Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Morro Bay Golf Course Originally uploaded by
golfslo.
This photo was taken a couple months ago during a round at Morro Bay Golf Course. However, a week prior, I played this course for the first time ever - a long round in the rain.
I went with a friend who is an avid golfer, who actually got me back into the game earlier this year when he called to play on a weekday since he was between jobs. I've been playing ever since. Before he called, it had been years since I'd played.
Now that he's working again, we still try to get out on the weekends that he's not playing in a local tournament. Every time we play, we place a wager on match play for $2 per nine and $2 overall. More often that not, we both take one nine, but I usually loose the overall round - even though I get a stroke on many holes due to my higher handicap. (This past weekend at Chalk Mountain however, my 79 took both nines and the overall match for a cash prize of $6 - and that was with my gross score instead of net!)
Anyway, I regressed. I meant to share a little about my first round at Morro Bay - in the rain. My friend and I decided that we weren't fair weather golfers and stuck with our plans to play Morro Bay on this particular day - rain or shine.
It literally rained non-stop for the entire round, the intensity increasing as the day progressed. By the end of 9 holes, I was soaked to the bone, due to wearing more of a windbreaker than rain gear and toting around a sorry excuse for an umbrella.
My friend was better equiped, but still was soaked by the end of the round. We both made every effort to keep our grips dry with the use of towels, extra gloves and umbrellas - but the effort was fruitless.
Nevertheless, this was one of my most enjoyable rounds of golf.
Morro Bay is a serene setting in any weather, but seemed more so in the rain. This serene setting and low expectations for a good round actually helped me stay relaxed and put together a good round.
An added benefit was having what is usually a very busy course all to ourselves! Morro Bay has been rightfully tagged as the "Poor Man's Pebble Beach" - so it's usually packed.
We enjoyed our rainy day at Morro Bay, but I'm not sure we're eager to do it again any time soon. It just helped us appreciate all the more the perfect climate that the California Central Coast offers the golfer.
