Birdies, Eagles and Bears – Oh My!

The golf season is almost over, but for me, it’s just beginning.  I have only played 8 rounds of golf in 10 months – I know…it’s shameful!  But this weekend, I was fortunate to play The Rock – a Nick Faldo design up in the Muskokas.  My golf guy and I had a blast playing the best and worst golf shots ever!

I can’t describe how gorgeous this mountain course is or how challenging it is with all the elevation changes and severely sloping greens.  Thank goodness they were playing slow – I expect maybe 9-10 on the stimp meter.  But I still putted off them more than once.

The course is stunning from the first tee to the last putt – a masterpiece of marshlands, exposed granite and towering trees.

It’s easy to be distracted by the beauty, but be careful not to underestimate this courses’ bite.  This test of golf is not for the faint of heart.  It’s target golf at its best, or worst, depending on your point of view.

And the blind shots are seriously dangerous. We almost got killed when a tee shot narrowly missed our heads by less than a yard.  Bells would go a long way on a number of holes.

We were supposed to be playing with another couple staying the resort, but they arrived 1.5 hours earlier than our tee time and were apparently quite demanding of teeing off early.  We didn’t know them, but the starter said they were quite uptight and bad-tempered before they even started playing.  I’m glad we weren’t paired with them.  The last thing you need is more tension when playing The Rock!

It was a rollercoaster ride of a round in more ways than one, but I didn’t want to get off. I’d double bogie one hole only to birdie the next. It was that kind of round.

Charles, of course had to do one better.  🙂 He came within 3 yards of driving the 262 yard, par 4 14th hole and then chipped in for an eagle with his feet in the bunker – well below the ball. Show off! 🙂

We were supposed to play again today, but were rained out 🙁 which is why I’m writing this post.  I would much rather be taking revenge on a few par 5s, but maybe you could do that for me if you ever get the chance to play The Rock.

If you ever do, please give a big hug to the starter at the first tee for me.   He might look a bit grizzly, but underneath he’s a Gentle Ben.

Golfgal