chance to make a cool recovery shot rather than dropping near lava rocks.

Today, though, it didn't matter so much.  I was hitting the ball really well both from the tee and in and near the fairway.  I hit 9 greens in regulation and was only 4 over after nine holes.   It was a great feeling to be able to pick out a target and have the ball actually fly straight towards that spot.

After a couple holes, Kate decided that she wanted to be my caddie for the rest of the round.  She said she would get me the right club and keep an eye out for my ball.  She did a great job!  I told her that I hit my 6 iron about 160 yards and that each club was about a 10 yard offset from that.  With that info, she started making good club recommendations and getting them ready for me.  She would run ahead and "check for the swoosh" to identify my ball.  She even started naming my clubs.  My driver's name is now Melrose, my putter's name is Ben and my 9 iron's name is "The Guy".  Kate has never shown an interest in golf before, so it was really great to have her participating in my round.

By the 16th hole, I hadn't had a par for about 5 holes.  I was due.  The 16th is a 147 yard par 3.  As I walked up to the tee, I told Kate "This shot is going to be so close to the hole, that you are going to wonder how it didn't fall in".  I hit my shot, it flew straight as an arrow, landed just short of the hole and rolled to about 12 inches.  I turned and smiled.  She was excited.  It was a great moment :)  I tapped it in for birdie and followed it with another par.

Zach had fun too riding with another player -- a young guy who hadn't played very much yet, but had some pretty good shots.  After a few holes, Zach was giving him some pointers and I heard them laughing several times throughout the round.

I ended up shooting a 40 front and 43 back for a total of an 83.  A great final round for this trip.

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