It is always a challenge during the fall season to get out on the links to play a round of golf. Most of the time, I am engaged in other activities, but once in a while I hit the links in order to play that one last fantastic round with friends. Yesterday was one of those days. I had not swung a club in a bit and was a bit rusty which is to be a expected. However, no matter how I hit the ball, nothing replaced the great time I had with my friend Mike as we looped the Mattawa Golf and Ski Resort.
Mike does not live in the area, so we try to play a round or two when he visits. We met about 8 years ago at the Osprey Links Golf Course and have become good friends every since. Over the years, we developed a little match play game where the winner can receive the maximum of three dollars, but the real prize is the bragging rights. I have to admit that before yesterday Mike has dominated the matches over the past three years. Well, yesterday is a different story.
When we hit the links yesterday it was sunny and 20° C (68° F). The course was in good shape, it was empty and it felt like we owned the place. Overall, the conditions were fantastic to play a round of golf.
We both started off rough that led to me being up one after the first hole. It took a couple more swings for the both of us to start hitting some decent shots. We trade points (and jabs at each other) so that we were tied heading into the 9th hole. This is where Mike’s wheels fell off. Normally a very consistent player, Mike struggled for three holes and that was enough for me to step on the gas and win the match. Interestingly, we still were trading blows for the rest of the round, but not enough to Mike to make a dent in the score. The final tally was that I won three dollars and all the bragging rights!
The golf was secondary to the great time I had on the links. We laughed, joked, told stories and just enjoyed the moment of playing golf with friends. We scooted around the course as if we did not have a care in the world. And at the end of the round we went into the golf course for Brenda’s world famous turkey club sandwich. I raved about this sandwich to Mike for years and I am happy to say that the meal did not disappoint. Mike loved the turkey club and agreed that it was on of the best he ever tasted. What a fantastic way to top of our round.
Hitting a white ball around a huge open space is always fun. What makes the round fantastic is playing golf with friends. That is what happened yesterday as Mike and I had the chance to enjoy on of the final days of my golf season for 2025. I hope I can get a couple more rounds in before the snow flies, but for now, if my season was to end, I am grateful it ended on a high note.
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 
We had a bright sunny day today yet when I got in the car in the afternoon it was 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 88° F (31° C) inside which is definitive proof winter has begun. lol My son said something to that effect today as a joke when I took him to work and to be fair that is a good 20° cooler than it has been for months when I’ve left the car out in the sun.
As for the golf game, it’s still a work in progress and likely will always be. lol I came in the winner in last nights skins game and had a one behind 2nd place finish tonight. Hit some great shots. Most of them with wedges, but the other clubs were working pretty well too. Had some long putts fall last night but tonight it seemed my limit was about 10 feet. Finished tonight’s game with two really great wedge shots on the last two holes. Both par 4’s. After pulling my tee shot about 40 feet left of the pin I was flag high on 17 facing a severe downslope landing zone that transitioned to a eight to left downslope but had plenty of green to work with. My pitch on 17 dropped 15 feet short and 8 feet left of the flag and rolled the two slopes to stop inside a foot of the pin. They gave me that putt. On 18 I hit too much club. I don’t know why. I hit the right one the night before. But for some reason, I thought I needed the bigger club and I smacked it. A low draw that landed on and skipped right off the green about 30 feet and left me yet another downslope to land on but far less green to work with. My high pitch shot landed just where I wanted, an inch or two short of the green, and stopped inside 5 feet. One foot short of the hole. The 5 feet right came from the ball getting a bit unlikely bounce to the right from it’s landing on the fringe. Dropping that putt got me the last skin and 2nd place for the night, just one off the leader. Hit both those wedge shots and quite a few other good ones with an open face on my 56° wedge. Hit a few good ones with the 56 toe down too.
Can’t say enough about practicing our wedge shots.
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Kevin,
Great to hear the cooler weather is upon you. Golf is more fun if you are not running from shady area to shady area. Also, it looks like you had a few great shots during your skins games. Unfortunately, much cooler weather is upon us and likely my golfing days will be few and far between.
Cheers Jim
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