Last Friday, I was grateful to have my nephew Darwin drop into town for a quick 18 holes. We had planned this outing for a while, but never seemed to find the right time. Finally, we made the plan and he drove up early in the morning because we had a 7:30 am tee off. The only thing we did not count on was the rain.

Ever the optimist, I told Darwin not to worry because it never rains on the golf course. I told him that I had watched the weather forecast and we were good to go…..well, famous last words.

When we arrived at the golf course, I should have figured something was up because the parking lot was like a ghost town. The place was completely empty! When we walked into the proshop, we were given the lazy eye by the staff because they could not believe that we were going to venture out into the rain.

I told everyone that it was going to blow through and that we were going to be fine. I was thinking that we would have the course to ourselves and who could say no to that! So we loaded up our clubs on a cart (a rare occasion for me) and prepared to do battle against the course and the weather. On a side note, The Open Championship was facing the exact same weather, if the pros can play in the cold and wet weather, well so can we!

As we made our way to the first tee, it started to rain a little harder. I had my umbrella out and thought that this was going to be a quick round and we would be finished before the real rain started. Well I guess I was mistaken. Darwin was a real trooper though, he kept smiling and saying he was only a little wet for the entire round. And he held a straight face during the entire time we played! Around the 4th hole, things were starting to get soaked through and holding the clubs during our swing was getting harder and harder.

Well, we continued to press on. It was funny because every time we said it looked like it was going to clear up, it rained harder! I mean every time!

When we hit the 6th green, I started to figure that things were not going to bode well for us. This green has a swale in the middle and is difficult at the best of times if you are on the wrong side. But when you have to putt through a river, then this green is virtually impossible! Now I was starting to doubt our decision to play, but ever the optimist, I thought we should press on and Darwin was all for it.

By now, my hands were starting to go numb. The rest of me was not cold, but for some reason my hands were really affected by the cold, wet conditions. The scary thing is that I was scoring really well. I was only 2 over after 9 holes! So I suggested that we press on and see what happens.

After scoring par on the first three holes of the back nine, I had to call it quits. I could not feel my fingers and the rain really started to come down. Darwin was in agreement and tried to look sad, but secretly he thought I was a crazy golfer who did not know when to call it quits!

When we arrived back at the proshop, I sheepishly told Jeff (the Pro and GM) that the course was unplayable. There was standing water everywhere and it was not going to get any better. I am sure Jeff looked at me thinking: “Duh, do ya think!”

Later, a friend of mine asked if I requested a rain check for not being able to complete that round and I looked at him saying, “even I am not that brave (stupid)”. A rain check would have been pushing the good nature of the golf course staff too far!

So there you have it! It does rain on the golf course and sometimes to a point where not playing is the right decision to make. I learn this lesson at least once a year, but hey, I have a great story to tell!

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!