Our Golf Adventure

So...here's a story you'll all get a kick out of. Traci & I had a good laugh over this today.

M.O.D. Squad (our cell group from church) went putt-putting yesterday. While we were there, Traci mentioned that her & I should go golfing again this summer. We haven't been golfing together in 2 years. So...we decided to try to do it today. When I got home from putt-putting, I jumped on the internet to look at the local courses (I'd heard the course we typically go to - Collins Park - had gone up in price so I was looking to see if there was anything cheaper). I found a couple of par 3 courses in Michigan that were less than $15, but they were a half hour away. Then...I found "it"!

What is "it" you may ask? "It" is the Bay View Retirees Golf Club. On the internet, it was listed as a public course that you could play for $8 (which included a cart). I was a bit leery...especially given the name so I called this morning when I got up. A very nice man answered the phone & explained that it was indeed a public course that it was open to anyone. He also told me that it was only $4 to play the course if we wanted to walk it. My first thought was that you get what you pay for, but I figured I hadn't been out golfing in over a year & a half so who cared what the course looked like...at least I'd get out & swing my clubs.

So...I went to pick Traci up & off we went. We followed the directions directly to the course. Our first sign that something wasn't quite right...we were by far the youngest people in the parking lot. We started to laugh & make some jokes at this point. Traci suggested we go in & pay before we unloaded anything (I'm so glad she did). As we entered the office, we met four older gentlemen who looked at us quite oddly...sign #2. After they stared a bit, they asked if they could help us. I explained that we wanted to play a round of 9, and the gentleman behind the counter (turned out to be the one I had talked to earlier in the morning) asked if we were 50...sign #3. Come to find out, it is a public course that is only $4 to play, but you must be 50 in order to golf on the course (he forgot to mention that when I called earlier).

They began to call local courses for us trying to find out prices, and they began to take advantage of the fact that "two pretty young girls" (as they called us) were standing in their office. Every time someone came in to pay, a comment would be made about the "nice scenery" or the "pleasant surprise". At that point, our four friends would introduce us as their new caddies. :-) They had so much fun with it, and Traci & I couldn't stop laughing.

So...we decided to go to Collins Park and bid them farewell. As we were walking out the door, they said they looked forward to seeing us when we were 50. I told them it would only be a few years. :-)

On a side note, we did find out that Collins Park runs a special every Monday...9 holes of golf & a cart for $12. We plan on starting a new tradition when I get back from vacation. Ahhh...the joys of being a teacher! :-)