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saturday, april 5, 2003 |
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it's the day of my sister's wedding
and i join the groom, james, and his friend craig for a morning featuring
18 holes of golf. |
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craig
prepares to change his shoes as james waits to pick me up in the golf cart. |
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as this is my first
trip to a golf course, i decide to just "ride-along" and get a
feel for what the game is like. before tee time, craig and james take a
few swings at the driving range. there are 27 holes at meadows farms, and
the first part of our day is spent on a section called the island
green nine. |
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this
trip to the golf course is just the third one for james. his skills improve
noticeably throughout the day. a battle with this grouping of trees is just
a minor obstacle. |
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as james inspects the rise and fall of the green, craig easily
sinks a 35 foot putt. |
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my
only experience playing any kind of golf was had one brief afternoon during
the summer of 1982 while i visited relatives. i sat in front of the intellivision
and tried to learn the difference between a driver and a putter. james and craig
are obviously a bit past that point but on the course i don't hesitate to make
as many golden tee references as possible. |
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while on the ninth
hole, as craig helps james get a sense of where to putt, i remember that
i had played miniature golf a few times (sadly, there are no photos to prove
it).. |
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on the back nine, the weather starts to improve. because
i spent the first ten holes begging to get a photo of someone shooting
the ball out of a sand trap (bunker?) james finally indulges me on hole
#11. |
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hole #12 brought us
to the reason these nine holes are called the longest
hole nine. craig tees off on the longest hole in the US according to
the guinness book of world records. |
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as
bulls graze behind us, the excitement continues! |
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with
just a few holes left, i finally remember what photos of golfers look like... |
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as
i vow to pick up clubs the next time i visit a golf course, i make another reference
or two to the popularity of
golden tee. |
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as we play the final few holes the sun appears. we pack away
the clubs and head back to fredericksburg, ready to change into tuxedos for
the wedding that evening. |
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