A Sunrise Tee-Time

I get asked all of the time why I play golf.  With some of the rounds of bad golf I have played over the years I have asked myself that question also.

I have played in the Rain, in Sleet, in Snow, in mud up to my knees, and out in the desert when it was 122 degrees. I have played golf by my lonesome, with my wife, with my daughter, with my grandson, with my father, with my brother-in-laws, with friends, in tournaments and just for the fun of walking on at a golf course where ever I am at to see who I meet today.

I have played with tour professionals, with hackers, with top juniors and kids who are out to just hit the ball as hard as they can, with seniors and super seniors who just want to hit the ball from the back tees for what could be for the last time and hundreds of other men and women of all levels of golf skills and interests in golf.

I have played in amateur competition where the game was for a sleeve of balls and I have played in rather high stake $.25 Nassau that my fellow competitor treated like the Sunday Round at the Masters. And yes, I have experienced the thrill of victory and own the licence to the feeling of the agony of defeat if anyone would like to buy that franchise.

And from all of what I have seen and done in Golf, there is NO way I will ever say I have seen it all or done it all….and I am glad for that.  Golf is an experience I want to continue to experience for a much, much longer time.

However, there is one experience in golf that puts a lump in my throat every time I get the opportunity to experience it and one every golfer should experience at least once.  That is the experience of playing the first Tee-time out on a early spring morning.  To me, standing in the dawn light, usually wading around in the dew on the grass, the smell of the fresh cut grass mixed with the blooming flowers, the hot coffee and the donuts just has a different feel than even the second tee time off.

I have had the first tee time off mountain golf courses where the 1st tee faces the sun as it comes up.  I have teed off in near darkness of the morning and the only thing to target your shot on was the sunlight painting the mountain tops on the horizon.  I have listened to the silents of the night change by hearing waves of the ocean pounding the beach as the sun comes on the ocean and I have stood on the tee staring down my tee shot as the desert floor opens up like a developing high definition photo on your TV screen.  There is just nothing like the first tee time off.

How it feels to me would probably feel totally different to you, but that is what makes golf special for me and why I play golf.  What makes golf special for you?

The experiences one gets from playing golf just sometimes can’t be explained in words…just in visual memories.

Golf, there is no other experience like it.  I hope you get out and experience golf to find what part of golf makes you feel the best.

Let me know how I can help.