By Don Walter
It’s been a long, cold winter for golf addicts. I don’t care if someone says it was a “mild” winter; any winter that closes the golf courses is a long, cold winter! People judge winters differently, but all golf addicts are the same. Winter sucks. When spring arrives or the snow melts, whatever comes first creates a time to celebrate.
When your local golf course opens, or one near you, the word spreads quickly! The golf telegraph usually starts with a rumor. Someone tells someone that they heard it from someone that the golf course is going to open on Tuesday. There it begins. Then that gets debunked, and a new date gets picked; that continues until some real info from the golf course gets announced. That information creates a frenzy like no other. Golf addicts race to get their work, chores, honey-dos, and doctors’ appointments done so they can go play golf! There is usually even a ceremonial first shot of the year! This year it was a young golfer, not even a teenager, who whacked the first shot at my course. Quite fantastic, another new addict in the club.
From that point on, golf is on the radar of every golf addict. More schedules get cleared, plans get made, tee times get arranged, and the golf season begins. But here in the northern part of the country, it’s a fool’s errand. Sure enough, the golf course is officially open, but no one told Mother Nature. For the next several weeks until school is out for the kids, golf addicts everywhere are faced with all kinds of weather and lower temps.
Countless times I have been told by another golf addict, or friend, as I like to call them, that we have a tee time this Saturday, only to get rained out or attacked by bad weather. How inconvenient. Mother Nature, hold on; golf addicts have discovered an alternate plan to thwart her and her evil ways. It’s called the Clubhouse.
Now most golf courses have a clubhouse, a place for golfers to gather when they are not playing golf. Usually before or after, golfers congregate, sometimes over a cold adult beverage, and discuss the highs and lows of the day. When the weather doesn’t want to cooperate for golf, that’s when the true golf addict knows the clubhouse is the place to be. Why not? You’ve already blocked out the time. You’re not due home for several hours.
When the weather hits and the clubhouse fills up, that’s when the real action begins. Mind you, it’s only real golf addicts left at this point. Everyone else has either retreated to their couch or conceded to handling more honey-dos. “Fair weathers,” some call them. We don’t all go out in the wind and the rain. We stay next to a roaring fire with libations a stone’s throw away. Using the provided “house” card decks, a new challenge begins. It’s not the golf we’re after on cold, rainy/snowy days but the camaraderie of fellow golf addicts. Shuffle up and deal can be heard across the room. The games vary from club to club, but the spirit is all the same. Who knew? Golf addicts do.
So, yes, golf addicts look forward to the opening of the golf course every single year; sometimes we even get to play golf. But in reality, it’s the connection we have with each other. We share a passion for golf, of course, but deep down, our addiction is a common one, made from the longing of wanting to be with our tribe. We want to be with those that carry the same weight of addiction, the addiction of golf. So, we’ll see you when the sun shines, the rain stops, or… in the clubhouse. MSN
