By Don Walter
It’s Golf Season! Glorious golf season! The highest priority right now is golf for us golf addicts. Golf, golf, golf! The term makes us giddy; it’s high season for golf.
Right now, for golf addicts is like Christmas for 5-year-olds, a time to cherish and celebrate! There are celebrations going on across the golf globe. Most courses, especially in our neck of the woods, are hitting their “golf stride.” It’s the time when we spend, and the courses make money.
Every type of golfer is out now. From the serious scratch player to the guy or gal that wants to take up the game is out now giving it a whack. And why not? The weather is darn near perfect, and the days are so long. Oh, and the golf courses are in incredible shape. Maybe I sound like an infomercial right now, but it’s true.
When it’s officially golf season, everyone wants to golf. The courses can get crowded, and so can the driving range. So just like New Year’s Eve, when people make resolutions. Spring can create the same feelings. “I’m going to take up golf!” they say after their first mowing of the lawn. Us addicts greet them at the practice ball dispenser with a big smile, knowing that if they get through that entire bucket, they will be hooked. They will be addicted, just like us. Welcome to the club; it’s kind of a ceremonial time of year. Where we welcome the new addicts. Not everyone will succumb. Some will try it and retreat to more simple games like tennis or pickleball (don’t tell my wife I said that).
Just south of the 49th parallel, we are fortunate enough this time of year to get what my old boss called “two days in one” … he was a golf addict too. Many years ago, when I first started my job, we would work 8 to 5 and then have time for 18 holes of golf. The first months of my job (fresh out of college), I did just that, with my new boss, for 43 WORK DAYS straight. If we weren’t addicted to golf before that, we certainly were after. So many times in my life, I can remember teeing off at 7pm and/or finishing my golf round at 10:30pm-ish. As a kid, some days I left the house at 6am only to return at 11pm. Plenty to see and do this time of year. Including golf. I even remember the local golf pro playing for charity to see how many holes of golf they could play in a day… 17 hours of golf in a day—now that’s feeding an addiction, but it’s for a good cause.
When the sun shines, the grass will grow. The golf courses this time of year shine as bright as the sun. They have been growing, turning green, and creating that beautiful-looking carpet-style green grass golf courses are famous for. No more thin spots, no more yellow patches—it’s all grown in, and it’s spectacular. It’s a golf addict’s dream, and we can’t get enough. All the work that is put in by the ground crew starts to pay off. This is the time of year that golf addicts don’t replace their divot on the golf course; it ends up in a hole or a pot in their backyard. They try their best to cultivate it and add it to their lawn with dreams of making the neighbors jealous of their immaculate surroundings.
So, celebrate the golf season whether you play or not. It’s a joyous occasion we can all take part in. When you see your neighbor throw his clubs in the trunk of his or her car, shout out, “Have a good round!” When your spouse says, “I’m headed to the driving range…” reply with a “Whack ‘em good!” This time of year, the addiction is being fed. Golf addicts are in a fantastic mood. Why? Because it’s golf season! ISI
