Day 17 - A whole new twist on golf in retirement

Warning!! If you haven't read the post on the guys I met in the pool, go back and read that post prior to this post. I don't want to give their whole stories again; they weren't that interesting the first time. Anyway, they turned out to be a pretty uninteresting bunch for the last week or so, but after much prodding, they convinced me to go golfing with them today. Apparently, the senior discount at this golf course was enough to justify a trip to the links. Here are a few good stories from my day.

First of all, Henry, while slightly incontinent, could really hit a golf ball. I hope that at 60 I can hit a ball like he hits at 80. Again, feisty New Yorker that seemed to control all situations. Just like someone from the East Coast to think that the world revolves around them, quick temper, and thinks that just because he drops the F word that everyone is going to stop and listen to him. Still has that accent and attitude, but the starter had to let him know that no matter how badly he wanted to tee off, he had to wait for the couple in front of him. He complained that the starter let the couple - in a cart - off before us. Now, we are 3 OLD people and a really bad golfing sidekick. There was no way that we were going to keep up with the couple in front of us, but Henry wanted nothing to do with that.

Frankie came along also. It was the first time I actually saw someone get hit on the golf course. Granted I could roll the ball faster than he hit it, but it still looked like it hurt. I think he mumbled "four" right after it hit this guy, but I wasn't sure. He hit the ball straight sideways directly into a green we had just come off. So the rest of the day we had a mad guy right behind us that kept trying to hit us. The three geezers I was with wanted to go fight him, but I talked them off the ledge.

Dom was the final in our foursome. He was decent, but couldn't remember anything. It was kind of weird to golf with someone that didn't really know where he was, what he was doing there, and had a pretty decent game, but we had to fill him in on the details afterwards. It's hard to criticize the poor guy for cheating when he doesn't even know how he got to the course in the first place. He kept asking me when i joined the group.

So, we had a pretty boring day all things said. The only somewhat funny thing, besides the guy getting hit, was I bet Henry I could play the last hole better than him with a putter. He could use all his clubs and I played the whole hole with a putter. We both ended up with 8's. Henry should have won, but it took him 3 shots to get out of the sand. Though I have to say, I hit a mean 125 yard drive with my putter. I am considering teeing off with my putter in future rounds. At least i wouldn't lose the ball!

Good day, kind of boring, but my time here in Clearwater is coming to an end. I will miss it, but I have a ton of great memories. I can't imagine going back to Chicago. Well, the pool should be done, so i can try to emulate Florida from the privacy of my backyard. We will see.

Until Tomorrow...