Today is a day I have been looking forward to all week. All week it has been gorgeous outside with the temperature steadily creeping to 80. The wind of a few weeks was finally gone, and Luke and I were all set with a 1:30 tee time.Course choice of the day.... Durango Hills. I have played here twice before and my scores have been decent both times. In fact, this is the course where I hit my one and only eagle. Luke and I chose this course because it is one of the few in Vegas that do not have houses running the the length of every fairway. As it would turn out, this was a good decision for us.
I knew I was in trouble when I woke up to the sound of wind howling outside my bedroom window. The sun was out and the temp was nice, it got up to 77 today, but it was WWIINNDDYY. I can't be positive, but I am pretty sure it was magical wind. I say this because at no point during the day was it ever at my back. Either blowing straight in my face, or across the hole in whatever was the worst possible way.
I was not disheartened though. The way I have played the first couple of times this year, a little wind should have no affect on my game. Ohhhhh, Chris. Stupid stupid Chris. To say I was wrong about this would be like saying ... (insert your own understatement here)... the surface of the sun is a little toasty. I can't blame it all on the wind though, as much as I would like to, because I just did not play well. When I managed to hit the green off the tee, I would follow it up with either a 3 or 4 putt. I only got one par all day. Sigh... I just try to remember that there are always good days and bad ones in everything you do. As it dawned on me that today was going to be one of those bad days, I just accepted it instead of throwing a temper tantrum on the course like I have seen others do. Luke's game wasn't any better than mine. I guess that made it a little easier to accept.
I had some good shots, but the one I will remember when I wake up tomorrow was my tee shot on hole 17. It was a 313 yard par 4. After everybody else had hit, I stepped up to the box with driver in hand. I tried to block out the sound of the wind howling in my ears and swung. It felt good, and when I heard the three others watching congratulate me on a good shot, I knew it wasn't a fantasy. I crushed the ball and as if laughing at the wind, the ball went straight towards the pin. With that much wind keeping the ball in the air, I had time to pat myself on the back, crack open a new drink, put my club away, and walk back into the tee box before it landed. At least that was how it felt. Nobody was sure where it landed, but we all figured it was somewhere in the fairway close to the green. Unfortunately I was a little too strong because that lovely drive landed right in the middle of the sand trap guarding the front of a small green. You know what? I didn't care. To use a very tired phrase, "That was the shot that would keep me coming back."
After our game was finally over, I was ready to put the day behind me. I came home for some much needed dinner and a little veg time. All in all, if this really was one of my "bad" days... It really was better than the "bad" days from last year. At least there's that.
Time for bed.
--C
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